One year ago, my life consisted of numerous doctor appointments, medications, difficulty sleeping, constant fatigue, withdrawing from the world, and being uncomfortable in public situations. My weight directly led to many health problems, which caused my life to be more difficult and less enjoyable; these health problems not only caused me to gain even more weight, but also limited my physical activity.

I had all these very real physical and emotional obstacles in the way of losing weight and improving my health. Even though I successfully lost over 100 lbs on my own in the past, this time was different. I continued to gain weight even though I was trying very hard to lose it. I finally realized I needed additional support to lose weight and maintain the weight loss.

Weight loss surgery made something extremely difficult and overwhelming seem like something possible and actually within my reach. I was ready to be healthy and actively enjoy my life again.

After comparing weight loss programs at other hospitals, Woman’s program just seemed like the best fit for me. There was consistent support before and after surgery, and knowing they were setting me up for success put me at ease. And because of my previous experiences at this hospital, I knew the quality of care would be excellent and above my expectations.

It was very empowering to have written down in front of me, in black and white, exactly what I needed to do to accomplish something as challenging as losing enough weight to meet my goal. For example, I knew that I needed a specific, individualized plan that I could manage on my own to be successful, and the nutritionist at Woman’s spent hours developing a practical plan with me. If I just followed the plan we created, I WOULD reach my goal. Not succeeding was no longer an option.

Every aspect of my life has completely changed since surgery. It was clear that weight loss surgery was the right decision even from the beginning. People considering the surgery always tell me they are most concerned about the pain after surgery and how hard it will be to recover from surgery. From my experience, neither was a problem because I was in less pain following surgery than before.

I had more energy right away and noticed my health problems quickly disappearing. I reached my weight loss goal of losing 80 lbs by six months after surgery. I was not prepared for such quick results.

I am now a few weeks away from the one-year anniversary of my surgery, and it is hard to process all the physical and emotional changes I have gone through in such a short time. I was a 2X shirt and 22 pants, and now need to go shopping because the size small shirts and size 6 pants I bought recently are too big.

I am no longer dependent on any medication and have not had even one illness since surgery. Besides routine checkups, I have not needed to see any doctors.

Before surgery, I struggled to make it to the end of my work day without needing a nap. I would go home from work, watch television, and fall asleep. No matter how much I slept, I was always tired. Now, I am able to get through an entire day of work without feeling exhausted or as if I will fall asleep. I have enough energy to walk my dogs, exercise, grocery shop, cook dinner, or whatever else needs to be done. In fact, I can run six miles and have more energy when I finish than before I started.

Now, I enjoy so many things I avoided before. I love waking up each morning looking forward to making up for all the time I was overweight and unable to enjoy the simple experiences in life. In the one year that has passed since weight loss surgery, I have surpassed every goal I made for myself. I am healthier, stronger, faster, happier, and I am still confident that having weight loss surgery was the best decision I ever made.

For more information about weight loss surgery at Woman’s, click here.