I had to talc my belly folds and cried when I didn’t fit on rollercoasters… so had life-changing £5k ‘mummy makeover’
CARLA White has never forgotten the feeling of shame when she was denied access to a rollercoaster due to being a size 24.
The 33-year-old was on holiday with an ex-boyfriend’s family before the pandemic and was forced to sit at the bottom of the ride in tears, while the rest of her party went on.
“I was so embarrassed,” she recalls. “I made sure to clean my tears away before they got off.
“But I will never forget that feeling. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.”
Carla, who used to gorge on processed foods, was so heavy that sweat used to build up under her stomach folds and become red, sore and infected.
“It would be hard to clear up as it had to stay dry and clean,” she says. “Talc was my best friend.
“I was in a nine-year relationship, I was very secure and happy and I was a student, so I ate processed, easy foods.”
Alongside this, Carla “lived in leggings” and always had to request a seatbelt extender on airplanes.
It was the painful moment of clarity in Benidorm that led her to accept she needed to lose weight – and over the last few years, she’s shed over 10 stone… with a little bit of surgical help along the way.
The mum-of-one had a gastric sleeve before the Covid-19 pandemic and believed that was “the start of her new life”.
However, the dramatic weight loss resulted in severe excess skin and left her feeling just as self-conscious as when she weighed nearly 22 stone.
“It got in the way and I wore bigger clothes to hide the overhang,” she says.
Then, the Glasgow-based mum had her son in 2021 and felt even more insecure about her body, so ignored warnings and flew to Turkey for a ‘mummy makeover’.
Carla says it’s the best £5,000 she’s ever spent.
Despite concerns from loved ones, she booked in for a ‘mummy makeover’, with the procedure including a breast uplift, tummy tuck and 360-degree liposuction.
Carla, who is mum to four-year-old Lee, says her family urged her not to go abroad due to the risks of overseas surgery.
But having consulted with a surgeon in Scotland, she felt confident in her decision and flew out to the private clinic in Izmir in October 2023.
“I never really told a lot of people because I was aware of it being quite controversial,” Carla says. “I didn’t want anyone giving me doubts or fears so I kept it very hush.
“My dad and nana were not initially happy, but knew I wouldn’t change my mind as I’m really headstrong. They trusted me to make the right decision.”
My dad and nana were not initially happy, but knew I wouldn’t change my mind as I’m really headstrong. I didn’t want anyone giving me doubts or fears so I kept it very hush
Carla White
Carla underwent the multiple procedures in one operation and flew home just six days later, describing the recovery as “really smooth”.
She adds: “I got the drains taken out the day I flew and got the go-ahead to be discharged. I had a C-section so I found the tummy tuck pain very similar to that.
“However, the areas I got lipo done felt really tender, so I found sleeping really uncomfortable for a few weeks.
“Wearing the compression garments for months was a bit of a pain. I had to get lymphatic drainage massages weekly to help with the fluid retention.”
Different types of weight loss surgery
For many people who are overweight or obese, they may feel they have exhausted options for weight loss and want to try something more drastic.
Weight loss surgery may be available to them on the NHS if they have a BMI over 40 and have a condition that may be improved with weight loss, such as diabetes.
But the availability of these procedures largely depends on where you live in the UK. People can also pay privately.
Weight loss surgery is a common and safe procedure. However, as with any operation, there are risks, such as a blood clot, a band slipping out of place, a stomach infection, gallstones and excessive skin from weight loss that in most cases, won’t be removed on the NHS.
In all of the following options, the space in the stomach is reduced, therefore a person feels fuller after eating less food. They lose weight as a result.
However, it is necessary for them to also learn good eating habits and have a healthy balanced diet, too.
Gastric bypass
The stomach is divided into two using a staple. The smaller part is connected to the intestines, effectively cutting how much space there is in the stomach by half.
The operation takes around two hours.
Gastric band
A band is tied around the top of the stomach and inflated so that it tightens.
The operation takes three to four hours.
Gastric balloon
Patients swallow an empty balloon which is attached to a tube.
The balloon is filled with water via the tube, taking around 20 minutes, so that it fills around two-thirds of the stomach space.
Sleeve gastrectomy
Around 80 per cent of the stomach is removed in surgery to make it much smaller and a sleeve shape.
The operation takes between one and three hours.
Although the results weren’t instantly visible due to swelling, Carla says she’s now happier, healthier and more confident.
She said: “I was really swollen initially after the surgery and never really saw the results instantly, which was quite hard for me.”
With her newfound confidence, Carla says she now feels much happier when trying on clothes or going on nights out.
She’s also looking forward to upcoming holidays to Tunisia and Salou where she plans to wear bikinis instead of swimming costumes for the first time.
She added: “I’m a lot happier when trying clothes on or going on a night out – it’s not such a stress.
“It’s good going to things like raves and being able to shop in normal clothes shops and running about with my wee boy and knowing I won’t be embarrassed by my skin.
“I’ve got two holidays this year and only packed bikinis – no full costumes, woohoo!”