Rebeca battled years of unexplained weight gain, fatigue and bloating11:29, 28 Jul 2026A woman who endured years of relentless fatigue, agonising bloating and inexplicable weight gain says she finally feels like herself once more after finding out why.‌Rebeca Rodriguez, 38, from Elephant and Castle, London, had put on around four stone over the past decade despite making numerous attempts to enhance her wellbeing. She consumed what she thought was a well-rounded diet, exercised consistently, consulted three separate nutritionists and attended her GP on several occasions, frantic to understand why she felt so poorly.‌Yet, she was continually told that her blood test results were normal. "I knew something wasn't right," said Rebeca. "I was exhausted all the time, but every test kept coming back saying everything was fine."‌The sales director says her wellbeing hit rock bottom at the start of 2024, when even rising from bed became a challenge. She said: "There were days when I literally couldn't move. I'd wake up feeling exhausted before the day had even started. Some weeks I barely left my flat because I simply didn't have the energy."Rebeca said she had grown so accustomed to feeling drained that she nearly accepted it as her reality. "I just thought this was adulthood. I thought maybe everyone felt like this."Alongside the debilitating tiredness, she endured near-constant bloating and digestive distress, but never imagined that anything in her diet could be to blame. She said: "I genuinely believed it was normal to feel bloated after every meal.‌"I thought everybody passed gas after eating. It sounds ridiculous now, but because I'd lived with it for so long, I assumed that was just how digestion worked."Doctors carried out a number of investigations, including repeated blood tests. "The only thing that ever really showed up was my white blood cell count," Rebeca explained."I was always told I was probably fighting off a virus or a cold because I seemed to pick up infections quite often, but nobody could explain why I constantly felt so drained." Despite her symptoms, Rebeca pressed on in her efforts to improve her wellbeing.‌She ditched takeaways in favour of home-cooked meals, worked out more frequently and consulted three separate nutritionists, yet maintains that nothing appeared to make any real difference. "I wasn't looking for a quick fix or some miracle diet," she said. "I genuinely wanted to understand what was going on with my body."Originally from Spain, Rebeca acknowledges that her increasing weight also took a toll on her self-esteem. She said: "In Spain there's a huge amount of pressure on women to look a certain way.‌"I've felt like I needed to lose weight since I was about 16. Every time I went home I became so conscious of how I looked."She gradually lost her enthusiasm for clothes shopping, shied away from having her photograph taken, and felt progressively at odds with the sociable person she had always been. But everything shifted when a friend recommended she attempt a food intolerance test through Supply Life.Rebeca confesses she was initially dubious, but claims the findings were utterly unexpected. She said: "I honestly couldn't believe it. Some of the foods highlighted were things I'd been eating almost every day because I thought they were healthy."‌Among the foods she reacted to were egg whites, potatoes, rice and yeast - everyday staples that had constituted a significant portion of her daily diet and numerous traditional Spanish dishes. "I remember looking at the results thinking, 'Well, there goes Spanish omelette... there goes paella,'" she said.Rather than eggs for breakfast, Rebeca now typically enjoys avocado on sourdough toast with tomatoes. Lunch is generally a large salad with chicken, salmon or tuna, while dinner focuses on lean protein accompanied by vegetables, incorporating alternatives such as quinoa or couscous instead of rice where suitable.Within weeks of altering her diet, she experienced something she hadn't felt for years. "My bloating almost disappeared," she said. "I had my first meal and afterwards I remember thinking, 'Is this what everyone else feels like?'. I felt comfortably full but I wasn't swollen or uncomfortable."Article continues belowIncreased energy and weight lossAs her digestion improved, her energy gradually started returning as well. She said: "I've gone from a size 18 to a size 16, and even those clothes are starting to feel loose now. But for me, the biggest change isn't the weight - it's having my energy back."Rebeca says friends and family have also noticed the transformation. "They keep saying I've got my sparkle back," she said. "I've always been quite bubbly and positive, but I'd completely lost that version of myself. Now I feel like she's coming back."Reflecting on her journey, she only wishes she'd recognised sooner that the symptoms she'd tolerated for years weren't something she simply had to endure. She said: "I spent such a long time thinking this was just my body. Now I realise you shouldn't ignore symptoms just because you've had them for years. I finally feel like myself again."