A mum who was refused on a rollercoaster with her son for being so overweight has tuned her life around and lost ten stone, now living a full life with her little boy.
35-year-old Teri Tennille from Silver Spring, Maryland, lost almost half her bodyweight, having previously weighed 23 stone.
The influencer and entrepreneur now weighs a healthier 13 stone, and has gone from a UK size 26 to a 14.
She made the decision to drop the weight after being publicly fat shamed in front of her son by a worker on a rollercoaster ride.
Teri had the help of weight loss surgery to reach her goal, and is now spreading the message to other women to not be ashamed of asking for the help they need to live their happiest and healthiest life.
"On October 4, 2019, I had a verticle sleeve gastrectomy, also known as VSG, with this procedure they cut off 80 per cent of your stomach to assist with reaching your weight loss and health goals," she said.
"I chose this surgery option because for many years I dieted, tried different dieting fads and wasn't successful. Also I felt like VSG was less invasisve and I just felt like it was a safer surgery.
"Before surgery I weighed just over 23 stone and since having the surgery done I have lost ten stone and I am now 13 stone.
"If I'm being honest I've never been a calorie counter, in my attempts to lose weight it never worked for me, so I have no idea how many calories I consumed prior to weight loss surgery but I can assure you that it was way too many."
While at a theme park with her son, Teri had a moment of realisation.
She said: "I realised that I needed to make a change when I took my son to an amusement park and I was unable to fit on the ride.
"We went to the funplex in Mount Laurel, NJ, in January of 2018. I kept trying to buckle the safety structure but it wouldn't.
"The ride operator was kind enouhg to allow me to keep trying and finally she apologised and said 'mam you'll have to get off the ride'. "
After this Teri knew she needed to take control of her life and decided on surgery to help her.
"I had my surgery through my health insurance provider Kaiser Permanente in Largo Maryland," she explained.
"Prior to my surgery date I had to complete a six month programme which helped me with understanding nutrition, food therapy and also a medical work up to ensure I was healthy enough to withstand the procedure.
"Two weeks prior to my surgery date it was required that I do a liquid diet which consisted of water, jello, pudding, broth, protein drinks and popsicles (all sugar free).
"I had skin removal surgery too, I had a panniculectomy on October 4, 2021, this is basically an insurance covered tummy tuck where they removed 17 pounds of skin off of my stomach.
"My life has completely changed I now attend the gym at least two times a week, I'm working on consistency.
"My greatest achievement is finding the confidence to go, when I was obese I struggled with gym anxiety.
"I felt like everyone would look at me and laugh because I had such a long way to go. Sometimes I still have that mindset because I was obese for so long but I still force myself to go."
For Teri, weight loss surgery has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. She's been supported throughout by friends and family and now wants to help support others on their journey.
"Most people in my life were excited and encouraging," she said, "there were others who started to treat me differently once I started losing weight and gaining confidence.
"I never had anyone say anything hurtful to me directly but they were hurtful in how they treated me.
"Giving me the bare minimum, manipulation, abuse because of my size they didn't feel I was worthy of true love and because I was struggling with my self worth internally I allowed it.
"My family and friends were very supportive. I was engaged prior to my surgery, however my newfound confidence helped me find my voice and worth which encouraged me to finally leave.
"I can honestly say that even though I showed up as a confident woman when I was larger, it was a façade I used to just get through the day.
"Now, I truly love myself and feel confident, I strongly promote loving yourself and being confident at any side.
"But loving yourself is admitting where you can make changes to be better and for me that was tackling my food addiction."
Surgery in the US can be expensive, however Teri was able to get hers through insurance, only having a co-pay of five dollars.
Now, she's on on a journey to encourage others in what they need to love themselves.
"I am a self love enthusiast and weight loss surgery advocate," said Teri. "I absolutely love encouraging women to take control of their health.
"When I'm not encouraging via social media I'm creating clothing for my brand 'love on yourself' and spending time with my two teenage sons.
"The greatest compliments I receive are when people tell me that I encouraged them to start their weight loss journey.
"If you are struggling with confidence or your body image I would say just start. Start somewhere.
"Love yourself enough to be kind to yourself on this journey but still push yourself to make the necessary changes.
"Your health is your wealth, it is the key to your longevity. You owe it to yourself to live your very best life and that starts with recognising some hard truths and holding yourself accountable.
"But you can do it, trust me if I did it you can too. If you are ever feeling alone in the journey, follow me @ttgotvsg, I am always happy to give advice, helping others is my goal now."
