- Codie McGovern, 29, struggled with her weight all her life
- When she couldn’t reach her shoes to tie them, she knew something had to change
- After losing a huge amount of weight, she was left with around 12 kilos of excess skin
Here Codie McGovern tells us her own story in her own words.
Stepping on the scales, I felt my stomach churn as the numbers rose and rose – until 165kg lit up the screen.
In disbelief I hopped on and off three more times. But each time, the same number stared back at me.
What’ve I done? I thought.
I’d struggled with my weight all my life, but now something had to change.
It was March 2019 and, with the encouragement of my friend Emily, I was joining a gym near my home in Coomera, Qld.
The year before I’d left a long-term relationship where, over the years, I’d piled on the kilos.
We’d met when I was 18 and weighed 90 kilos. I’d go to the gym a couple times a week, but as I juggled a job at Telstra and studying international business management at uni, I soon didn’t have time.
On the way to work I’d swing by McDonald’s and scoff a McMuffin meal in the car for brekkie.
To stay awake at uni I’d crave a sugar hit and have a milky coffee, and dinner would be takeaway burgers and hot chips or a juicy burrito with cheese and sour cream.
I was exhausted constantly and my trips to the gym dwindled – then, stopped all together.
READ MORE: Aussie weight loss: ‘I was too big to drive so I lost 115 kilo’
After I graduated in 2018, aged 22, my relationship ended. I knew I needed to rebuild my relationship with food – and myself.
Looking in the mirror, I didn’t recognise the person I’d become. I was wearing size XXL clothes, and I’d even stopped wearing shoes with laces after I bent over one day and found I couldn’t reach to tie them.
I made small changes with my meals, swapping my drive-thru brekkies for homemade egg wraps.
I started going for walks around the block, walking a little further each time.
So in March 2019 when my co-worker Emily asked if I wanted to come along to the gym with her, I figured I had nothing to lose. At first, I stuck to the women’s only section, mostly walking on the treadmill.
Slowly the kilos started dropping off.
‘I’d even stopped wearing shoes with laces after I bent over one day and found I couldn’t reach to tie them.’
Emily showed me how to use other equipment and I started using the leg press and cycling on the bike too.
‘You’re getting so strong,’ she’d encourage me when I tried a new exercise.
I loved seeing my body transform and started hitting the gym at 5am most days before work.
I shared my journey on social media, holding myself accountable with a photo at the gym almost every day.
By the beginning of 2021, I’d lost 35 kilos. I started fitness classes, finding an incredible community there. And I loved buying fun sneakers now I could tie my shoes again!
In June that year, I felt more confident, and matched with Zach, then 27, on an online dating app.
‘I loved seeing my body transform and started hitting the gym at 5am most days before work.’
Instantly taken by his good looks and sweet personality, I was open from the start about my weight-loss journey,
He was immediately supportive. ‘You’re amazing,’ he’d encourage.
We started dating and he’d join me at the gym too.
Then I started working from home and I lost my routine. Sitting at a desk all day, my weight plateaued.
I was proud of how far I’d come but, at 130 kilos, I knew I needed to make a big change and take control.
So that November I saw my doctor and got a referral for gastric sleeve surgery.
In December 2021, in a two-hour procedure, the surgeon removed part of my stomach and made a sleeve out of the rest.
When I woke from the op, Zach and my caring best friend Courtney, 30, were by my side.
At first, I could only stomach broth, but as the weeks passed, I moved onto eggs, then solids again.
As the weight fell away, I threw myself into exercises I’d never been able to try before – bootcamp classes, lifting heavy weights and running. I even competed in a triathlon event.
READ MORE: Weight loss win: I was too overweight to save Mum’s life – now I’m her hero
Now working out six days a week, I’m 80 kilos.
I’m studying for my Cert 3 and 4 in fitness and nutrition, and share my journey with meal ideas and workout tips on Instagram and TikTok @theweightofbecoming.
I still get to enjoy the foods I love, just prepared differently.
Brekkie is now a homemade low-carb egg and bacon muffin, lunch is marinated chicken and salad, and dinner is homemade butter chicken, or pizza on a low-carb base.
Through it all Zach, now 31, has been my biggest support, so when he proposed on a trip to the Gold Coast in February 2025, of course I said yes!
But while the weight has vanished, I’m left with around 12 kilos of loose skin.
Without it I’d be down to just 68 kilos.
I want to show off my new body that I’ve worked hard for.
But in May 2025 I investigated skin removal surgery and was shocked to learned that, even with gold cover private health insurance and it being deemed medically necessary, I’d have to fork out $100,000 for the multiple procedures.
Sitting in the clinic, my mouth fell open in shock.
I’ve researched travelling overseas for the surgery, but the costs are still high, around $65,000.
For now, wedding plans are on hold. I want to walk down the aisle feeling like my best self, so we’ll plan the wedding post-surgery.
I know it’ll all feel worth it when I’m sunning myself in a bikini on honeymoon.
Until then, I’ll keep empowering myself, and others, to become the best versions of ourselves.
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