“I didn’t think I would see 60”
 At 23 stone and a size 32, Madeleine Clarke was so unhealthy she didn’t think she’d live to see her grandchildren grow up, but after undergoing a gastric bypass, she’s finally embracing life …
Playing a game of tag in the garden with her two granddaughters, Madeleine Clarke may be a little out of breath but the 62-year old is still full of beans. Running around with Evie (5) and Lara (2) was something she couldn’t have imagined doing a year ago. “I didn’t even think I’d be alive to see them grow up”, admits Madeleine, from Gosport.
At her heaviest, Madeleine weighed 23st and was a size 32. Like many women, she’d started putting on weight after having children. “I found it hard to shift the weight once I had the children and when I was at home I started using food as a comfort”, she admits. “I wasn’t aware of the link at the time, but my father had committed suicide when I was a child, and by comfort eating I was probably trying to heal my deep emotional problems”.
Unaware of the reasons for her bingeing, Madeleine began to hide her eating habits. “I became a secret eater. I never ate in front of other people but would stuff myself as soon as I was alone. I’d feel terrible afterwards”, she admits. The more Madeleine ate, the worse she felt about herself.
“I joined a slimming club and lived off milkshakes for seven months. I lost six stone, but it wasn’t sustainable and as soon as I began to eat normally, the weight piled back on. Over the years I’ve tried every diet under the sun, including Slimming World, WeightWatchers, The Cambridge Diet, slimming aids and meal replacements. Each time I lost weight, I felt great, but then it just went back on again”.
Her weight was beginning to seriously affect her health and her relationship with her grandchildren. When Evie and Lara were born, Madeleine wasn’t able to hold them. “Because I was so big, I developed sleep apnoea and would fall asleep in the middle of the day. I felt it was too dangerous for me to hold the girls. It was heartbreaking not to be able to cuddle them.” This proved a real turning point. “I was at my wits’ end and went to see my doctor. She measured my blood pressure which was, of course, very high, and she suggested I thought about weight-loss surgery. I’d spent years trying to lose weight, but certain foods, like chocolate and sweets, were an addition to me. Surgery was my last chance.”
Madeleine visited Dr Shaw Somers, a leading bariatric surgeon, who told her she would be suitable for a gastric bypass, not a band, as there was a danger she could cheat the band. “When I told him the things I ate he said I would be more suited to a gastric bypass, because the type of foods I would binge on, such as chocolate and ice cream, were soft and could pass through a band”. So, in April 2010, Madeleine had the surgery and to her delight she gradually started losing 3-4lbs a week.
 In the 11 months since her surgery, Madeleine has lost 9st, but she says that the gastric bypass is not an easy option. It’s just a tool and certainly doesn’t mean she can eat what she likes.
“I have to eat the right things. I don’t eat chocolate, sweets, cakes or biscuits anymore because I know once I start I’ll want more. I’ve had to give up the foods I’m addicted to.”
Madeleine now eats three very small healthy meals a day and three tiny snacks. This is something she will have to stick to for the rest of her life. “If I eat too much I’ll be sick, even if I have more than a small glass of alcohol I’ll feel awful so I just don’t. I also have to keep active, so I tend to do a lot of walking, at least a couple of miles a day and I go dancing twice a week – something I could never have done before. People ask if I miss chocolate, but I’m so happy with my new life that it’s not an issue! I feel about 20 years younger. I’m so much healthier and happier.”
Madeleine’s weight-loss struggle has also seen her start a new career as a weight consultant. She now offers advice to those suffering food addictions like her own.
“Not only did I want to help others, but in a way being a weight-loss consultant means I have to stay in shape. I hold regular support groups where I live in Gosport and people come from as far as Bracknell, more than 60 miles away, to attend.”
Now a healthy size 12 and weighing 11st 4lb, Madeleine feels like she’s finally got a second chance at life. “I feel like a new person. I’ve got so much more energy and a real zest for life. I’m finally healthy and happy on the inside and out! The best part is that people think I’m much younger than I am,” laughs Madeleine.
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