Rhonda avoided airplanes for most of her adult life. Heavy since childhood, her weight sometimes ballooned above 400 pounds, rendering a lot of everyday activities a challenge. She’s not entirely sure what her peak weight was, since she refused to get on a scale.
“Finding clothes was always a challenge,” she said. “I’m a girly girl; I didn’t want to shop at Lane Bryant, I wanted to shop at The Limited.”
Nervous about spilling over into a neighbor’s seat — or even worse, being asked to move — she stayed away from movie theaters, commercial jets and the like. The last time she flew as a teenager, she had to ask for a seatbelt extender.
“I was large my entire life. I remember in third grade, sometimes I had to have clothes made for me because I couldn’t walk into a store and buy clothes that fit,” she said. In school, she enjoyed sports like volleyball but wasn’t physically capable of taking part, content to serve as team manager.
Recently, the 44-year-old accountant from Seymour took a flight for the first time in nearly a quarter-century. It was a thrilling experience, and missing any of the anxiety of her previous trip as a teenager — because she now weighs 159 pounds.
After having Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery at the Weight Loss Institute of Columbus Regional Health in September 2012, Rhonda has already surpassed her initial goal of reaching 165 pounds. She weighed 355 pounds on the day of her surgery.
For most of her life, Rhonda remembers being on one diet or another. She would enjoy temporary successes, getting her weight under 300 pounds at several points. But then she would lose discipline, and when she stopped the regimen the weight would come back quickly.
“I was not in the mindset of doing what I had to do to lose the weight for the rest of my life. I would go back to my old habits and the weight would come back on, and more.”
After a particular birthday and contemplating the everyday struggles her weight presented, Rhonda began to realize that failure to act could actually shorten her life span.
“I was just finally tired of being tired. When you hit 40, you want to think of that as midlife instead of near the end. I wasn’t ready to be dead yet.”
She finally began thinking about bariatric surgery after getting positive feedback from a friend and her boss, both of whom underwent the procedure and saw their lives changed for the better. After attending an information session at the Weight Loss Institute and consulting with the doctors and staff, she selected the Roux-en-Y as the surgery most likely to ensure success in her case.
It’s not unusual for bariatric patients to encounter some difficulties in adjusting to life post-op, but in Rhonda’s case it was all smooth sailing. She suffered no notable complications, and quickly re-learned how to eat smaller, healthier portions. She began walking every day and using a food scale, which she says she will stick with the rest of her life.
Now, in addition to walking and riding a bike, Rhonda works out three days a week. She finds herself seeking out social interactions instead of avoiding them. She’s focused on maintaining healthful eating habits on a permanent basis. Having already beaten her goal, she’s set herself another.
“I’m four pounds away from 200 pounds (lost), and now I want that 200,” she said. “I’m very competitive, even if it is with myself.”