A doting dad has splashed $37,000 to buy his daughter a new body for Christmas. Photos / Caters News Agency, Sydney Marie Photography
A doting dad splashed $37,000 on a tummy tuck and boob job for his daughter as a Christmas gift.
Haleigh York, 23, a student in Ireland, weighed 127kg following years of guzzling 500ml bottles of Mountain Dew with every meal - at times drinking five a day.
After many failed diet attempts, she underwent surgery to remove 80 per cent of her stomach last year.
But after shedding half her body weight, she was left with unsightly excess skin on her arms, legs and stomach.
As a reward her hard work, her loving father Thomas York spent $19,000 on a tummy tuck and $13,500 to other remove excess skin, as well as a boob job.
In total, more than 4kg of skin was removed and Haleigh went from having saggy 38GG boobs to perky 36DDs five months ago.
Now the young woman from Spring Lake in Michigan, USA, has started modelling and found people struggle to recognise her.
Haleigh said: "My surgeries were a gift to me from my father, I'm so grateful for what he did for me.
"I had lost all this weight but had stretchmarks and loose skin, the elasticity in my stomach never bounced back.
"I didn't feel like I could fit into clothes made for my size because everyone could see the ripple of excess skin through my clothing.
"One day I told my dad how unhappy I was with my excess skin and how I hated that I could pull it out in front of me.
"My dad has always wanted what was best for me and didn't want me being uncomfortable anymore after all I had achieved so he said he would pay for my skin removal surgery.
"Now I feel like a completely different person now, before I suffered from extreme social anxiety but now I'm outgoing and am not scared to voice my opinions.
"I have always dreamed of being thin since I was a child, but I never believed it would be a reality."
As a child Haleigh blames her poor diet and addiction to Mountain Dew for her weight gain that left her obese, with a BMI of over 40.
At her heaviest, she couldn't fit into plus-sized clothing and feared flying in case the belt buckle on her seat wouldn't fasten around her stomach.
Haleigh said: "I grew up in an environment with lots of soda, cakes and as a teenager I put on a lot of weight through stress in high school.
"I also had my poisons, my main was one Mountain Dew, at my peak I was drinking many bottles every day and as I got older alcohol played into it too.
"It got to the point where I would purposely avoid theme parks or airplanes as I was scared that buckle wouldn't clasp around me.
"I could no longer fit into plus size clothing and couldn't even wrap a towel fully around me.
"I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart palpitations, chronic back pain, pelvic floor pain and polycystic ovaries.
"It was all a real wake-up call and really embarrassing, which made me realise I needed to change my life."
After seeing a friend's mum have successful weight loss surgery, she had a vertical sleeve gastrectomy which left her with only 20 per cent of her previously enlarged stomach.
Within a year, after combining a healthy but restricted diet with exercising four times a week, she dropped to just 69kg.
Haleigh said: "I had surgery to remove 80 per cent of my stomach, the idea behind it is that the patient feels fuller faster.
"Then I would go to the gym four times a week, spending half an hour on the treadmill or dancing, then weight lifting too.
"It's given me so much energy, it's a lot less difficult walking around and when I climb the stairs I'm not huffing and puffing like before."
Despite her transformation, she felt uncomfortable with her excess skin until her father, who was impressed by her weight loss, paid for skin removal and breast surgery.
Now, the svelte student is overwhelmed by the male attention she's receiving and her drastic change has left friends unable to believe she's the same person.
Haleigh said: "I never envisaged myself like this, I've not weighed this little since I was in middle school and feel like the world has opened up to me in so many ways.
"Male interest in me has gone up, it's an odd feeling that I get asked out more and talked to at bars, even in retail stores.
"Even in my studies since returning to Dublin, staff here didn't know who I was because I have changed so drastically."
Breakfast: 500ml of Mountain Dew and a couple of pop tarts
Snacks: bag of crisps and 16oz Mountain Dew
Lunch: burger, fries with cheese and a Mountain Dew
Dinner: prime rib and sauce sandwich with a side of fried chicken and Mountain Dew
Dessert: cake and a glass of wine
Meal one: unsweetened tea and half a banana
Meal two: handful of almonds
Meal three: chicken breast or small piece of meat
Meal four: Greek yoghurt
Meal five: chicken breast or fish with cheese
Meal six: almonds or half a piece of bread with butter
- CATERS
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