With a surge in average-size women having ops to slim down to a ‘perfect 10’, we speak to three who have gone under the knife, despite not being obese
STARING in the mirror after putting her one-year-old daughter to bed, Sofia Alessia begins to cry.
After giving birth the previous year, she had naturally gained some baby weight — but it was tormenting her so much she had decided to spend £10,000 on drastic weight-loss surgery.
Yet Sofia, 27, was not obese. At a size 16, she was the average UK dress size.
Around 15,000 British women undergo weight-loss surgery, both here and abroad, every year.
But it’s not without risk and only 12 months ago, 20-year-old Morgan Ribeiro, from south London, tragically died following botched gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey.
I originally enquired about liposuction, but the company told me I should go for a gastric sleeve or band . I had no idea what they were but I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’
Sofia Alessia
She had been lured by social media adverts offering cheap overseas deals, but her small intestine was accidentally cut during the £2,500 procedure and she passed away a week later.
Despite the risks, women like Sofia, who is 16st, often feel surgery is the only option to shed unwanted fat in pursuit of becoming a “perfect” size 10.
“I piled the weight on as a new single mum and developed an emotional eating disorder where I got into binge eating,” says Sofia, an influencer from Morecambe, Lancs.
“I originally enquired about liposuction, but the company told me the weight would just come back on, so I should go for a gastric sleeve or gastric band instead.
“I had no idea what either of those were but I’m very impulsive, so I said, ‘Yeah, why not?’.”
A gastric band is silicone wrapped around the upper part of the stomach, which keeps food from entering the lower, larger half.
With gastric sleeve surgery, up to 90 per cent of the stomach is removed, leaving a narrow, tube-shaped “sleeve” behind.
The procedure means patients’ stomachs fill up far quicker.
Sofia found a UK-based clinic shortly after Christmas 2021 and, on January 31, 2022, went in for the three-hour gastric sleeve surgery.
What unfolded afterwards was “the stuff of nightmares”, she says.
Discharged from a private clinic the morning after her operation, Sofia began vomiting blood and “lumps of flesh”.
Within an hour of her getting home, her terrified mum Lisanne Meadowcroft, 53, called an ambulance.
“I was being sick to the point where I couldn’t even hold my own saliva,” says Sofia. “I thought I’d never see my daughter again.”
Sofia is among an increasing number of women undergoing radical weight-loss surgery, despite being an average size.
Around 10,500 bariatric procedures are carried out in Britain every year, according to 2024 data.
Those who don’t want to pay higher British prices go abroad, with data estimating that a further 5,000 of us travel overseas for weight-loss surgery annually.
Sofia had chosen a UK clinic after hearing “horror stories” about botched overseas ops, but complications can occur anywhere and she spent more than three months in hospital after the original surgeon removed too much of her stomach.
She was unable to see daughter, Alya-Valentina, now four, due to Covid-19 restrictions and the risk of infection as she battled a slew of life-threatening conditions including blood clots on her lungs, pneumonia and sepsis.
By physically removing most of the stomach, the surgery doesn’t just reduce portion sizes, it also alters gut-brain signalling pathways.
Dr Harsh Sheth
She had to be tube-fed the entire time.
In March 2022, she underwent a corrective gastric bypass, but due to the issues with the previous surgery, medics were forced to remove “almost all” of her stomach.
And that wasn’t the end of her ordeal. During that op, the surgeon accidentally stapled her bowel to her small intestine, causing chronic sepsis and putting her life in danger.
Three days later, Sofia had a further operation to remove the staples and drain the infection.
Since her ordeal, she has lost 7st and now weighs 9st and is a size 10.
Sofia believes she would have been unable to lose the weight with less extreme measures, such as weight-loss jabs or exercise, due to her eating disorder.
Although weight-loss jabs are big business, it’s widely believed users regain the pounds once they stop.
By contrast, gastric-sleeve surgery is irreversible.
“By physically removing most of the stomach, the surgery doesn’t just reduce portion sizes, it also alters gut-brain signalling pathways,” explains Dr Harsh Sheth, a bariatric and gastrointestinal surgeon.
He adds: “For many, surgery represents a comprehensive reset of their relationship with food, something injections can’t offer.”
This sense of certainty appealed to Whitney Ainscough, 31, from Rotherham, South Yorks, who wanted to slim down after reaching a size 16 following the birth of her third child.
The influencer had 90 per cent of her stomach removed in Egypt in December 2023 and is proud to admit that she cheated her way to being “forever slim”.
After surgery, Whitney dropped to a size 10 within months and was thrilled to see her “mummy flab” melt away for the first time since having children Cora, 13, Addison, six, and Adley, three.
“I am not ashamed to say I couldn’t be bothered to go to the gym or diet,” says Whitney. “I’d tried healthy eating and low-fat diets but always fell off the wagon.
“I wanted my 20-year-old body back and I wasn’t prepared to wait.”
I am not ashamed to say I couldn’t be bothered to go to the gym or diet. I’d tried diets in the past. I wanted my 20-year-old body back and I wasn’t prepared to wait.
Whitney Ainscough
Whitney did not qualify for gastric sleeve surgery in Britain, either privately or on the NHS, as her BMI wasn’t over 40 — classed as severely obese — so she shelled out £4,000 to have the procedure done in Egypt.
To meet the Egyptian clinic’s requirement that her BMI be over 30, Whitney deliberately gorged on high-calorie foods to gain the weight required to qualify for surgery.
“I went from a BMI of 28 to 31, making me a size 18, to guarantee the surgery.
“I ate mostly takeaways and high-fat food like chips, burgers and creamy curries,” she says.
A year on, Whitney now weighs 9st and is a size 8.
“I still refuse to believe my decision was irresponsible or wrong,” she says.
“I love my new body and I’ll be forever slim.”
But Whitney now has to get monthly vitamin B12 jabs at £29 a pop, as those who have had weight-loss surgery often find they are deficient due to the smaller stomach size hindering nutrient absorption.
“Deficiencies are common without lifelong supplementation,” says Dr Sheth. “These changes mean patients must carefully manage their health long-term.”
Hannah-Jade Ashton, 31, was an average size 16 when she went under the knife.
Weighing 15st, she was the slimmest woman at the clinic where she had gastric sleeve surgery in Turkey last year. “I felt like I had been dieting all my life and fighting a constant battle to be a size 12 or 14,” the mum-of-two says.
I will be an eternal size 10 and I am not bothered what people think. Many of my slim mates are doing the same as me and booking their ‘secret sleeves’.
Hannah-Jade Ashton
“I felt like an ugly chunky monkey, but the NHS refused my request for a gastric sleeve saying my BMI of 30 was too low.”
Undeterred, Hannah-Jade, from Dudley, West Midlands, spent £2,100 at the Turkish clinic in May 2024 and, as with Whitney, she deliberately gained weight beforehand to get herself over the minimum BMI threshold of 30.
“People need to get over the mindset that you must be super-fat to have a sleeve,” says Hannah-Jade, a nanny.
“People get boob jobs and BBLs (Brazilian butt lifts). For me, my gastric sleeve is like that. I will be an eternal size 10 and I am not bothered what people think.”
Hannah-Jade had 90 per cent of her stomach removed and now, eight months post-op, weighs just over 10st. She also has monthly B12 jabs to supplement her nutritional intake.
She adds: “I knew about the horror stories, but decided the chances of a successful procedure were higher than a failed operation.
“Now, many of my slim mates are doing the same as me and booking their ‘secret sleeves’.”
WHILE Whitney and Hannah-Jade had more positive experiences than Sofia, Dr Sheth warns that complications such as leaks or infections are still a concern, even with the most skilled surgeons.
“Those who perform high-volume procedures with minimal recovery protocols may cut corners on safety,” he says.
“Risk is inevitable, but cutting costs or rushing significantly increases it.
“Patients should seek surgeons who specialise in bariatric surgery full-time, as part-time practitioners often lack the focused experience needed for complex cases.”
