Each of us wants to achieve a healthy weight, not only to improve our appearance but most especially for the sake of our health. And most of us have our own way of motivating ourselves to achieve this goal. For Kayla Lavende of Sydney, Australia, her goal is to look like Barbie!

Now living in Las Vegas, the 36-year-old costume designer set out to lose more than 200 pounds to look like the famous, and she has finally hit her goal. During an interview with The Morning Show, she shared that her parents used to give her dolls as an “incentive” to lose weight.

She shared, “As a young child I was quite obese. I used to have over 200 dolls as my parents used them as an incentive to go on a diet and lose weight.”

Her obsession with weight and Barbie began as a child. She told the Daily Star, “My obsession with Barbie began as a child and has continued into my adult life. I used to have over 200 dolls as my parents used them as an incentive to go on a diet and lose weight. I was on diets, I had gone to dieticians, nutritionists, and doctors to work out where I was going wrong. But it didn’t matter how hard I tried or what diet I was on, I could rarely shift the weight – or I would lose some then re-gain double.”

She adds, “When I moved to the US, my weight really spiraled out of control due to the huge portions, and my busy work schedule that meant I only had time to eat at midnight. I’d eat a huge bowl of pasta or a takeaway during my drive home and sugary snacks throughout the day like biscuits. I used fashion to distract people from my weight – it was something to hide behind.”

Kayla was at her heaviest and she tipped the scales at 154kg. But she only reached “breaking point” on a flight two years ago. She said, “I needed two seats, I needed a seatbelt extender, It was horrible and definitely the wake-up call that I needed. That was my motivation to be like ‘OK, you need to change.’”

Despite being a ‘happy fat girl’, Kayla decided to change her ways since then…

Kayla had a gastric sleeve. This is a weight loss procedure that involves surgery to remove 80 percent of the stomach. According to Kayla, she had gastric bypass surgery in 2018 to help with her efforts to lose weight.

Combined with a strict diet and regular workout schedule, Kayla is now happier than ever. She said that she now has a good relationship with food and works out seven days a week.

“My BMI was at 61 and stated I am morbidly obese which was a massive reality check-up – I feared I may die. This massively impacted my mental health and I didn’t feel good anymore and knew I needed to change. A sleeve is a tool but not an easy fix, I still need to put the work in.”

And now that she’s at the healthiest point of her life, she admits that she still continues to wear vibrant, Barbie-themed clothes. She would even document her outfits and her weight loss journey online. And according to her, it’s not that she wanted to be Barbie, but the doll has always inspired her.