A WOMAN who lost 12 stone after having weight loss surgery has said it was no quick fix after piling the weight back on.

Nicki Carter, of Chiseldon, had an extreme type of weight-loss op – a duodenal switch procedure – after she tipped the scales at 25 stone and could no longer bend over the bath to wash her children.

The dramatic surgery saw the 37-year-old have 80 per cent of her stomach removed and just over 80 per cent of her intestine removed as well.

As a result the mum-of-three lost 12 stone and dropped from a size 28 to a size 10.

But, with a lack of dietary aftercare, Nicki struggled to keep the weight off and put back on nearly four stone.

“The weight dropped off,” she said.

“But the aftercare was purely medical – are you getting enough vitamins, are you taking the right tablets.

“The surgery I had done privately is one of the more extreme types. I am still yet to find another person in Wiltshire who has had it done.

“I got to the point some people thought it wasn’t healthy.

“Then I went back to my old eating habits, because I wasn’t understanding what my problem was.

“The surgery is not a quick fix and the key thing is it fixes your body but it doesn’t fix your head.”

Nicki, who is getting married next year, is determined to get back down to size 10 to fit into her wedding dress, which she has already bought in anticipation.

After speaking to a school friend who runs Slimming World, she joined the group and has lost two stone and four pounds in the past year.

Nicki said: “I know I lost 12 stone with the weight loss and this time I have only lost two stone, but what is different is I know that I will keep this weight off.

“This time I have got the support to make the right choices and I have made changes that affect all my family in terms of eating healthy and exercising.

“I have never shied away from the fact that I have had surgery, but it is a short-term fix.

“I tried every diet possible before having the surgery and it didn’t work.

“But now I know what my issues with food are and I am making long-term changes and I feel happy about myself.”

Nicki is not the only one in her family who has joined the group, Her 12-year-old son Tyler also attends the group as a free member.

Nicki said: “My son just turned 12 there and is autistic and carries a bit of weight. He knows it and he doesn’t particularly like it.

“He came to the meetings and he loves it.

“At his age it is all about education and it is not about saying he can’t have things but instead finding alternatives.”