I was a 37st teen & told I’d be dead by 30 if I didn’t lose weight, but I didn’t care, then a tragedy changed everything

SITTING in her doctor’s office, Laura Budreviciene couldn’t believe what she was hearing – at 37st she knew she was overweight but hadn’t realised the seriousness of the situation. “If you don’t lose some weight, you won’t make it to 30,” the doctor told her gravely. A 37st mum doctors warned Laura she’d be ‘dead by 30’ if she didn’t lose weight Credit: Kennedy News Laura didn’t take her doctor’s warning seriously at first Credit: Kennedy News All through her childhood, Laura, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, was the biggest of her friends. She’d tried trying various diets from the age of 11 in a bid to shift the pounds – but nothing had worked. Despite being booted off rollercoasters, the size 38 mum says her weight ‘never really bothered her’. Sign up for the Fabulous newsletter Thank you! At her biggest, 37st 7lbs Laura was scoffing as many as 8,000 calories a day, gorging on lunchtime McDonald’s and evening takeaways washed down by two litres of full-fat coca-cola. But even when doctors warned 5ft 8in Laura that her obesity could kill her without a drastic lifestyle change, she didn’t take her weight loss seriously until suffering a miscarriage at 22. Laura, who owns a beauty and aesthetics business, was told her size would likely hinder Laura’s dream of starting a family, prompting her to book a gastric bypass in October 2020. After the op, the 29-year-old lost a whopping 20st within the first year before her weight plateaued after having two daughters. The mum-of-two then began a course of weight-loss injections, losing more weight – a total of 24st overall since 2020. Laura, who’s now a slinky size 14 and weighs 13st, admits she’d never have been able to conceive her children without slimming down, crediting her daughters as her ‘best non-scale victory’. Most read in Fabulous The mum would binge on takeaways and junk food as she piled on the pounds Credit: Kennedy News Now Laura is due to have her excess skin removed in Turkey Credit: Kennedy News Ahead of skin removal surgery in Turkey this month, Laura is urging others looking to start their weight-loss journey to block out the outside noise and ‘just do it’. Laura says: “I’ve always been the biggest girl of the group. “I remember getting weighed at school at 11 and I was 11 stone, I was the biggest in my year. “Pretty much from the age of 11 upwards, I’ve always been on some sort of diet. “I was the youngest at Slimming World and I had to get a seatbelt extender for my car. “I remember going to Alton Towers when I was 19 and they couldn’t close the ride on me. I was mortified and told to get off. “I had to eat laying down because I’d feel so uncomfortable sitting up – so I’d just lie down in bed and eat. “It wasn’t actually a big insecurity, I was a confident big person, it never bothered me. Laura says her weight ‘never really bothered her’ Credit: Kennedy News Laura's food diary PRE-WEIGHT LOSS FOOD DIARY – average calories 6,000-8,000 Breakfast – N/A Lunch – McDonald’s Big Mac burger and a McChicken Sandwich with two portions of fries and a full fat coke Dinner – Three jacket potatoes with curry and naan bread Second dinner – A Chinese/Indian or kebab takeaway Snacks – Crisps, sweets, chocolate Drinks – 2L of full fat coca cola POST-WEIGHT LOSS FOOD DIARY – average calories 1,600 Breakfast – Eggs, spinach, onion and mushroom Lunch – Sushi or chicken bites Dinner – Chicken, rice and broccoli or Turkey meatballs or fajitas “I didn’t really have any medical issues, I just needed to stop eating.” After undergoing a gastric bypass, Laura had more than 80% of her stomach removed – dropping a stone in the first week and 10 stone within the first six months. Following surgery, Laura welcomed her two daughters before deciding to slim down even further by trying weight-loss injections, and now weighs in at 13st. Laura, who plans on travelling to Turkey this month for skin removal surgery, is now urging others to ‘just start’ their own weight-loss journeys. Laura says she didn’t realise how big she got until she lost the weight Credit: Kennedy News She is determined to be healthy for her kids Credit: Kennedy News Laura says: “It’s only now when I look back at videos I can see how big I am. “No one wakes up 37st, it was a gradual process. “My best non-scale victory is obviously my children. I wouldn’t have been able to have my children if I hadn’t lost the weight. “I want to be my healthiest for my children. “Now I can cross my legs and sit in a chair with sides on – which seems like an achievement. “My number one advice to other people would be ‘just start’. I spent so long waiting for ‘Monday’ but if you have motivation, just do it. “It’s a bad day, not a bad life. Don’t listen to outside noise, you know your body and you know your struggle. “If you didn’t gain it in a day, you won’t lose it in a day, it takes time.” Comment now