A woman who had weight loss surgery after ballooning to 22st says people should be aware that going under the knife is not a cure-all - after she developed another eating problem post-op.<br /><br />Tisjana Woodward, 27, decided to have a £3,500 gastric sleeve procedure in Turkey after her portion sizes got out of control.<br /><br />The surgery was a success and, in the immediate aftermath, she lost 8st.<br /><br />But Tisjana, from Stratford, east London, then found her previous food problem had been replaced by another: binge eating.<br /><br />Her weight now fluctuates and she finds herself skipping dinners and main meals for small snacks like crisps and cheese.<br /><br />Tisjana, who rents out properties, has described her problem as a "transfer addiction" - and says people need to be aware surgery is not a remedy for all ills.<br /><br />She said: "Surgery is good, but it doesn't cure everything.<br /><br />"Transfer addictions are a massive thing. People don't know about that and binging habits.<br /><br />"Before you have gastric sleeve you can eat and eat and eat. But when you've got one you can't eat or you'll be sick.<br /><br />"So people turn to other addictions to try and replace it - like spending habits, smoking, or other food habits like snack binging."<br /><br />Tisjana has polycystic ovaries, which makes it hard for her to lose weight.<br /><br />She says her situation was badly affecting her mental health, so she choose to have surgery in April 2022, heading out to Turkey. <br /><br />She had 85% of her stomach removed and went on to lose 8.8st (123.2lbs) through eating much smaller portions.<br /><br />Tisjana said: "Before, my eating habits and portion sizes got really bad.<br /><br />"I was pretty fed up with myself. I wasn't happy. I'd just had enough."<br /><br />After surgery, Tisjana was given a six-week diet plan post op which she ignored, instead trying to overeat which made her ill.<br /><br />She said: "I tried to force myself to eat and I was violently ill. <br /><br />"I didn't see a change for six months, I was losing weight by the scale but visually I couldn't see anything. It took a long time to be able to see it."<br /><br />She eventually lost 8st - although that weight loss has since stopped too.<br /><br />It was then that she developed her binging habit, at the start of 2023 - and Tisjana says it's affected her happiness.<br /><br />She said: "It's a massive achievement losing all that weight but I'm just not happy with myself at the moment. <br /><br />"A gastric sleeve is not a quick fix - I'm happier than was before surgery but not 100% happy."<br /><br />In an attempt to stop her new habit, Tisjana now keeps a food journal and has shared her experience on TikTok where she realised she wasn't alone.<br /><br />Tisjana said: "I think the first thing you have to do is admit it to yourself. <br /><br />"How I go about it is keeping a food journal - I try and document what I eat. <br /><br />"You still have to diet like a normal person, you can't eat whatever you want.<br /><br />"There are things I don't do like going in certain aisles in supermarkets, I make it my mission to get my dinner but refrain from going down snack aisles.
