An Aussie mum who lost 60kg in a bid to save her life now looks unrecognisable. Photo / Instagram
An Aussie mum who lost 60kg in a bid to save her life now looks unrecognisable. Photo / Instagram
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 oncewas – 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.
"After having my son, I struggled with postnatal depression which caused major weight gain," Hoggan, 29, said.
"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's weight has now dropped from 120kg to 60kg. Photos / TikTok
Hoggan 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 Hoggan 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 then 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 programme.
