Cork mum Karina has dropped eight stone and feels fitter, happier and more confident

Karina's life has changed for the better following her amazing eight stone weight loss - she has shared the details of her journey and how it has helped her be fitter and more confident

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Life

Erica Carter

18:38, 15 OCT 2023

Cork woman Karina has struggled with her weight since her childhood.

She tried every diet she could think of, but could never get one to stick with long term results.

However, now she is eight stone down and feels happier and healthier than ever.

Speaking to RSVP Live, Karina said: "I've have a weight problem since I was about nine. I've always been overweight.

"I went on WeightWatchers when I was 13, my mother paid for a diet for me for my 18th birthday... I've done everything and when I stopped them the weight piled back on and more.

"And then I also have an underactive thyroid. So I would have always said the reason for my weight is that, I like food, I don't exercise and I have an underactive thyroid."

However, it was a photo of Karina taken on the beach that made her really want to make a long term change in her life. Because of her struggles with diets, she realised that the best option for her was a gastric sleeve. She did her research and went to a clinic in Poland for the procedure.

This photo made Karina realise she needed to make a change

Her parents came with her for support, and she really credits them and the rest of her family with the success of her journey.

Now she is eight stone down 15 months on from her surgery and the difference in her physical fitness is astounding.

"I can do things now that I never realised I couldn't do before," she said. "Like tie my laces without any effort.

"I can run, and before I wouldn't even have tried to run. I was always confidence, but the difference in my confidence now, I put myself out there more."

"It's a continued battle everyday with the food restriction, but it's a battle I'm delighted to be going through," she said. "I don't have one regret."

Karina has an Instagram where she shares updates on her journey - you can follow it here. For her, the page was a place to hold herself accountable throughout her weight loss journey.

"It wasn't really to put up pictures and all of that," she explained. "It was more that if I was telling the world what I was doing, it might make me put in more of an effort.

"I was always a little bit of a cheater when it came to diets so I said I'd put myself on the platform to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to be doing."

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