Obese mum loses 11st stone despite working at McDonald's

An obese mum lost 11st stone despite working at McDonald's - thanks to weight loss surgery which took just 28 minutes.

Christina Rodriguez, 57, piled on the pounds during a stressful divorce a decade ago and turned to comfort eating to help her cope.

She tipped the scales at 21 stone - only fitting into size 26 clothes - and her fondness for cheese, chips and pies was putting her health at risk.

In desperation, Christina went to her GP to see if the NHS would fit her with a gastric band. The request was rejected, but in 2012 Christina decided to fork out £6,000 on the 28-minute surgery carried out at Dolan Hospital in Birmingham.

Now she's looking forward to New Year's celebrations, wearing her new wardrobe of size ten to 12 clothes

Christina told the Glasgow Evening Times: "Through my whole life I was always a yo-yo dieter. But in 2008, I experienced a bad divorce and it led to a lot of comfort eating. I was always an emotional eater, even when I was bored I would eat.

"I worked at a coffee shop at the time and that didn't help. I suddenly stopped exercising and pounding the gym. In the coffee shop, people would always say they were on a diet but it didn't make a difference because most sandwiches had full-fat mayonnaise and other fattening ingredients.

"My problem was that I always loved cheese, I always nibbled on it. I was 21 stone and felt like I was a walking time bomb."

Christina, now a customer services manager at McDonald's, added: "My stomach is [now] like the size of a saucer or the size of my hand, so that's exactly how much I eat.

"I used to hate communal changing rooms, they were my biggest fear. But I no longer fear them now.

"In 2014, my daughter Stacey got married and no one at her wedding recognised me. They all couldn't believe it.

"The gastric band is amazing, it has changed my life."