Posts Tagged ‘ before and after ’

Sarah Shares Her Inspiring Journey as an Obesity & Cancer Survivor (and LifeShape Patient)

April 15, 2011
By Ashley

I have been overweight my entire life. I remember my Mom putting me on “eating plans” when I was as little as 6 years old. My Dad, his Mom and his Sister are all morbidly obese. Growing up I watched them all yo-yo diet and none of them were ever successful long term.

When I turned 19 I decided I was ready to lose weight – I had been diagnosed with hypertension at 18 years old. I couldn’t believe I weighed 230 lbs (at 5’2” tall)! At the time I did lose a significant amount. I was doing well until I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 21 years old. Between the treatment and depression I was experiencing from my diagnosis, I ate to numb my stress and re-gained all the weight I had lost (about 50 lbs) and was at an all-time high of 236 lbs. I was devastated. At times my struggle with obesity felt much more difficult than my battle with cancer. Initially I lost 25 pounds after recovering, but then I stalled out. I was bouncing around between the same 5 lbs and couldn’t lose anything. At 24 years old I was trying to picture the rest of my life, I didn’t want to end up like my Dad, Aunt and Grandma, morbidly obese and never successful at reaching a healthy weight. I felt destined to follow the same path.

Working in health care I had heard about Lap-Band surgery before, but I never thought I qualified for it. In the fall of 2009 I started to read about it more and realized I definitely qualified. I did a lot of research; and thought carefully about whether it was right for me. I talked to family and friends and realized it definitely was the right choice for me. Going to the seminar was hard, I felt like I was really facing my obesity head on and it was difficult to realize where I was at.

On 10/26/2009 Dr. Fusco took me to the OR and changed my life! Donna’s smiling face was there in the recovery room, although I did get reprimanded for chugging my liquid Lortab a little too fast! The first week was tough and I did have a moment of “what did I do?! – did I make the right choice?” but that quickly passed and every day since has been a confirmation that I made the right choice. I was terrified of failing, I knew statistically some patients do not lose weight with gastric banding, but I also knew those people didn’t commit to following the “rules” and advice that Dr. Fusco and the rest of the LifeShape team provided. I was determined to utilize all the tools they gave me.

I went to my appointments, listened to their advice, followed the rules, got myself back on track when I got off track, and kept going. The weight has come off slowly. I started out at a lower weight (211). As of January 2011 I am at 158! The last time I weighed in the 150s I was probably 13 years old. I still have more weight to lose, but I know I will get there – this is a lifelong journey and at 25 years old I hope to have a long and healthy life! I am more active than I’ve ever been and it feels great! I am in a fitness Boot Camp right now and still can’t believe I can keep up! The Lap-Band is not magic; it’s just a tool that makes weight loss attainable – as the patient we have a huge role to fulfill and we can’t expect the band to do all the work. You have to make changes and you have to listen to Dr. Fusco, Donna and everyone else’s advice – they really do know what they’re talking about!

Knowing that I am not only a cancer survivor but an obesity survivor is an amazing feeling. Looking back I didn’t realize how sad and hopeless I had become, but now I am strong , happy and confident and I owe a part of that to myself, to my Lap-Band, and to Dr. Fusco and LifeShape!

My LifeShape Story: The Always Active Person, by Lori R.

March 16, 2011
By Ashley

Hi, My name is Lori.

I have always been active despite my weight or size. I went  scuba diving, white water rafting, 4 wheeling.

However one time scuba diving, my husband was asked if I would be ok diving. I was horrified as I didn’t realize how big I was, since I stayed away from scales.

 I was diagnosed with high cholesterol and put on medication. I tried just about every diet there is and didn’t have much success in the keeping the weight off very long.

I was in a great habit of going to the gym faithfully; but my eating habits were horrible, I ate potato chips, candy bars, cakes, late at night and ate super fast. I felt like I would never get full. I would waiver between 210 and 240 pounds in the last 10 years.

I hated shopping for clothes or having my picture taken cause then reality would hit on how big I was getting.

In November 2009 I realized I had to do something about my weight. So I went to a LifeShape seminar with a few of my friends from work, I knew immediately this was what I needed to help control my hunger.  On January 25, 2010 I had my surgery. Best decision I have ever made in my life. My band helped me lose 80 pounds in the first year.

I don’t let food control my life anymore. I don’t crave the sweets/chips like I used to. I now get full on a little amount of food and always eat slow.  I still regularly work out at the gym and can now workout longer without becoming winded. I have never liked running, but now I average 15-20 miles a weekly.

I  completed  2 half marathons  and a 3 mile obstacle course within the last 3 months.  My goal is to compete in my first triathlon this year and possibly complete a full marathon.

I have met some great fellow band patients in the process.  I feel like I am in the best shape I have ever been, at least since high school. I love shopping for clothes since I can wear junior clothes and have more of a selection.  My energy level has gone up, my cholesterol has gone down. My health is so much better now. And I feel like I am young again.

Lifeshape has changed my life for the better and I am so thankful for Dr. Fusco and his great staff along with the great instructors at LifeShape fitness.

2010 was a great year for me due to my new lifestyle! I can’t wait to see how much I will be able to accomplish in 2011.

Guess, you should see my before to really get an idea of my change!

The Process of Changing Your Life: Your First LifeShape Appointment, By: Kathy Blair, LifeShape Insurance & Financial Advocate AND PATIENT!

February 23, 2011
By Ashley

So, you might ask, how is the first appointment at LifeShape completely life changing? Adjustable Gastric Band Surgery not only offers you a way to achieve your health & wellness goals, but insurance companies are also stepping up to provide you with healthy long-term weight loss attainability. After attending a LifeShape Free Informational Seminar, you will call our office to schedule your first appointment. This appointment will lead you in your journey to obtain LapBand and will begin to initiate the insurance approval process. During this appointment Dr. Fusco will meet with you and determine whether you are a candidate for surgery.  I will then sit down and go over your insurance plan individual requirements – step by step.  Your insurance determines how long it will be before you are able to get your band… some plans have very simple rules of approval, but most plans have extensive processes that take an average of six months to obtain approval.  If you have an insurance with an easy approval – lucky you! If you have an insurance with a difficult approval –lucky you!!  As I tell everyone that has a six month process through their insurance, it goes by much quicker than you think. What I have observed over the years is that each patient leaves the first appointment with hope… finally… a starting point for your weight loss, the tool to change your life.

My story & I am a LapBand Patient:

I joined the LifeShape team in the second year. I have an extensive background in insurance.  (I remember when we used to mail descriptions of surgeries with an invoice to insurances for reimbursement!) Since then, insurance rules have evolved drastically .When I joined our center, I thought I would be able to help potential Lifeshape patients navigate the complex maze of insurance approval.  Dr. Fusco at that point in time had placed 68 bands. Dr. Fusco has now placed 850 bands and I have been instrumental in scheduling every band. There are not many insurance groups that I am not able to quote their bariatric policies. Sometimes with some particular insurances that I know have given me incorrect information, I find myself explaining to their Member Services what their own policy is!! It is also important to know that I am band patient number 141 in our 850. And yes, I scheduled myself and followed the same process I had guided so many others through.  My brother and his wife were bands 756 and 757… they came to us from the Midwest after they researched their local bariatric practices and found our program much more to their satisfaction.

I stay healthy and fit with my band and have competed in many races since then.  

I believe in our program, I’ve experienced it, I live it every day and see how a person’s whole life changes from that single first appointment…..

Tina B’s LifeShape Journey!

January 21, 2011
By Ashley

I was always the “pudgy one” of the family. From the time I was in middle school, my parents had me on every diet known to man. My father would always tell me that my mother and I both needed to lose “some weight”. My grandmother constantly compared me to my stick-thin sister. My mother and I tried to lose weight together. We went to support groups, weight loss physicians, and tried a variety of different weight loss programs together (Slim fast, Shakley, Tea Diet, Grapefruit Diet, etc). There were several years growing up where I would eat lunch by myself because I didn’t want other kids to see the shakes, celery sticks, and other “diet foods” I was forced to bring to school. By the time I was 16, I was on Fen-Phen. It really was the only thing that worked for me. I lost several clothing sizes on that diet drug and managed to go to my high school prom at a size 12. Soon after, they took Fen-Phen off the market and the weight started to come back. My first few years of college, where some girls gain 10-15 pounds, I gained well over 75. When I finally moved to Melbourne when I was 25, I weighed in at my heaviest- 247 pounds. At 5’ 0” tall, I was morbidly obese, and very depressed about it. The day I stepped on the scale and saw that number was the day I had my “wake-up-call”. I had a new resolve to get the weight off.
I heard about a program called “transformations” on the radio and gave them a call. At first, the weight came off quickly. I lost 20 pounds in a matter of a few weeks. For the first time in my life, I thought I might be able to get the weight off and finally feel good about myself. After about four months on the program, the weight-loss stalled. I kept a chart of my weight loss, and could see graphically what was going on. On the advice of the program physicians and nurses, I stuck with the program for another year, hoping and praying the weight loss would pick back up. It didn’t. Finally, I came to the devastating conclusion that I couldn’t lose all the weight alone. I needed help. The day I came to that conclusion was a sad day for me.
I talked it over with my husband and we both went to a LifeShape Seminar. With about 75 other obese people, I listened to Dr. Fusco talk about all the reasons diet plans fail and thought to myself “this could work…” Of course, I had all the fears like “what If I am in that 3% of people who don’t lose weight with the LapBand?” It wasn’t covered by my insurance and it was an awful lot of money for something that might not work for me. I decided to go for it and with my husband’s support, I made all the appointments and meetings I needed. August 20, 2007 is the day I consider my birthday. It’s the day I stepped into the operating room a sad, depressed, scared morbidly obese girl and walked out a woman who had hope of a life without the excess weight and health problems that go along with it. Almost exactly 2 years later, I reached my goal weight of 115 pounds and I have been there ever since!
Some things that helped me make my weight loss a reality:
1. Baby steps. It really helped to look at the small achievements, not the big challenges.
2. Be careful of unrealistic expectations. I remember waking up in the recovery room after surgery and being depressed because I was still fat. It takes dedication, time, and hard work for any weight loss goals to be reached. It certainly doesn’t happen overnight, and two years may seem like a long time, but it goes by faster than one might think. I wouldn’t trade a single moment. The moments where we struggle and persevere are the moments that make us who we are.
3. Exercise. No matter how much weight I lost, I would never have the strength, endurance, self confidence, or stamina I have now without exercise as a part of my life. It took me several months to realize that the Band is not going to work unless I made it work for me.
4. Keeping a chart. I have been charting my weight for almost 5 years. It has really helped keep things in perspective and I am able to look back at where I have come from and really be proud of my accomplishments.
5. People in my life who support me, even on those “fat days”. Yes, I still have “fat days”, but having people who have watched me transform into the person I am today there to support me on those days really helps. They can see the changes, even when I can’t.
6. Understanding that we are all “Mirror Blind”. The most important indicators of my weight loss were the scale, my clothes, and my best friend: the tape measure. Forget the mirror! Your eyes will lie to you every time (unless, of course, they say “You look Awesome!”).
Tina B
130 pounds smaller!