Lori
Surgery: gastric sleeve
Surgery date: April 2022
My highest adult weight was (lbs): 274
My current weight is (lbs): 163
I first noticed that my weight was a problem: As a young adult
Tell us in your own words how your weight has affected your life:
Before getting a gastric sleeve, weight was something that I had struggled with most of my adulthood. Over the course of my mid-twenties until my early forties, yo-yo dieting was my normal. I knew what I “needed to do” to lose weight but my back pain, severely swollen ankles, and emotional eating got in the way of hitting my goals. While I had lost weight with diet and exercise before, any small set back snowballed and my weight went higher than it had ever been before.
I was self-conscious about my appearance, and I didn’t feel good in my own skin. I was uncomfortable physically and emotionally. I wanted to be able to do activities with my family but it was nearly impossible when I couldn’t even bend over to pick something up without my back giving out.
Tell us how surgery, balloon, or medication has helped you get control of your weight issues:
Since having the gastric sleeve, my activity level, my relationships, and my self-confidence have increased greatly.
Having a smaller stomach capacity has allowed me to gain greater control over my emotional eating. When I wanted to binge and self-sabotage, I could not do so without feeling ill. It forced me to think about the choices that I was making in that moment and how they were affecting my bod. Over time, it helped me to begin to see greater successes and to know that one bad decision doesn’t need to result in quitting.
I have fallen in love with exercise and crave the movement that I used to dread. I have no more back pain and no more swollen ankles. I no longer require external validation to see my self worth and to feel confident in who I am on the inside and the outside. I have discovered me that I never knew existed and did not know could exist. Instead of watching television, you can find me at the gym, working in the yard, or playing racquetball with my husband.
Tell us about the support you have received from the team at JourneyLite and how it has impacted your success:
The Journey Lite team was always very supportive. They provided me with needed support, information, and encouragement. Having a nutritionist to help me navigate my new relationship with food and to no longer view it as an enemy was instrumental.
What’s one thing you can do now that you couldn’t before you lost the weight:
I can fit on roller coasters with ease. I can go on hikes with my family. I can enjoy quality time with others in was that I never could before.
