On September 14, 2010 I reached my point of surrender with my constant weight problem that I had experienced for 56 years. There was no cathartic moment, it was just a culmination of the disgust I felt about myself and life in general. In the last 5 of those 56 years my weight had ballooned to 469 pounds. I was miserable. I had diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and chronic knee problems.
On that day in September, I made my first visit with a bariatric surgeon and he gave me hope like I had never had before. He gave me some instructions on what I needed to do to prepare for the Roux-N-Y Gastric Bypass and I began following his instructions. My biggest fear with the surgery was that after the surgery, I would constantly be hungry but have a physical limitation with eating to satisfaction. Even with this fear, I was desperate for a change in my life and on that day the change began.
I had my surgery on February 7, 2011 and experienced no problems whatsoever. My greatest fear did not become realized—quite the opposite. I began to get full after just a few small bites of food.
Between February 7, 2011 and November, 2011, I lost 209 pounds and compared to the 469 pounds I weighted on that first visit to Dr. Barnes, the total weight loss is 269 pounds. On Thanksgiving, 2011, my weight was 210 pounds. I have maintained that same weight for almost two years now.
My message to the morbidly obese is simply this: Face your fears, vocalize them to someone, walk through those fears and find your own point of surrender. You can find that a surrender can actually lead to a victory. My diabetes went away. My high blood pressure went away. My high cholesterol went away. My sleep apnea went away. My knee problems went away. My attitude and zest for live improved dramatically.
On that day in September, I made my first visit with a bariatric surgeon and he gave me hope like I had never had before. He gave me some instructions on what I needed to do to prepare for the Roux-N-Y Gastric Bypass and I began following his instructions. My biggest fear with the surgery was that after the surgery, I would constantly be hungry but have a physical limitation with eating to satisfaction. Even with this fear, I was desperate for a change in my life and on that day the change began.
I had my surgery on February 7, 2011 and experienced no problems whatsoever. My greatest fear did not become realized—quite the opposite. I began to get full after just a few small bites of food.
Between February 7, 2011 and November, 2011, I lost 209 pounds and compared to the 469 pounds I weighted on that first visit to Dr. Barnes, the total weight loss is 269 pounds. On Thanksgiving, 2011, my weight was 210 pounds. I have maintained that same weight for almost two years now.
My message to the morbidly obese is simply this: Face your fears, vocalize them to someone, walk through those fears and find your own point of surrender. You can find that a surrender can actually lead to a victory. My diabetes went away. My high blood pressure went away. My high cholesterol went away. My sleep apnea went away. My knee problems went away. My attitude and zest for live improved dramatically.