A woman who gained 45kg after the devastating loss of her unborn child has revealed her incredible transformation.
Amanda Bucci has struggled with her weight since she was a child, however, after losing 36kg in her early 20s, she thought that chapter was behind her.
But after getting married aged 24, and having a miscarriage midway through her pregnancy shortly after, Amanda found herself using food to soothe her grief.
In just six months Amanda, gained 30kg.
“I turned to food as an emotional crutch – and my weight spiralled out of control,” she explained.
“I packed on the weight, leaving me even more depressed and deeply self-conscious.”
However, despite her weight and mental health struggles, Amanda fell pregnant and welcomed a healthy baby girl with her husband.
Overcome with joy, the couple decided to try for another, but were once again engulfed in tragedy.
The baby was diagnosed with beta thalassemia, a rare blood disorder, while in the womb and the couple had to make the difficult choice to terminate.
Once again Amanda found herself turning to food to help her cope with her loss.
By the time she gave birth to their second child in 2018, she said the effects of comfort eating had taken its toll, and she decided that “enough was enough”.
“After giving birth to my daughter, I experienced a powerful motivation to make positive changes in my life,” she said.
Initially Amanda said her weight loss journey started with “baby steps”, such as walking and eating healthier.
“One of the most important changes I made was to focus on losing weight and improving my health, not only for myself but also for the benefit of my family,” she said.
As a result, the mother was able to steadily increase her workouts and began to “look forward to it every day”.
Amanda revealing the improvement in her health also helped with her parenting skills.
“As I shed excess pounds and gained confidence in my physical abilities, I found that I could better keep up with my kids and be the best parent I could be,” she said.
“This new-found determination allowed me to become a more engaged and active parent, able to fully participate in the joys and challenges of being a mum.”
Thesedays Amanda has now progressed to 65 minutes of cardio seven times a week and five days a week of heavy weight training, combined with a low-carb diet and has lost a total of 45kg.
She’s also undergone surgery to remove excess skin on her lower stomach.
“I knew abdominoplasty was a major surgery that involved risks and potential complications but thought if I had the right plastic surgeon, the operations would be successful,” she said.
“Unfortunately, in my case, there were a lot of complications due to the anaesthesia, and I spent 10 days in hospital.
“It was a tough recovery, but now that I’m physically healthy again, I’m glad I did something for myself. I feel confident in the skin I’m in. I feel 100 per cent like myself.”