An Aussie mum who lost 60kg in a bid to save her life now looks unrecognisable.
After suffering postnatal depression following the birth of her son, Brisbane mum Brooke Hoggan struggled with her weight.
She would turn to food for comfort, while she stopped being as active as she once was – causing her to gain weight rapidly.
After hitting her heaviest weight of 120kg, the eyelash technician decided to see her doctor for help to slim down – but soon discovered that the weight was not her only issue.
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“After having my son, I struggled with postnatal depression which caused major weight gain,” Brooke, 29, said.
“I was eating takeaway all the time, and wasn’t very active. I tried lots of different methods to lose weight, but nothing worked.
“I decided to go see a doctor to get help losing weight, but that’s when I found out about more serious issues.
“I had a fatty liver due to my weight. My levels were quadruple what they were meant to be.
“It was a life or death situation. My doctor told me that I’d have to either lose weight straight away, or I would need to go in for a liver transplant.
“It was terrifying.”
Brooke said her GP gave her a grim diagnosis – either she lose weight, or she could die.
Her only option was to either get a gastric sleeve to help jump start her weight loss, or to undergo a risky liver transplant, which could take time she did not have.
Faced with this unimaginable choice, Brooke decided to undergo gastric sleeve surgery in March 2021.
The surgery involves the removal of 80 per cent of the stomach organ and is performed under a general anaesthetic using advanced laparoscopic keyhole surgery.
While this helped her initially lose 20kg, after three months Brooke noticed it “stopped working”, and no matter what she did, the weight wouldn’t budge.
Going back to her doctor, she was told this was “very unusual”.
“I couldn’t understand what was happening. Everything had been going well and them bam – no more weight loss” she said.
“I’d seen people who could lose way more than me after having this done, so I couldn’t understand it.”
It turned out she had an underactive thyroid, and the gastric sleeve could only do so much before it stopped working.
Determined not to let herself gain the weight back she had already lost, she sought help from a personal trainer, and followed a strict high-protein meal plan, along with regular PT sessions that included a mix of strength and cardio exercise.
“After the tests revealed I had thyroid issues, I knew it was up to me to put in the extra work to get the weight off.
“I’d already lost 20kg, so I had that motivation. I found an amazing personal trainer who set up an eating and exercise plan.
“In the past year, I have managed to drop another 40kg through a strict diet and exercise program.
“I could never have done it without this change.”
Now, after losing a total of 60kg, Brooke said she feels like she has her “life back”.
When she shared her journey on TikTok, the mum-of-two went viral – racking up nearly two million views on her video.
“My liver is totally back to normal, and I owe it all to weight loss” she said.
“I could have lost my life. I might not have been there for my kids, and that terrifies me.
“Everything I do is for them. I feel like a different person now, and a better mum.
“I’m so much happier, more confident, and I have the drive to go out there and do things.
“At my biggest, I only wore black clothes. Now I’m wearing all types of bright colours.
“I’ve got my life back and kicked old Brooke to the kerb for good.”
