Woman loses 76kg after ditching McDonald’s addiction

An obese Sydney woman is proudly showing off her incredible new figure after losing an impressive 76kg following a break-up.

A woman has revealed how she lost more than 76kg after putting an end to her obsession with fast food.

Alida Elizabeth Dreyer, who lives in Sydney but is originally from South Africa, would consume up to 5000 calories day.

As a child, she would often eat in secret, hiding snacks in her room while gorging on a large McDonald’s meal with an extra burger, a large pizza and garlic bread.

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Alida Elizabeth Dreyer, 27, has lost more than 76kg after leaving a ‘toxic’ relationship and ending her addiction with fast food. Picture: JamPress

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The 27-year-old, who works in professional services, admitted her diet was “very poor” as she consistently ate large portions of food – even substituting water for cordial and juice.

“I was eating six slices of toast for breakfast with a hot milo, and then would have a carb-heavy lunch such as pasta or mac ‘n’ cheese,” she said.

“Dinner would be meat, vegetables and carbs such as rice or pasta again and my portions would be extremely big.”

But she is now gearing up to showcase her incredible transformation in a fitness competition after losing more than 76kg.

She weighed 145kg at her heaviest. Picture: JamPress

At age 12, she was diagnosed with depression after being bullied over her weight. Picture: JamPress

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Her weight loss journey began after ending a “toxic” relationship. The bad break-up sparked her to overhaul her lifestyle, undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in March 2017 which she said helped her to control her portion sizes.

As well as switching high calorie foods for lower calorie ones, she also became a vegan and made lifestyle swaps such as parking further away from where she needed to be.

To keep herself accountable, Ms Dreyer started an Instagram account documenting her journey, which has now amassed a following of more than 6,000.

“I started my page because I got a gastric sleeve as a tool to assist me with weight loss after years of ‘fad dieting’,” she said.

The support of a wider network helped her to stay on track, adding that helping others on their journeys “would give me a sense of accomplishment”.

“I am now very positive and have a lot of self-confidence and self-awareness,” Ms Dreyer said. “My mindset is focused around a healthy body and a healthy soul.”

As a child she would hide food in her room and gorge on fast food from McDonald’s meals to pizza. Picture: JamPress

She would eat six slices of toast for breakfast with a hot milo, followed by a carb heavy lunch. Picture: JamPress

FITNESS COMPETITION

After losing such a huge amount of weight, she was left with saggy skin and underwent a breast lift and reduction before having implants, as well as a lower body lift with a FDL (Fleur de Lis tummy tuck), a back lift, two arm lifts and a thigh lift.

She has also had liposuction to her calves, revision of a scar and a second thigh lift.

Now the 27-year-old has also signed up to compete in the WBFF (World Beauty Fitness and Fashion) competition next year in their transformation division which she said will involve “hard work and dedication both physically and mentally to make my body strong, fit and healthy”.

Alida said she was eating up to 5000 calories a day. Picture: JamPress

She then radically overhauled her diet and started exercising. Picture: JamPress

START OF OBESITY

Ms Dreyer said prior to her weight loss she was extremely negative and had a mindset that everything was “too hard” or she was “not worth enough to change her life”.

Her battle began at the age of 12 when she was diagnosed with depression, a condition she has lived with ever since.

She was severely bullied at primary school over her weight which caused her mental health to deteriorate and was what sparked her love of food.

By the time she was 23, she was morbidly obese and at 145kg. Her health reached such a critical point, doctors told her she may not being able to have a child.

She suffered from a number of health issues including PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and poor mental health which she believed led to her weight gain.