Weight Loss Treatments & Services

Before surgery, I looked at surgery as the ultimate goal. Then I realized afterward that it was just the catalyst that sparked a series of changes in the way I eat and set me on a path to a healthier lifestyle.

The Emory Bariatric Research Program gives me valuable, tangible evidence of all the things that have changed throughout the last five years. Bariatric surgery is not an easy way out of obesity. To be successful, there’s a lot of hard work involved. A lot of my motivation is based on where I used to be and knowing I don’t want to go back there again.

Gastric bypass surgery was the best thing I could have done for myself. Before surgery, I had irregular menstrual cycles, sleep apnea, joint pain and was taking diabetic medication. Within one month after the operation, I had NONE of these symptoms. I also dropped from 272 pounds and a size 24 (3X) to 146 pounds and a size 8. Everything I was unable to do before the surgery became possible, from little things like crossing my legs and fitting comfortably into restaurant booths, to major accomplishments, like getting fit.

Sticking with the post-operative prescribed diet and exercise is essential. I have, and I've never had to go to the hospital or emergency room for any complications due to the surgery. If you have had gastric-bypass surgery, congratulations, and if you are considering it, please do your research, get as much information as possible, and start making healthy choices now.

On November 15, 2004, after months of research and contemplation and almost thirty years of being overweight or morbidly obese, I had Roux en-Y gastric bypass surgery at Emory. After the first seven months I lost 100 pounds. By the very beginning of 2006 I’d lost 153 pounds and my BMI had dropped from its highest of 50.4 to 24.5. Along my weight loss journey I began to encounter small miracles that I'd never experienced before: from being able to sit comfortably in an airplane seat to jogging and running up steps without getting winded. I had a new passion for life because my life was now filled with so much hope. I started keeping a list of fun things I wanted to do but would never have allowed myself to do before, and I began to see the world as my grownup sandbox, and I was ready to play!

I’m so thankful to the deeply caring staff at Emory for treating me as an individual and taking such excellent care of me. Emory's comprehensive approach, such as frequent visits with the nutritionist, bariatrician and obesity psychologist before surgery, was vital to my success. It’s also important to note that weight loss surgery is a tool; the patient has to do the work! This isn’t a magic “fix” or an “easy way out,” as I’ve heard some people say – there’s nothing easy about undergoing a procedure like this. But it can be truly life changing. Anyone who feels they may be a candidate should attend one of their free, online bariatric surgery seminars. If you have surgery, do everything your doctors tell you, by the book! It will be essential to your immediate and long-term success. I also recommend finding a local support group and attending monthly meetings, even before your surgery! Every day I wake up with a renewed appreciation for life and the feeling I can do anything I set my mind to because I no longer have the same roadblocks to success as I did for so many years.

Gastric bypass is a weight-loss tool -- it is not an easy way out, and requires daily dedication and a lifetime commitment. I have achieved my weight-loss success by focusing on these three rules of life:

1. It's never too late
2. Always do your best
3. NEVER GIVE UP

Emory Bariatrics and their staff helped me claim a life I never knew existed. At 349 pounds I was just a shell of a person. Overweight since childhood, I suffered through years of failed diet attempts. Now, after losing 201 pounds, I've found out what living is all about. Since I had gastric bypass surgery, I've been free of all of my previous co-morbidities such as high blood pressure, reflux disease, borderline sleep apnea and borderline diabetes.

Gastric bypass is not a quick fix. My lifestyle has changed to where I have to eat to live instead of live to eat. My advice to any potential patients is to be aware that maintaining weight loss is a daily struggle and that they shouldn't expect everything in their lives to change. You have to be happy with yourself and only then will the rest fall into place.