September 8, 2026 • 5 mins
Phil shared his own story with us about losing almost 200kg over many years of hard work - and rejoins the show today after we were contacted by Anna, who is facing new hurdles after her own weight loss journey...
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Robin, Kip and Corey.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Oates in the morning.
Speaker 3 (00:03):
Free what? Your amazing stories. You can send us a message.
Go to the website, in fact, and tell us about
your amazing story. We've got cash for some of our favourites.
Speaker 4 (00:11):
Yeah, we do because we want to hear what's going
on in Brisbane. And yesterday.
Speaker 5 (00:16):
we.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Had an extraordinary story from Phil about his weight loss.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was always like a big guy.
Speaker 6 (00:22):
And when I say big, I'm talking like big, big,
like upwards of like 350, 370 kilos.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Keep in mind, I'm about six foot eight. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (00:32):
And maybe like 10 years.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Ago, I was like, oh, I can do this.
Speaker 6 (00:36):
And just literally dropped 200 kilos in about three years
and became a strong man for a couple of years
and started competing in it and Got pretty fit.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Well, we've got Phil back on the line with us.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
Hello, Phil.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hey, guys. How are you going? Good, mate.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Good.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Because we received a text message, which is pretty cool.
It says, I just wanted to say thank you for
sharing the story about the man who lost over 180 kilograms,
had skin removal surgery and struggled with his recovery. I'm
six weeks post-op from skin removal surgery after losing 50
kilos and I've been feeling pretty sorry for myself because
(01:14):
recovery has been harder than I expected. Hearing how happy
he sounded and how proud he was of himself really
helped me. It reminded me there's light at the end
of the tunnel and things are going to get better.
I really needed to hear this story.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So we thought we could do.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Better than that. Anna of Thornlands wrote us that text message. Hello, Anna.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Hello. So let's start with congratulations on your own journey,
50 kilos, incredible work. But yeah, inspirational hearing Phil yesterday?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Very inspirational. I think his story came at just the
right time for me.
Speaker 7 (01:50):
Are you really at a hard state of the recovery?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I think I'm past the worst of it now, but
those first five weeks, they were very rough.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
So, Phil, that's why we've got you on because you
can pump up Anna a little bit more and just
kind of give her the assurance that it is going
to get better.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Anna, it sucks, doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
It sucks.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
It sucks so much.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
It is the one thing that no one ever tells
you about.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Is it the pain, guys?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
For me, it's been the fatigue. I had the surgery
over in Thailand and then flew back to Australia two
weeks after.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Was that a financial issue? Anna, is it cheaper to
get it done there?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Definitely a lot cheaper. I think I saved nearly $ 30, 000.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Okay, so yes, Phil, keep going.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yes. Tell her.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
The one thing I will tell you is I remember
when I got mine done and I was... so shocked
at what it looked like. And I was like, this
is never going to be what I want it to be.
And honestly, it takes years for, you know, the redness
to go away for the swelling to go away for everything.
But the one thing I will tell you is I'm
(03:10):
about seven years on from having it done and it
is life changing.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah. You will never, ever, ever regret it.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
And right now you're in the thick of it and
it sucks and it hurts and it is feeling like
you may have done the wrong thing, but trust me,
you definitely have not.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Is that how it feels, Anna?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh, definitely, definitely. I mean, I went over to Thailand
with loose skin and I came back a puffer fish.
Speaker 5 (03:38):
Yeah, wow.
Speaker 7 (03:39):
For Anna, so say nine months in when she's still,
you know, wondering, I'm guessing it would still not look
overly great, you know, Is there some advice for her
just to stick to it?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
It will look great. It'll get better.
Speaker 7 (03:52):
Is there anything that you can tell her?
Speaker 5 (03:54):
Honestly, I know this is probably you've been told by
your surgeon to stay out of the sun.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
The sun makes it way worse.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Really? Why?
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Yeah, because it's like scar tissue and scar tissue burns
really easy.
Speaker 6 (04:05):
Yeah, it does.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
And when it burns, when it's healing, it pretty much
imprints on your body. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
So they say like for the first six months. And like,
you know, bio gel, also great.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
That's great advice.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
So what is the moment? At what time frame did
you go– Okay, we're good.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Worth it.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
That's a fantastic question. I think I said this analogy
to one of my friends once. It's like when you
learn to drive a car or when you learn to
do anything new for the first time and it's really
hard until it's not hard.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
And then you just forget about it. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
So I can't remember the moment I was like, oh, actually,
this is okay now. It just sort of happened. I went, oh,
my scars have faded. Oh, it doesn't hurt anymore. Oh,
it's not stretching anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
You wake up one day and you stop thinking about
it and then you're fine.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Weeks or months?
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Weeks.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Months. Months, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Maybe years.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I want a specific date and time.
Speaker 7 (05:01):
No, but that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Does that help, Anna?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Thank you so much, Phil. And thank you so much
for sharing your story. It offered me a lot of
comfort yesterday when I really needed it. So thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
No worries at all. And like you said, there is
a light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well done, you two.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Robin, Keith and Corey Oates.
Robin, Kip and Corey.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Oates in the morning.
Speaker 3 (00:03):
Free what? Your amazing stories. You can send us a message.
Go to the website, in fact, and tell us about
your amazing story. We've got cash for some of our favourites.
Speaker 4 (00:11):
Yeah, we do because we want to hear what's going
on in Brisbane. And yesterday.
Speaker 5 (00:16):
we.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Had an extraordinary story from Phil about his weight loss.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
I was always like a big guy.
Speaker 6 (00:22):
And when I say big, I'm talking like big, big,
like upwards of like 350, 370 kilos.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Keep in mind, I'm about six foot eight. Yeah.
Speaker 6 (00:32):
And maybe like 10 years.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Ago, I was like, oh, I can do this.
Speaker 6 (00:36):
And just literally dropped 200 kilos in about three years
and became a strong man for a couple of years
and started competing in it and Got pretty fit.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Well, we've got Phil back on the line with us.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
Hello, Phil.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Hey, guys. How are you going? Good, mate.
Speaker 5 (00:53):
Good.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Because we received a text message, which is pretty cool.
It says, I just wanted to say thank you for
sharing the story about the man who lost over 180 kilograms,
had skin removal surgery and struggled with his recovery. I'm
six weeks post-op from skin removal surgery after losing 50
kilos and I've been feeling pretty sorry for myself because
(01:14):
recovery has been harder than I expected. Hearing how happy
he sounded and how proud he was of himself really
helped me. It reminded me there's light at the end
of the tunnel and things are going to get better.
I really needed to hear this story.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So we thought we could do.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Better than that. Anna of Thornlands wrote us that text message. Hello, Anna.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Hello. So let's start with congratulations on your own journey,
50 kilos, incredible work. But yeah, inspirational hearing Phil yesterday?
Speaker 2 (01:46):
Very inspirational. I think his story came at just the
right time for me.
Speaker 7 (01:50):
Are you really at a hard state of the recovery?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
I think I'm past the worst of it now, but
those first five weeks, they were very rough.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Right.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
So, Phil, that's why we've got you on because you
can pump up Anna a little bit more and just
kind of give her the assurance that it is going
to get better.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Anna, it sucks, doesn't it?
Speaker 2 (02:09):
It sucks.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
It sucks so much.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
It is the one thing that no one ever tells
you about.
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Is it the pain, guys?
Speaker 5 (02:22):
What is it?
Speaker 2 (02:24):
For me, it's been the fatigue. I had the surgery
over in Thailand and then flew back to Australia two
weeks after.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Was that a financial issue? Anna, is it cheaper to
get it done there?
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Definitely a lot cheaper. I think I saved nearly $ 30, 000.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (02:44):
Okay, so yes, Phil, keep going.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
Yes. Tell her.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
The one thing I will tell you is I remember
when I got mine done and I was... so shocked
at what it looked like. And I was like, this
is never going to be what I want it to be.
And honestly, it takes years for, you know, the redness
to go away for the swelling to go away for everything.
But the one thing I will tell you is I'm
(03:10):
about seven years on from having it done and it
is life changing.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Yeah. You will never, ever, ever regret it.
Speaker 5 (03:20):
And right now you're in the thick of it and
it sucks and it hurts and it is feeling like
you may have done the wrong thing, but trust me,
you definitely have not.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Is that how it feels, Anna?
Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh, definitely, definitely. I mean, I went over to Thailand
with loose skin and I came back a puffer fish.
Speaker 5 (03:38):
Yeah, wow.
Speaker 7 (03:39):
For Anna, so say nine months in when she's still,
you know, wondering, I'm guessing it would still not look
overly great, you know, Is there some advice for her
just to stick to it?
Speaker 1 (03:50):
It will look great. It'll get better.
Speaker 7 (03:52):
Is there anything that you can tell her?
Speaker 5 (03:54):
Honestly, I know this is probably you've been told by
your surgeon to stay out of the sun.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
The sun makes it way worse.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Really? Why?
Speaker 5 (04:02):
Yeah, because it's like scar tissue and scar tissue burns
really easy.
Speaker 6 (04:05):
Yeah, it does.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
And when it burns, when it's healing, it pretty much
imprints on your body. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
So they say like for the first six months. And like,
you know, bio gel, also great.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
That's great advice.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (04:16):
So what is the moment? At what time frame did
you go– Okay, we're good.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Worth it.
Speaker 5 (04:22):
That's a fantastic question. I think I said this analogy
to one of my friends once. It's like when you
learn to drive a car or when you learn to
do anything new for the first time and it's really
hard until it's not hard.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
And then you just forget about it. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
So I can't remember the moment I was like, oh, actually,
this is okay now. It just sort of happened. I went, oh,
my scars have faded. Oh, it doesn't hurt anymore. Oh,
it's not stretching anymore.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:48):
You wake up one day and you stop thinking about
it and then you're fine.
Speaker 4 (04:52):
Weeks or months?
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Weeks.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Months. Months, yeah, definitely.
Speaker 3 (04:56):
Maybe years.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
Sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
I want a specific date and time.
Speaker 7 (05:01):
No, but that's awesome.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Does that help, Anna?
Speaker 2 (05:05):
Thank you so much, Phil. And thank you so much
for sharing your story. It offered me a lot of
comfort yesterday when I really needed it. So thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
No worries at all. And like you said, there is
a light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
Well done, you two.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Robin, Keith and Corey Oates.
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