I ballooned to 36st with all-you can-eat Chinese buffets…I lost the weight of two people & now sex is better than ever

A 36-STONE woman who devoured an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet three times a week has dropped the weight of two people – and boosted her sex life. Jasmine Varner says she’d always had a complicated relationship with food but it never bothered her that she was ‘fat’ growing up. Jasmine Varner weighed nearly 36 st by eating 15 plates of food a week at the all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media Now she has shed 21.5stone and she’s more confident despite the loose skin she’s been left with Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media But when she was diagnosed with type two diabetes in June 2024 just before her 30th birthday, the content creator knew she needed to turn her life around. By that point, 5ft 5in Jasmine, who says she tipped the scales at 35st 7lbs, feared she’d die in her sleep if she didn’t make a change. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! In order to slim down, the 31-year-old was prescribed a weight loss injection and swapped her junk food diet to a low-carb, low-sugar and high-protein alternative. Before losing weight Jasmine, a size 32, admits she would scoff around 10,000 calories a day, skipping breakfast but bingeing on junk food late in the evening until the early hours. Jasmine shared how she would tuck into 10 bags of sweets every week Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media She claims losing weight has helped her to ‘reverse’ her type two diabetes Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media In the year leading up to her diabetes scare she says she visited an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet three times a week and would eat five ‘heaped’ plates of food. Sweet-toothed Jasmine admitted one of her guilty pleasures was candy and that she munched through 10 bags of sweets every week. But after cutting out junk food and sugar from her diet, Jasmine was able to lose nearly 13st in 11 months, slimming down to 21 stone 12lbs by May 2025. After the initial weightloss, Jasmine then went under the knife and had a single anastomosis duodeno-ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy [SADI-S]. Most read in Fabulous SADI-S is weight loss surgery for severely obese people and combines a gastric sleeve procedure with an intestinal bypass, making a person’s stomach smaller so they eat less. Following her operation Jasmine lost a further 8.5st stone, she now weighs 13st 1lb and can fit into US XS or small tops. Incredible before and after photos show Jasmine’s weight loss transformation and says she now loves her new body despite the 40lbs of loose skin she’s been left with. The stay-at-home wife is now sharing her journey as she claims losing weight has helped to ‘reverse’ her type two diabetes and also given her ‘more energy‘ during sex. Jasmine pictured getting weight loss surgery in May 2025 Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media Jasmine said husband Matthew can now pick her up following her weight loss Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media Jasmine, from Lawton, Oklahoma, US, said: “It never bothered me that I was fat. “I only started worrying about my weight in June 2024 when they [the doctor] told me I had type two diabetes. “A family member of mine had died from diabetes aged 27 and I thought that if I carried on like this it might kill me. “I didn’t want to die, I loved my life too much, I was about to turn 30. “It didn’t keep me up at night but I did worry that if I went to bed, I would die in my sleep. “[Before weight loss], I really was loading my plate with as much as I could. “A triple serving of chips [crisps] would just be one sitting and then not even an hour later I would go and munch on a bag of candy and more chips. “I would snack throughout the day. I would make easy things and I would binge on these all night until about 3am. Jasmine claims her sex life with husband Matthew is better than ever after the weight loss Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media Jasmine admits she still struggles with her body image sometimes even though she has lost 21st as she still sees her previous figure in the mirror Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media “It was a vicious cycle. I think back and no wonder I was the way I was. I always felt like I had to order the biggest thing on the menu. “I would go to this Chinese buffet around three times a week, it was an all-you-can eat buffet so there was no limit. “I would have around four or five heaped platefuls every time. It wouldn’t be a normal plate, food would literally be spilling off of them. “I can’t believe I could eat that much. I think on average I would eat around 9,000 to 10,000 calories a day.” In the future, Jasmine says she would consider getting her loose skin removed but hasn’t booked in for surgery yet. She says since losing weight she and her husband Matthew, 31, have been able to experience lots of new ‘firsts’ in their relationships. Earlier this year the duo went to a theme park where Jasmine went on a rollercoaster for the first time in 15 years as she can now fit in the seat. She also says her husband can now lift her up after losing weight, which he was never able to do before, and sex now feels ‘different’ as she has more energy. At her heaviest, Jasmine tipped the scales at 35st 7lbs, and feared she’d die in her sleep if she didn’t make a change Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media Following her operation Jasmine lost a further 8.5st stone, she now weighs 13st 1lb and can fit into US XS or small tops Credit: Kennedy Newsand Media Jasmine said: “When Matthew and I first got together, I was around 21st and then I was 25st when we got married. “He’s loved me ever since I was big, this has never been an issue for him, he is the best husband ever. “I can do more things now since the weight loss, we get to experience some firsts together. “We got to go to a rollercoaster. The last time I was on a rollercoaster [and able to fit] was at 16 years old. “My husband is able to pick me up [now], this is also insane. “I feel like the weight never stopped that [being tactile with each other], but I would say having sex is different now. “We still did it [sex before my weight loss], but it’s different, I have more energy now.” Jasmine admits she still struggles with her body image sometimes even though she has lost 21st as she still sees her previous figure in the mirror. Everything you need to know about fat jabs Weight loss jabs are all the rage as studies and patient stories reveal they help people shed flab at almost unbelievable rates, as well as appearing to reduce the risk of serious diseases. Wegovy – a modified version of type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – and Mounjaro are the leading weight loss injections used in the UK. Wegovy, real name semaglutide, has been used on the NHS for years while Mounjaro (tirzepatide) is a newer and more powerful addition to the market. Mounjaro accounts for most private prescriptions for weight loss. How do they work? The jabs work by suppressing your appetite, making you eat less so your body burns fat for energy instead and you lose weight. They do this my mimicking a hormone called GLP-1, which signals to the brain when the stomach is full, so the drugs are officially called GLP-1 receptor agonists. They slow down digestion and increase insulin production, lowering blood sugar, which is why they were first developed to treat type 2 diabetes in which patients’ sugar levels are too high. Can I get them? NHS prescriptions of Wegovy is controlled through specialist weight loss clinics, while Mounjaro is available from GPs but only for the highest risk patients. For Wegovy, a patient will typically have to have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, classifying them as medically obese, and also have a weight-related health condition such as high blood pressure. They will be expected to have tried diet and exercise already. Mounjaro is available from NHS GPs for weight loss but only to a tiny group of patients, with the rollout starting with those with a BMI higher than 40 and with four weight-related health conditions. Private prescribers offer the jabs, most commonly Mounjaro, to anyone who is obese (BMI of 30+) or overweight (BMI 25-30) with a weight-related health risk. Private pharmacies have been rapped for handing them out too easily and video calls or face-to-face appointments are now mandatory to check a patient is being truthful about their size and health. Are there any risks? Yes – side effects are common but most are relatively mild. Around half of people taking the drug experience gut issues, including sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea. Dr Sarah Jarvis, GP and clinical consultant at patient.info, said: “One of the more uncommon side effects is severe acute pancreatitis, which is extremely painful and happens to one in 500 people.” Other uncommon side effects include altered taste, kidney problems, allergic reactions, gallbladder problems and hypoglycemia. Evidence has so far been inconclusive about whether the injections are damaging to patients’ mental health. Despite this she says she is ‘proud’ of her weight loss even if she has been left with 40lbs of loose skin. Jasmine said: “Sometimes I feel like a different person and then sometimes I still see my 500lb self. “Then I have to sit back and remind myself about how far I’ve come, body dysmorphia is very real. “I do feel amazing where I’m at, I’m blessed that I was able to get to where I’m at now. “I know I have a lot of loose skin on my arms, inner thighs and stomach area from where I carried the most weight, but I know I’m going to be smaller than I am now [when I have the loose skin removed]. “When they say 30 is your second life, they really mean that. I changed my whole life around and feel like a different person.” Comment now