She’s lived most of her life in the public eye, so we’ve been there every step of the way throughout Vanessa Feltz’s weight battle.
And there’s no denying Vanessa, 57, looks incredible at the moment. Fitness and nutrition expert Laurel Alper tells Woman’s Own that the blonde has slimmed down to a size 12.
Laurel says, “In my opinion Vanessa has dropped from a size 16 to a comfortable size 12, the result of her losing around 4st.”
But Vanessa’s journey to her current weight hasn’t been easy, after her infamous gastric band slipped and ended up in her liver – meaning she had a difficult decision to make.
Weight worries
Vanessa initially had her gastric band fitted in 2010 and, despite health fears, insisted she wouldn’t have it removed because of her fear of gaining weight.
At the time she explained, “It has started acting up something chronic. I was fast asleep and woke up and felt like I was drowning. My whole mouth, my nose, ears and eyes seemed to be full of liquid.”
At the time she added, “I don’t want to have it taken out. I am worried that I will suddenly eat an entire camel and a herd of elephants.”
But Vanessa changed her mind and, earlier this year, decided to have the band removed for her health. Luckily, the surgeon had a solution to all her worries – a gastric bypass.
A bypass means surgical staples are used to make a small pouch at the top of the stomach, which is connected to the small intestines and means the rest of the stomach is effectively bypassed.
Vanessa admits that she is over the moon with the results, saying, “It’s good for my joints, it’s good for the heart, diabetes, and it’s really good for buying clothes!”
Food battles
However, needing the band removed initially left Vanessa feeling disappointed in herself, laying the blame at her apparent inability to curb cravings for junk food.
“‘I felt like, ‘What a shame’, that I couldn’t just control it. Why couldn’t I ever say no to a piece of cake? I was never really able to get to the bottom of it. I have had counselling and a bit of therapy over the years, and it has always been my downfall. It’s been my problem and I hoped that the gastric band knocked it on the head and just dealt with it, but it didn’t.”
But it does seem like this latest operation has helped Vanessa change her approach to eating, as she added, “I am generally a bit less interested in eating food.”
A work in progress
Like most people on a body overhaul, Laurel doesn’t think Vanessa is quite finished with her transformation.
She says, ‘There’s no doubt Vanessa is on the way to her perfect body and she’s still got a little bit to take off around the middle. But generally that’s the last place that most people lose weight from.”
And although Vanessa has always been refreshingly honest about her weight loss being down to surgery, she’s still enjoying all of the compliments her new figure has attracted.
“I feel good. And I feel a bit embarrassed when people say ‘well done’ as it was the surgeon, not me,” the broadcaster explained.
“But I’ll take any compliments I can at my age! I’m hopeful that this is the end of my battle with weight, because it’s something I’ve struggled with.
“I keep worrying that it’s a bit too good to be true, every time I weigh myself I’m convinced I’m going to have put on weight.”
