Linda was not overweight as a child. Tall and active, she didn’t start gaining weight until she was in her 30s. A former veggie-phobe who favored junk food, she watched the weight pile on slowly, a few pounds per year. Three years ago, at age 50, she found herself topping the scales at 335 pounds.
She had tried a variety of ways to lose weight, but found exercise tiring and pills and diets ineffective. Her blood pressure was dangerously high. “I was desperate. I was so fat that it seemed hopeless to even lose five pounds at a time,” she said.
Finally, her parents suggested she attend an informational session at the Weight Loss Institute of Columbus Regional Health. Afterward, Linda immediately sensed she had found the solution to her problem.
Following six months of medically supervised weight loss, she underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in August 2009.
Three years later, Linda found herself not only 155 pounds smaller, but also living a different life.
She lost 100 pounds in the first nine months after surgery. An office administrator, she lives on a lake in Seymour, Ind., but prior to her weight loss, never really found herself taking advantage of it. She bought a kayak to troll the sun-dappled waters, and an exercise bicycle to speed along winding paths.
The weight continued to come off. In early 2012, she joined a fitness center and purchased a stand-up paddleboard. She continues to try new experiences that would have been daunting at her old size.
Linda admits the first few months after the procedure were difficult in terms of adjusting to her new dietary needs – not just smaller portion sizes, but identifying suitable proteins she could eat. In conjunction with nutrition counselors at the Weight Loss Institute and her own experimentation, she eventually found a diet right for her. She’s even managed to introduce vegetables into the mix.
“I had to get out of the habit of eating bad stuff. I was a junk food person. I had never been a good eater,” she said.
One thing Linda never had any qualms about was the surgery itself, saying the doctors and staff kept her informed about what to expect and addressing any concerns.
“To me surgery is not something you take on lightly,” she said. “One of my fears was that I’d have this operation and I wouldn’t be able to eat, or that I would be hungry all the time.
“They really put me at ease.”
To this day, she still receives amazed reactions and positive feedback from friends, co-workers and family. “My mom hugs me and says, ‘I can’t believe you’re so small!'”
That praise is added to the pride she takes in herself for her amazing accomplishment.
“Sometimes I look in the mirror when I’m getting dressed or trying on stuff, and I still don’t believe it’s me!”