Mother-daughter duo Pina and Concetta Pluchinotta’s Family Food Fight journey has been a bumpy ride.
While filming the stressful challenges, the pair marked the 13th anniversary of Pina’s late husband’s passing.
But beyond that devastating heartache, Concetta has been on an emotional weight-loss journey that has restored her confidence, as well as her relationship with her three teenage sons.
“Prior to going on the show I weighed 120kg. Around 2009, I went in and had a lap-band operation,” the home cook tells Woman’s Day, before revealing she now weighs 73kg.
Concetta and her mum Pina are battling it out on Family Food Fight. (Image: Channel Nine)
While Concetta had her sights set on a healthier future, the surgery didn’t work.
“The lap-band surgery made me constantly sick, it was horrible. I’d never ever recommend it to anybody,” says Concetta. “When I ate, I basically had to vomit, because they made the band too tight around my stomach, and then loosening it really defeated the purpose”.
READ MORE: Family Food Fight: The truth behind Pina’s tears on the show.
Three years later, Concetta underwent gastric bypass surgery, which she says changed her entire outlook on life. The 46-year-old insists she didn’t take the easy way out. Having tried every weight-loss trick, she knew that surgery, while extreme, could be the only solution to escaping a lifestyle that wasn’t going to be healthy for her in the long run.
“It’s hard work! The surgery is serious and invasive, and after my operation I had an obstruction of my bowels,” says Concetta.
WATCH: Which family has the best secret recipe? Post continues…
She explains that while her weight never affected her relationship with her husband, she did miss opportunities with her children.
“My kids knew I was unhappy,” says Concetta. “Every time they would say to me, ‘Mum, come for a walk, come for a run, come to the pool with us,’ I would never go”.
Years on and she’s battling it out on a show she says is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her and her mother, and Concetta’s happier than ever.
“[The surgery] changed my life,” she says. “I’m obviously healthier and feeling healthier. I feel more comfortable with myself, and rather than hiding from people I feel a lot more confident”.
Concetta tried lap-band surgery but it made her sick.
She still enjoys her favourite foods, including pizza and pasta.
Concetta was also hospitalised for a bowel obstruction.
