Like many in this journey, I’ve struggled with maintaining a healthy weight for as long as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I remember always being one of the bigger kids in class and doctors being concerned about how much weight I was gaining for my age. Before surgery/starting this process, I remember two times in my life where I was able to eat healthier and exercise to get my weight under control. The first time was in eighth grade going into high school and the second time was freshman year of college going into sophomore year of college. Both times, I changed my eating habits and exercised consistently which resulted in me losing 20 pounds each time. Unfortunately, I was unable to consistently maintain these good habits. I would always try to get back on track by changing my diet and hitting the gym. I started to notice that even when I was consistent, it took a long time to see results which was frustrating. When I was a junior in college, I hit 200 pounds. I was having fun, drinking and eating unhealthy food (you know, the college lifestyle lol). Although I had always struggled with my weight, I had never seen 200 pounds on the scale so seeing that number freaked me out. I consistently went back and forth trying to make changes, however, I just wasn’t seeing the results I wanted to see.
I continued to gain weight after undergrad and into my graduate school years. In fact, when I started graduate school (Fall 2015), I started seeing a dietitian at Tufts MC, however, I fell off and stopped going to appointments. By the time I was done with graduate school, at age 24, I weighed around 270+ pounds. I no longer felt like myself and I knew that I needed to make a serious change. Although I did not have any health issues, I felt like I was too young to weigh almost 300 pounds and I did not want to see myself have health issues years down the line.
When I started back at Tufts (Fall 2017), I still wasn’t sure if I wanted to get the surgery, but I knew that I needed to start with getting my diet on track. It took me a while to make the decision and I had the surgery on June 25, 2017. On the day of surgery, I weighed around 262 pounds and I currently weigh 148-150ish pounds which means that I’ve lost over 100 pounds. I am VERY happy with the results and I have zero regrets. The team at Tufts Medical Center is supportive, warm, caring and they want you to succeed. I’m glad I had the surgery and I’m glad I chose Tufts.
Helpful tips:
- Make lifestyle changes before you have the surgery. I cannot stress this enough. The surgery is a tool and it’s truly up to you to make the right choices.
- Log your food/keep track of what you eat. I think food logging is life! It keeps me on track and I love knowing what I’m putting into my body.
- Be your own cheerleader. Don’t forget to celebrate non-scale victories.
