A Trafford grandmother has revealed how she went from 16 stone to taking part in a nude photoshoot following her complete body transformation. Deby Allison-Thomas, 60, an interior designer, said her weight has been "very up and down" for the past two decades.
Having tried weight loss programmes like Weight Watchers and Slimming World and diets like Atkins and keto, Deby began to notice her weight "pile on" when she was in her 40s. This was around the time she met her now-husband Gary Thomas, 65, and their "sociable" lifestyle had an effect on her health.
From size 10 to size 20
Standing 5ft 4in tall, Deby went from 10st and wearing a size 10 to 16st and wearing a size 20 at her heaviest when she was in her mid-50s. Following an "upsetting" conversation with a doctor at 57, Deby was ready to "change (her) life".
Initially transforming her diet and losing two stone, Deby started on the GLP-1 weight loss injection Mounjaro in September 2025, losing a further 4st. After she reached 10 stone again, Deby noticed loose skin across her body.
Seeking to boost her confidence, Deby decided to have a £20,000 cosmetic surgery on June 24 this year, including an arm lift, thigh lift, tummy tuck, breast uplift and abdominal contouring with liposuction. The procedures were part of a tailored programme at the Reflect Clinic in Manchester called a Mounjaro Makeover.
'I was miserable about my weight'
Currently living in Hale, Deby said she was naturally slim through her teens until her 30s, weighing around 9st. Although she reached 14st when she had her three sons, she said she always lost the weight afterwards.
Looking back on when she met Gary at a nightclub, Deby said: "We were having the time of our lives. We loved going out, eating, drinking wine and socialising. Then, the next day I'd want a cheese and onion pasty and a cake!"
She added: "Looking back, I hid behind my big personality and fun-loving attitude, but deep inside I was really miserable about my weight and worried about how it was impacting my health."
Among the things Deby did to try to lose weight was living on up to four litres of Diet Coke a day and twice having a gastric balloon fitted. The non-surgical weight-loss device, which is placed inside the stomach to help you feel full faster, would make Deby lose weight but it would just "go back on again" once it was removed.
A big challenge for Deby was when she was left in "quite a lot of pain" in her gut when she was 57 due to her diverticular disease, an inflammatory colon condition. With the help of a holistic dietitian, she stopped drinking alcohol and implemented a plant-based diet, helping her to lose 2st.
£22k surgery to remove 'rolls of skin'
Three months after the six-hour surgery, Deby decided to do a "very liberating" nude photoshoot to celebrate her body after its transformation. She told PA Real Life: "To get nude at 60… I wouldn't have even done that at 20. I'm a 60-year-old grandma with three boys and now it feels like I can take on the world."
Deby said she noticed the weight "drop off" after beginning Mounjaro under clinical supervision of a local pharmacist in September 2025, and she has since lost a further 4st, making it a total of 6st. While she does experience side effects like nausea and tiredness, Deby said she can "probably manage a third" of what she would have eaten before. She normally eats berries, yoghurt and nuts in the late morning, a salad sandwich with spelt bread for lunch and bulk-cooked plant-based curry or Bolognese for dinner.
Deby got discounts for her cosmetic surgeries as a returning patient and by having multiple procedures at once. She previously had a facelift in 2019 with consultant plastic surgeon Gerard Lambe at Reflect Clinic. She spent £22,000 with a bespoke bill on what would have cost upwards of £40,000.
Deby added: "This was never about wanting to be perfect. I'd already done the really important bit – I'd changed my lifestyle (and) I'd lost the weight. But I wanted my body to reflect the way I felt inside… I'm 60, but I feel 20 years younger and after this transformation, I know I can achieve anything. This is just the beginning."
