Kylie Merola, 22, from Florida has been overweight since she was a child but was determined to slim down for her graduation
AN OBESE woman who was left with a “six pack” of saggy skin after losing 12 stone has revealed her total body transformation.
Kylie Merola, 22, from Florida, USA, has now bought her first bikini following life-changing surgery to remove her excess skin.
Kylie had been so embarrassed of her 23 st 5lb frame that she dreaded appearing in front of the crowds at her graduation ceremony.
As a child, Kylie's family were baffled as to why she was overweight when siblings Ashley and Joey, now 25 and 20, who were fed the same portions were both slender.
Later, at the age of 15, doctors would discover Kylie had PCOS, which can lead women to gain excess weight.
At school, she was bullied for her size and was often victim to cruel comments about her weight.
Kylie added: "People would make comments like 'thunder thighs' and say I was 'four-foot-tall and five-foot-wide', they thought it was harmless but it was a big deal.
"I was classified as the 'fat girl' and people always doubted me, now I feel good about myself and want to keep going, I'll never revert to who I was before."
But after being disgusted by her size and worrying that others would make fun of her as she collected her high school diploma, Kylie decided to seek out surgery.
In 2014, she had a gastric bypass and also started eating healthier smaller portions at meal times – helping her to shed helped half her body weight.
However, despite her impressive weight loss, Kylie was left with rolls of flabby excess skin.
Humiliated by her body, which she said looked like a “six pack of rolls”, Kylie went under the knife again and had over two stone of skin cut away from her body.
Last year she underwent a combined tummy tuck, brachioplasty, back lift and a spiral thigh lift to remove a whopping two stone of skin.
Kylie said: "It was a huge weight lifted from my shoulders, so doing anything physical is so simple now.
"I can bend down to tie my shoes without skin overhanging, I can run without my skin flapping and do anything I want without worrying it will get in the way.
"Now I'm toning my body, it has completely changed, my skin used to hang off my body, now there's barely anything left anymore."
Now a slender 11 stone, Kylie has celebrated her incredible transformation by buying her first bikini just in time for summer.
Kylie, a waitress, said: "When I was graduating from high school I was terrified to cross the stage, I didn't want people's eyes on me and didn't want to be the biggest person graduating.
"I knew everyone would be talking about how big I was, my classmates would be laughing at me or making fun, I felt so embarrassed and didn't want to be seen.
"After that I was determined to do whatever it took to lose weight, I knew if I didn't take drastic actions I could end up weighing 600lb within a few years.
Medics don’t yet know what causes polycystic ovary syndrome, according to the Mayo Clinic.
But there are several factors thought to play a role, including:
If a woman does show any signs of the condition is it usually in her late teens or early 20s, according to the NHS.
However, in many cases doctors can struggle to diagnose the condition.
Many women don’t show any symptoms at all and if they do they tend to be very mild.
The signs to look out for include:
The condition cannot be cured but the symptoms can be managed.
"My weight loss surgery was just a tool, from there I had to watch what I ate to make sure I consumed all the nutrients I needed and exercised regularly.
"While I was happy after shedding the weight, no one told me my body would be so disfigured after losing so much weight.
"My body shape went from huge, solid and fat to being smaller but with hanging flabby skin, it looked like pizza dough and was a flap that hung down from my body.
"I used to have a six pack of rolls and the skin on my arms used to jiggle like bat wings.
"Despite going through so much I couldn't be proud of my weight loss, it was a huge insecurity and stopped me doing everything I'd lost weight to do.
Breakfast - bagel with cream cheese
Snack - granola bar or chocolate chip frappe
Lunch - Sandwich or burger
Dinner - pizza
Dessert - brownies or cheesecake
Breakfast - egg whites
Lunch - salad with light dressings or smoothie
Dinner - grilled chicken, or steak with asparagus or broccoli
Dessert - Greek yogurt
"When I look at my body now I see a much more proportionate person, I'm much happier than how I was before, sometimes I wake up and think, 'Wow, that's me.'"
Kylie is now fundraising for a breast augmentation, after excessive weight gain and skin removal surgery left with smaller breasts.
Kylie added: "After having my back and arm lift, my chest pulled back and pulled my boobs down and I lost my femininity.
"It's a mental transformation, it's been hard learning to see myself for how I look now but I'm slowly getting there and enjoying every moment of it."
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We previously revealed how celebs including Lisa Riley and Big Brother star Josie Gibson also had operations to lose their excess skin.
