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<\/p>\nA mother-of-two who was comfort eating for \u201calmost 24 hours\u201d a day, reaching her heaviest weight of 95kg (14st 13lbs), has lost nearly half her body weight and started a modelling career in her 40s.<\/p>\n
Lenne De Gerbolli, 47, who lives in London, had always been petite and athletic but said this all changed when she started comfort eating during her marriage, unknowingly consuming up to 4,000 calories daily.<\/p>\n
Lenne, a business owner professionally known as Lenne Matos, measures 148cm tall (4ft 10in) and said she reached 95kg (14st 13lbs) in her 30s and \u201ccouldn\u2019t walk properly\u201d or \u201cfit into proper clothes\u201d.<\/p>\n
With Lenne having a family history of heart conditions and \u201cdangerously\u201d high blood pressure, she was advised by doctors that she needed to lose weight \u2013 but after reaching 65kg (10st 3lbs) naturally, her weight plateaued.<\/p>\n
After further medical advice, she said bariatric weight loss surgery became \u201ca medical necessity\u201d, but since it was unavailable on the NHS because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Lenne travelled to Turkey for the procedure.<\/p>\n
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Lenne underwent further post-treatment care and procedures at Sol Clinic in London and her weight soon started decreasing, and she now weighs around 48kg (7st 7lbs) eating a balanced diet and keeping fit.<\/p>\n
She currently manages her weight by eating meals on \u201csmaller plates\u201d and exercising three times a week, and with her new modelling career, she wants to encourage other women that it is \u201cnever too late\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve gone back to who I am,\u201d Lenne told PA Real Life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been brave, and I always fight (for what I want), but I was losing that Lenne.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I\u2019ve realised I can go back to who I am, I can smile, I can have fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy main message is it\u2019s never too late, you can always start again.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Lenne grew up in Brazil and explained that she was always slim and athletic.<\/p>\n
She enjoyed exercising and, being \u201cvery petite\u201d, she said she was careful with her diet and weighed around 44kg (6st 13 lbs) at her lightest.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very active and, in Brazil, I used to run. I used to be very attractive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
However, Lenne moved to the UK and, after getting married, she found herself living a sedentary lifestyle.<\/p>\n
She said she used food as a coping mechanism for the emotional challenges she faced in her marriage and, since she struggles to sleep, she was eating for more hours in the day than normal.<\/p>\n
She would eat home-cooked meals of meat, rice, beans, bread, and the occasional sweet treat, so she said it was not necessarily \u201cunhealthy\u201d food.<\/p>\n
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However, she believes the \u201camount of food\u201d was the problem and, looking back, she was unknowingly consuming up to 4,000 calories every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used food to cover up other feelings and, because I was not exercising, I was just eating, eating, eating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have trouble sleeping, I sleep very little \u2013 usually three or four hours a night \u2013 and because it was becoming more difficult to sleep, I was eating almost all day.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo for almost 24 hours, I was eating, especially at night\u2026 but to be honest, it took me a long time to realise that this was the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lenne believes the \u201caccumulation\u201d of everything, along with having two children, meant she gradually gained weight until she reached her heaviest of 95kg (14st 13lbs) in her 30s.<\/p>\n
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She was still working as a \u201csuccessful businesswoman\u201d with a housekeeping company, but she said she \u201ccouldn\u2019t fit into anything\u201d, she could not walk far and she could not breathe properly going up the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople would say, \u2018She\u2019s intelligent and fat\u2019, or, \u2018She does have money, but she doesn\u2019t have the looks, she doesn\u2019t look after herself\u2019,\u201d Lenne explained.<\/p>\n
Lenne said she was then diagnosed with coronary heart disease \u2013 when the heart\u2019s blood supply is blocked by a build-up of fatty substances in the coronary arteries \u2013 and told she had \u201cdangerously\u201d high blood pressure.<\/p>\n
With a family history of heart failure and her father dying of a heart attack in his late 40s, Lenne\u2019s doctors were concerned for her health and advised her to lose weight.<\/p>\n
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She said she lost weight naturally, dropping to 65kg (10st 3lbs), but she plateaued at this figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI managed to come down to 65kg, but it was not enough,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk of a heart attack was very high, and I was taking two medications for blood pressure and statins for the fat in the arteries, but it was not controlling it.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Covid-19 lockdowns forcing her to stay \u201clocked at home\u201d, Lenne said she started putting weight back on.<\/p>\n
She therefore explored the option of bariatric weight loss surgery as it became \u201ca medical necessity rather than a personal choice\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, with NHS bariatric surgery unavailable and her symptoms worsening, she chose to undergo procedures in Turkey in April 2021 \u2013 a decision she describes as \u201clife-changing\u201d.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI travelled to Istanbul for surgery and it was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cCovid restrictions were still extremely severe, travel was uncertain, and the risks felt very real.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me to go to abroad, have the surgery, I needed to leave my kids alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid to leave them alone, but I could leave them alone forever if I die.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she underwent gastric sleeve surgery to remove part of the stomach, along with gallbladder removal, and the procedures cost around \u00a33,800, excluding flights.<\/p>\n
Due to Covid restrictions and risks, she said the hospital environment was \u201cintense and strictly controlled\u201d and she was \u201ctested for Covid three times a day, every single day\u201d during her stay.<\/p>\n
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Back in London, she also received pre-and-post weight loss skin preparation, skin-tightening treatments, vitamin therapy, and facial harmonisation procedures at Sol Clinic.<\/p>\n
With the procedures going well, and with therapy, Lenne said her weight started decreasing and she ended her marriage to focus on herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started to feel more confident after the divorce and I could see the weight going down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI slowly, slowly got my self-esteem back.\u201d<\/p>\n
As her body transformed, Lenne started feeling more confident and began posting images on social media, which led to a new \u201cpowerful\u201d career in modelling.<\/p>\n
She said she has taken part in photoshoots and catwalks, and she now acts as a role model to other women, particularly those her age or older, teaching them \u201chow to pose, how to act and how to dress\u201d.<\/p>\n
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She weighs around 48kg (7st 7lbs) currently, enjoys exercising three times a week and eats her meals on smaller plates to manage her food intake sustainably.<\/p>\n
A typical day involves eating boiled eggs and avocado on toast for breakfast, a sandwich or salad for lunch and some meat, vegetables, beans and rice for dinner.<\/p>\n
However, she said she does not restrict herself and enjoys having a beer or the occasional traditional Brazilian dessert brigadeiro on the weekends.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t follow strict diets or food rules. I eat everything, just in smaller portions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Today, Lenne said her health is stable and her approach is based on balance, not restriction, as her weight loss journey was \u201cnever about appearance\u201d but rather \u201csurvival\u201d.<\/p>\n
She would encourage others to seek appropriate medical advice for their own weight loss journeys, if needed, and she hopes her new modelling career inspires other women to pursue their dreams.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe see these unrealistic images in the media and we think we cannot do it, but that\u2019s not true,\u201d Lenne said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can start at any time of life, you just need to have the push.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was looking to help everyone else, but I couldn\u2019t help myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that was something I learned \u2013 if you do not love yourself, it\u2019s impossible to love anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n