Ange Dion – OBESLIM: The Road to Healthy

This story matters because it refuses the shortcut narrative.

In a world obsessed with quick fixes, Ange Dion’s lived experience reminds us that real transformation is not dramatic, instant, or glamorous — it is built slowly, through consistency, support, and self-belief. Her story doesn’t centre weight loss as an endpoint. It centres choice. The choice to keep going. The choice to listen to the body. The choice to heal what sits underneath behaviour, not just manage symptoms.

What makes this story powerful is its honesty. Ange names the quiet realities many people live with but rarely say out loud — the shame of public spaces, the shrinking of confidence, the exhaustion of trying again and again. She doesn’t position herself as an expert looking back from the finish line, but as a woman still choosing health, still showing up, still committed.

This story also matters because it reframes success. Freedom is found in crossing your legs on a plane, standing taller on a stage, wearing colour again, and trusting your body. These are not small wins. They are evidence of reclaimed agency.

For The Impactful Voice Project™, this story embodies why lived experience belongs at the centre of change. It shows that when people speak from truth — not theory — others feel seen, understood, and less alone.

Ange’s story isn’t about perfection.
It’s about permission.
And that permission can change a life.

The Turning Points

I weighed 142 kilos and barely made it up the mountain.
At one point my heart was racing so fast and pounding through my chest, my mouth was dry and I was dizzy, and I thought I might die right there.

I remember thinking I am not going to make it back home, I am never going to see my family again.
That was my first wake-up call.

Then came another — my goddaughter’s wedding announcement:
“Nona, I am getting married in Greece!”

Everyone had to wear white.
And I thought, “I refuse to stand beside her looking like a tent.”

That thought became my driver.
I was determined to be thinner by her wedding day.

In February 2022, I attended a retreat in Mullumbimby, NSW.
We were doing a 4-day water fast, meditations, morning yoga and stretching, hikes, and emotional work.

I had my gastric band removed and six months later I underwent a gastric bypass surgery. The process was gruelling. I spent 16 weeks healing my body with a liquid diet, soups and soft food, but I did it with a mindset I’d never had before.

I listened to the doctor and the dietitian and was an angel patient because I was determined to get this right.

I turned 50 that year.
My body ached.
My confidence crashed.
I hated what I saw in the mirror.
I had truly lost myself and knew there was a long journey to double digits.

I wasn’t chasing “skinny.”
I was chasing FREEDOM.

Real-Life Wins & Everyday Challenges

Let’s start with something simple but deeply personal: airplanes.

If you’ve ever been overweight, you know the anxiety that starts the moment you book a flight.
Will the seatbelt fit?
Will I spill over into someone else’s space?
Will I need an extender?
Will people stare?

I’ve lived that reality. Sitting in a standard economy seat without wide legroom was torture. My body didn’t fit comfortably, and neither did my confidence.

I spent entire flights tense, embarrassed, and counting the minutes until landing.

Now?
I sit comfortably.
I cross my legs.
I breathe.
I enjoy the journey.

That alone feels like freedom.

Then there’s stage confidence — something that surprised me the most.

Even though I’ve always been a speaker, presenter, and emcee, my weight quietly stole my confidence. There were times I felt okay, but the moment I stepped on stage in front of people, I became hyper-aware of my body.

I worried about how I looked, how I moved, how I was being perceived. I avoided being in videos. I avoided certain events.

I slowly started shrinking myself, even though my voice was meant to be heard.

I even stopped emceeing as I didn’t want people to have me in their wedding videos.

I started trusting my body again.
I stood taller.
I spoke with more authority.
I felt present instead of self-conscious.

Losing weight didn’t magically erase self-doubt overnight. But with every kilo lost, every habit built, and every promise I kept to myself, my confidence grew.

And then there’s clothing.

For years, I hid in black.
Black was safe.
Black was slimming.
Black helped me disappear.
Black was also corporate.

Now?
I wear colour.
I wear florals.
I walk into stores and no longer say, “I’m just looking.”
I try things on.
I enjoy fashion.
I express myself again.

These moments matter because they are real-life wins, not numbers on a scale.

Transformation shows up in everyday life:
how you sit,
how you walk,
how you speak,
how you show up in the world.

Small steps towards healthy living create big, lasting change.
And it’s these small victories that make transformation real.

Final Words

OBESLIM isn’t about perfection.
It’s about awareness.
It’s about mindset.
It’s about consistency.
And most of all, it’s about choosing yourself again and again.

You are not broken.
You are not weak.
You are not too late.

Change is possible at any age, in any body, and from any starting point.

With love,
Ange Dion

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