Just days before revealing on social media that she underwent emergency surgery after being diagnosed with cancer in her uterus forcing her to undergo a hysterectomy, Gogglebox Australia star Anastasia Katselas told Woman’s Day that like a lot of women she “forgot” to look after herself.
“It was a big scare and thank god they caught it early and I’m fine,” she says of the ordeal, which saw her hospitalised for two days. “I’m recovering. They said they caught it early. But I’m still waiting for the after surgery tests. The doctor said that it didn’t spread, so hopefully I’ll be OK.”
There was no hint of the turmoil just ahead a week earlier, as the reality star got a real kick out of tottering around her photoshoot for Woman’s Day in high heels at her Melbourne home.
“When I was at my heaviest, I couldn’t wear heels, because my knee was sore and I couldn’t balance. I thought I would fall over. But now, not a problem! My knee doesn’t hurt anymore, nothing hurts, I’m as happy as Larry,” the reality star tells Woman’s Day.
The mum-of-two has dropped 35kg. “I was 115 kilos and now I’m 80 kilos. I want to lose another 10,” says the Gogglebox fave, who is back on our screens this week for season 22.
“The biggest benefit is that I’m healthy, I don’t feel as lethargic. I don’t have aches or pains any more. I actually feel like a woman again!”
LOOKING AFTER HERSELF
Anastasia says she couldn’t dress the way she wanted to before either.
“Now I wear dresses when I go out and I look good in them. I can sit in a chair and I can cross my legs! For skinny people it’s nothing, but for someone who’s been overweight for most of their life, it’s a big deal. Up until I had my children I could keep the weight off. Then I went through a divorce and had to work like a dog to keep the house and all the rest of it, so you focus on looking after the kids and try to make ends meet and you forget to look after yourself. And that’s what I did.”
And her new regimen meant taking more care with what she eats too.
“My food intake – breakfast, lunch and dinner, was never unhealthy. I always ate good food. It was the in-between. Watching TV and having a bag of chips and a Diet Coke. I haven’t had soft drink since February,” says the star, who still has the odd chocolate treat but says “there won’t be any more Baileys [on the Gogglebox couch], it will just be healthier snacks – like fruit, no rubbish. I used to order those fluffy pancakes to be delivered to work for team meetings! There’s no more of that. I have small portions so I can eat more frequently across the day so I don’t get hungry.”
She’s also upped the exercise. “I just go walking. And I actually want to go and buy an electric bike. I’ve been hinting, so hopefully I get one for Christmas,” she laughs.
Anastasia says the sacrifice and discipline have been worth it.
“My weight started to affect my health. It started to affect my way of life. You’re prone to heart attacks. I was out of breath all the time, but my knee was probably the biggest thing – I found it really hard to walk. My partner Gab said to me before I used to waddle like a penguin and now I walk like a normal person,” she says.
“I feel a lot happier. I’ve got more energy to do things. It’s made it easier for me to travel. One of the biggest things that I love, when I’m on a plane, I don’t have to ask for an extension strap anymore. You know how embarrassing that is?!” she says. “When I went to Fiji in April, not only did I not have to ask for an extension strap, but I had to pull my seatbelt to the smallest thing. I loved it! My kids are happy that they see me happier and healthier. I’ve shown them that I can do something for myself and I should have done it a long time ago.”
WEDDING READY
Anastasia also loves that she can now pull out all the clothes she’d stashed.
“I used to buy clothes I liked and say ‘One day I’m going to fit into that.’”
“They didn’t fit me when I first bought them,” she says of the Country Road dresses she wore for our shoot. “Aren’t they gorgeous.?!”
It has opened up more wedding gown options too for the bride-to-be, who has been engaged to her fiance Gabriel since 2021.
“Not that I was ever going to wear a traditional wedding dress – I’ve been there, done that already. Gab said he’s going to buy me something Versace to wear. I love Versace.”
The couple, who met in 2019, are yet to set a wedding date. “There’s no hurry,” says Anastasia. “Knowing Gab, he’ll do something to surprise me and I’ll just turn up!”
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