- Ailish struggled with severe, unexplained weight gain from childhood despite healthy eating and regular exercise.
- Doctors repeatedly dismissed her concerns until a new GP ordered tests and diagnosed Hashimoto’s disease.
- Facing serious health risks, Ailish underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost more than 130 kilos.
- Now thriving, she shares her journey online to break stigma and encourage others to advocate for their health.
Here Ailish Silvester, 27, Sydney, NSW tells her own story in her own words.
Straining against the zipper on my dress, I sighed.
Another one to ditch, I decided, twisting this way and that in the mirror. Red-faced and flustered, I wiggled out of the too-small dress and tossed it aside.
It was March 2018 and, after a stint living in London, I was back home in Queensland with my parents, Tracey, then 52, and Graeme, 59.
Going through my old clothes, I was horrified to find nothing fitted.
I’d struggled with my weight my whole life despite eating healthy meals and small portions. Now, aged 20, I tipped the scales at 215 kilos.
‘I don’t know what to do,’ I cried to Mum.
‘We’re going to find out what’s going on with your health,’ she promised.
I’d always been aware of my size. When I was 12, the girls at school slipped into size six and eight uniforms while mine were 12 or 14.
Why don’t I look like them? I wondered.
Mum, a nurse, cooked steak and vegies or fish with salad for dinner. But no matter how carefully I ate, my weight ballooned.
I was active too and loved rowing, but as my weight crept up it became uncomfortable and, having to quit, I was devastated.
When I was 13, Mum took me to the doctor about my weight.
‘Eat less, exercise more,’ he said matter-of-factly.
‘She already does,’ Mum insisted.
I was distraught by how much weight I’d piled on
READ MORE: Weight loss wonder: ‘I dropped 75 kilos!’
For the next three years we went from clinic to clinic searching for answers. Each time, my diet and exercise were blamed.
Maybe it is me. Maybe I’m the problem, I started to think.
I shrank my portions again, but nothing changed. My confidence plummeted. I struggled with depression and fatigue.
‘We’ll figure this out together,’ Mum would say.
Finishing school in 2016 aged 18, I was determined not to let it hold me back, and moved to London.
I worked, made friends, went out – but the weight kept climbing.
Now back at home, I was distraught by how much weight I’d piled on. I booked with a new GP, desperate for answers.
‘Let’s order some tests and figure this out,’ she said, referring me to an endocrinologist.
After countless blood tests, they had an answer.
‘You have Hashimoto’s disease,’ the specialist said, explaining it’s an autoimmune disorder where the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, which controls the speed of your metabolism, among others things.
‘It can cause depression, weight gain and fatigue. If you keep going this way, you will die.’
Leaving the clinic, I burst into tears. It wasn’t all inside my head.
I started hormone replacement medication and was referred to a bariatric surgeon in Brisbane. Weight-loss surgery wasn’t something I’d considered but I knew I needed to lose weight fast.
Meeting the surgeon, he spoke plainly – without intervention, my health would continue to decline.
The surgery was $10,000 and I didn’t have that kind of money. But if I didn’t have the op, it might cost me my life.
I was thankful when the surgeon offered me a discount. ‘You’re young with a whole life ahead. Let me help you,’ he said.
In October 2018 I had gastric bypass surgery, where the surgeon created a smaller stomach pouch and connected it to my small intestine.
Mum and Dad were amazing during my recovery, helping wash me, feed me and shuffle around the house as I healed.
I lost 60 kilos in three months, without exercise.
‘If you keep going this way, you will die.’
READ MORE: Mum’s weight transformation: I lost 95 kilos eating pizza
Over the moon, I got a new haircut and a new wardrobe. But the rapid loss left me with a lot of loose skin, and my weight plateaued. Then, during the 2020 Covid lockdowns, Dad and I started walking around the block together.
‘I feel amazing,’ I’d say.
‘You are amazing,’ Dad would reply.
When restrictions lifted, I joined a gym and started fitness classes.
My muscles grew, the weight continued to fall off and I felt incredible. But my saggy skin still held me back.
In May 2022, I had an op where 6.5kg of excess skin was removed from my arms and torso. Since then, I’ve had three more surgeries to remove additional skin.
In 2023, I started CrossFit and instantly fell in love with it. At my leanest I was 85 kilos – a world away from the girl who couldn’t zip up her dress.
I’d lost more than 130 kilos.
That year, I began sharing my journey on my TikTok @ailishsilvester to break down the stigma around weight-loss surgery. Today I have over 52,000 followers.
You’re an inspiration, one person wrote.
Thanks for being so real, another said.
Now I hit the gym six days a week and run 5km regularly. I have five to six small meals a day – a protein shake for brekkie, apples for snacks, rice cakes with tomato, feta and avo for lunch, and pesto pasta for dinner.
I weigh around 95 kilos, but life is much more than a number on scales. I’ve learned so much about myself.
When I look back at photos from my heaviest, it breaks my heart to see that young girl who blamed herself for something she couldn’t control.
Today, I’m still taking medication for Hashimoto’s and will do for the rest of my life.
I want others to know it’s okay to speak up and push for answers.
No-one knows your body like you do. Advocating for yourself could save your life.
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