. Jo Rust, 47, had majority of stomach removed after her gastric band broke

. She had dropped from 20 stone to 11 stone 7lb, from a size 24 to a size 12

. Mrs Rust says she hasn't felt hungry for months and must now set an alarm on her mobile phone to remind her to eat six times a day

. Despite her ordeal she still believes her gastric band was the best thing she has ever done

 

A woman who never feels hungry after she lost 90 per cent of her stomachto a botched gastric band has told how she now has to set an alarm to remind her to eat.

 

Jo Rust, 47, from King's Lynn in Norfolk, underwent drastic weight loss surgery five years ago after struggling to shed the weight shed piled on after having her children.

 

The 20-stone mother-of-two was overjoyed when she dropped nine stone - and trimmed down from a dress size 24 to a size 12.

 

But when her weight continued to plummet to below ten stone she collapsed suddenly at work earlier this year.

 

At first, doctors believed Mrs Rust's gastric band was fitted too tightly and decided to operate to remove it.

 

However, during surgery they discovered Mrs Rust's stomach had become tangled in the gastric band - and had turned gangrenous.

 

To save her life surgeons had to remove 90 per cent of Mrs Rust's stomach leaving her with virtually no stomach lining - which drives the instinct of hunger.

 

It means she now now has to set an alarm to remind her to eat six times a day to help her maintain a healthy weight.

 

Mrs Rust can only eat tiny portions of food as her stomach is so small so she uses a baby's bowl for her meals.

 

The busy council employee yesterday admitted she could dangerously go days without remembering to eat if it wasn't for the reminders on her iPhone.

 

Mrs Rust said: 'I haven't felt hungry for four months.

 

'I think it would take me days before I realised I haven't eaten without the alarm reminder.

 

'When I was not working and at home I found is easier to remember, but now I am back at work full-time it is so easy to let it slip my mind.

 

'The alarm is also important as it makes my colleagues aware that I need to have something to eat - otherwise meetings can go on for hours and I could be starving without knowing it.

 

'When I had the gastric band I still felt hungry, but it stopped me overeating.

 

'Now I have to force myself to eat when I am not hungry - it is completely different psychologically.'

 

Mrs Rust weighed in at 20 stone after putting on weight after having daughters Holly, 25, and Emilia, 21.

 

She would binge on biscuits, crisps, sandwiches and sausage rolls at lunch and would gorge on sweets once a week.

 

And Mrs Rust confesses she would snack even when she knew she was not hungry.

 

She tried a series of diets and exercise programmes to lose weight but nothing worked.

 

Mrs Rust decided to undergo weight-loss surgery after she started feeling tired and achy and worried she was aging prematurely.

 

After having the gastric band fitted in 2007 she managed to slim down to a healthy 11 and a half stone by eating three small meals a day and exercising.

 

But as the gastric band started to go wrong inside her weight continued to drop and she collapsed at work on January 29.

 

The Norfolk County Council worker was rushed to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, Norwich, where she had her stomach removed.

 

Thanks to her alarm routine Mrs Rust has now reached a healthy ten-and-a-half stone and has been able to work full-time.

 

Although she must still take iron tablets and eat foods high in iron as she still struggles to keep her levels high enough with such a small stomach to soak it up.

 

Despite everything she has been through Mrs Rust says she would encourage others to undergo weight loss surgery.

 

She said: 'I had the gastric band because I knew I needed to lose weight.

 

'Even though I was confident on the outside with my job and campaigning it is how you feel on the inside that counts.

 

'Now being slim I know that people treated me differently when I was fat. People who never noticed me when I was big now seem to notice me.'

 

She added: 'I have no regrets. Five years later I still think the gastric band is the best thing I have every done, although naturally I wouldn't want those I love to have to go through that worry again.

 

'But I don't want people to be put off having that type of surgery to control their weight when what happened to me was a freak occurrence.'

 

DailyMail