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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nLOOKING at Krystina Jamieson, she\u2019s a powerhouse of muscles, brimming with confidence in her tiny bikini on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the 40-year-old didn\u2019t always look this way \u2013 she was once 24st, unable to get IVF<\/a> and addicted to plastic surgery<\/a> to try and look like a cartoon.<\/p>\n The bodybuilder reckons she has spent \u00a380,000 on surgeries and tweakments, including five boob jobs<\/a> (and heart-shaped nipples), a \u2018designer vagina\u2019, cheek and lip filler.<\/p>\n However, she got a gastric bypass for free on the NHS<\/a>, and is since sporting an entirely new look<\/span>.<\/p>\n Krystina remembers the first time she ever felt the desire to look like a cartoon character, while on her first girls\u2019 holiday in Ibiza.<\/p>\n Then 17-years-old, she had a caricaturist street artist draw her.\u00a0<\/p>\n BALLERINA BOOBS <\/p>\n How biggest stars are ditching ‘cartoon curves’ for barely-there busts<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a> PURE AGONY<\/p>\n My 32HH boobs are so big they’ve destroyed my spine – doc’s response floored me<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWe\u2019d thought it would be a laugh to get our portraits done,\u201d remembers Krystina.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen his masterpiece was revealed, my jaw dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n Staring at the exaggerated figure with beach-ball breasts and pillowy lips, she was mesmerised.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wished I looked like that in real life<\/span>. My pals tittered, thinking I was joking. But I was deadly serious.\u201d<\/p>\n Her peers chased the waif-like frames of supermodels, but Krystina\u2019s heart belonged to the hourglass silhouettes of Dolly Parton<\/a> and Marilyn Monroe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Back home in Barnsley<\/a>, she \u201ccouldn\u2019t stop thinking\u201d about her \u201cperfect\u201d cartoon double.<\/p>\n The moment she turned eighteen, she dropped \u00a35,000 on her first breast augmentation.\u00a0<\/p>\n She says: \u201cAfter losing weight during my teens, my once-pert boobs had drooped. It left me feeling self-conscious.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking in the mirror at her new 34FF chest, up from a 32DD, she was taken aback at how \u201cperfect\u201d they were.<\/p>\n \u201cMy new look left me feeling on top of the world, and by the time\u2028I was discharged the following day, I was already planning my next<\/span> procedure,\u201d Krystina says.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the next few years, I had five more boob jobs, taking me up to a massive 36K.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen, I started getting filler and Botox<\/a>. With every tweak, I looked more like my caricature.<\/p>\n \u201cTo me, plastic really was fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n However, as her chest grew, so did her waistline, which only got worse from 2014, when she met her boyfriend Andy, 55, a gym owner, personal trainer and former ex-bodybuilder.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFood had always been a comfort and every time my jeans felt tighter, I booked another procedure to boost my confidence,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I met my boyfriend, Andy, my weight skyrocketed. We fell into a happy routine of date nights at fancy restaurants<\/span> and greasy takeaways.<\/p>\n \u201cThe love chub piled on and before I knew it, I weighed 24 stone and wore a size 22.<\/p>\n \u201cStill, I glammed myself up with perfect hair<\/a>, make-up<\/a> and nails<\/a>. As long as I look good, my weight doesn\u2019t matter, I told myself.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore long, we decided to start a family. After a few years with no joy, we went to see about IVF.\u201d<\/p>\n The appointment, in 2017, was a huge wake-up call for Krystina after a doctor bluntly told her she needed to lose weight and come back in two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI cried in disbelief. I knew I\u2019d never be able to stick to a diet for that long.\u201d<\/p>\n The reality of her health<\/a> finally hit home during a flight to Cuba when she was forced to ask for a seat-belt extender.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt made me re-evaluate everything. \u2018I need to do something about this,\u2019 I said to Andy, worrying about my health.<\/p>\n \u201cEven walking short distances made me breathless. At the gym, I couldn\u2019t last more than 30 seconds on the crosstrainer before collapsing into a sweaty mess.\u201d<\/p>\n Krystina saw her GP<\/a> who agreed that she was an ideal candidate for weight-loss surgery, and referred her.<\/p>\n Though it felt like a quick fix, she lost 14 stone within a year of the operation, in 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe procedure went well and afterwards, I lived on a diet of jellies and yoghurt,\u201d Krystina says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I could eat normal food again, I was on holiday, and ordered a massive pizza to celebrate. But after three bites, I was full.\u201d<\/p>\n For many people who are overweight or obese, they may feel they have exhausted options for weight loss and want to try something more drastic.<\/p>\n Weight loss surgery may be available to them on the NHS if they have a BMI over 40 and have a condition that may be improved with weight loss, such as diabetes.<\/p>\n But the availability of these procedures largely depends on where you live in the UK. People can also pay privately.<\/p>\n Weight loss surgery is a common and safe procedure. However, as with any operation, there are risks, such as a blood clot, a band slipping out of place, a stomach infection, gallstones and excessive skin from weight loss that in most cases, won\u2019t be removed on the NHS.<\/p>\n In all of the following options, the space in the stomach is reduced, therefore a person feels fuller after eating less food. They lose weight as a result.<\/p>\n However, it is necessary for them to also learn good eating habits and have a healthy balanced diet, too.<\/p>\n Gastric bypass<\/strong><\/p>\n The stomach is divided into two using a staple. The smaller part is connected to the intestines, effectively cutting how much space there is in the stomach by half.<\/p>\n The operation takes around two hours.<\/p>\n Gastric band<\/strong><\/p>\n A band is tied around the top of the stomach and inflated so that it tightens.\u00a0<\/p>\n The operation takes three to four hours.<\/p>\n Gastric balloon<\/strong><\/p>\n Patients swallow an empty balloon which is attached to a tube.\u00a0<\/p>\n The balloon is filled with water via the tube, taking around 20 minutes, so that it fills around two-thirds of the stomach space.<\/p>\n Sleeve gastrectomy<\/strong><\/p>\n Around 80 per cent of the stomach is removed in surgery to make it much smaller and a sleeve shape.<\/p>\n The operation takes between one and three hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n She went to the gym and admits she became \u201caddicted to exercise\u201d.<\/p>\n She swapped her career as a hair and beauty salon owner for coaching other women who wanted to transform their bodies.<\/p>\n However, her own rapid weight loss left her 36K breasts looking like a \u201csaggy, lumpy mess.\u201d Determined to fix them properly, she went on the US TV show Botched in 2019.<\/p>\n She had to travel to Los Angeles<\/a> but the boob job, which cost $100,000 (\u00a373,000), was paid for by the TV company.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a huge amount of money<\/span>, but I wanted the best,\u201d says Krystina.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe gym Andy and I owned was doing well, so I decided to go for it.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting dressed was a struggle as I would have to physically tuck my \u2028boobs and loose skin into my bra cups.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw the results, I cried with relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShortly after returning home, we finally got started with IVF.\u201d<\/p>\n Krystina successfully fell pregnant through IVF and welcomed her son, Delaney, in June 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Delaney was four, I underwent more surgery, undergoing a tummy tuck and arm lift,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n She spent \u00a37,000 on her stomach, \u00a38,000 on her arms and \u00a39,000 on her legs.<\/p>\n But determined not to undo her hard work, Krystina transitioned from a surgery patient to a dedicated athlete, having slowly become aware of the bodybuilding<\/a> world.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of my clients began competing in bikini shows and I\u2019d prep them for the stage and guide their nutrition,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut it was one area I had no first-hand experience of.\u201d<\/p>\n She signed up for her first bikini competition, on Mother\u2019s Day 2025.<\/p>\n \u201cIt involved 16 weeks of training, and when I stepped out on to the stage, I felt incredible and it spurred me on to train harder,\u201d says Krystina.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the end of the year, I was competing in athletic bodybuilding and even qualified for two British finals!<\/p>\n \u201cI also got an invite to compete in Miss Universe<\/a> in Italy<\/a> this year, I go in July where I am hoping to qualify to compete in Miss World.\u201d<\/p>\n Krystina has competed in 19 shows since and, while she ironically looks more like her original caricature than ever, the motivation has shifted from vanity to mental fortitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n She says: \u201cFor years, I obsessed over how I looked, but bodybuilding isn\u2019t just about muscles, it\u2019s about discipline and focus.<\/p>\n \u201cThese days I\u2019m mentally tougher than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cAndy has supported me every step of the way, from 36K boobs through weight-loss surgery, to stepping on stage covered in fake tan and glitter.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so proud of how far I\u2019ve come!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the Health<\/span> newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\nDifferent types of weight loss surgery<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n