Brandy is literally half the woman she used to be.

Three years after having Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery at The Bariatric Center at Columbus Regional Health, the 36-year-old Columbus woman and mother of two is down to a slim 135 pounds — exactly half the weight she was at when she underwent the procedure.

Once barely able to get down on the floor to play with her pair of young boys — she would find herself out of breath and barely able to rise back up — Brandy is now exercising regularly. She’s competing in 5k and 10k races, with an even bigger goal on the horizon.

“The plan is to run a half-marathon next year,” she said.

Brandy, an administrative associate, says she had been overweight all her life. She had tried all sorts of diet regimens and even drugs to keep her weight down. But after having children she found herself getting heavier and heavier, eventually approaching 300 pounds.

“Medications were expensive, and as soon as I stopped taking them the weight came back on,” she said.

In the summer of 2009 she attended an informational session at the Weight Loss Institute — but it was for her husband, Pat, a diabetic. He decided gastric bypass wasn’t for him, but Brandy became intrigued with the possibilities.

Following the normal screening procedures, Brandy worried that her health insurance wouldn’t cover the procedure. But the Weight Loss Institute staff worked with her health provider and got the surgery approved in a matter of days.

Brandy experienced significant nausea in the weeks after the procedure, but the advice and guidance of the medical staff was key in helping get her through it. Her struggles were balanced by the delight in her tremendous weight loss.

“The pounds just flew off. The first week I think I lost 14 pounds. In six months I had lost 80 pounds,” Brandy said.

In the months and years that followed, Brandy’s entire life changed for the better. She found herself racing her sons down the double slide in their backyard, where once she had been too worried about breaking it to try. She jumps with them on the trampoline, and many other activities she wouldn’t have dared at her old size.

Brandy has been so passionate about her transformation, she has continued to be involved in the Weight Loss Institute, assisting other patients and consulting with the doctors and staff. She serves on the Advisory Council, and recently hosted a hike for the Bariatric Reunion.

There’s a sense of personal pride at her accomplishment, though Brandy admits to still being surprised when she’s suddenly reminded of losing half her body weight. She’s trying on Juniors-size clothes and astonished to find they fit.

“I’ll walk by a store and say, ‘I can’t shop in there.’ And my husband will say, ‘Yes, you can!’” Brandy said. “He can put his arms all the way around me now.”