At Health Volition, we are here to support our clients on their weight loss journey every step of the way. That means sharing their weight loss success story with the world, celebrating their wins, and giving them an opportunity to show other Australians wanting to lose weight and live a healthy, fulfilling life that it is possible.
Year: 2017
Starting weight: 171.4kg
Current weight: 72kg
Procedure: Gastric Sleeve
How has your weight affected your quality of life?
Before weight loss surgery, I was miserable with myself and the constant struggle to lose weight and manage my health. I had many weight co-morbidities: sleep apnoea, arthritis, severe joint pain in hips, knees, ankles, back and hands, muscular pain in my back and neck, gout, and plantar fasciitis. I was barely able to walk more than a very short distance due to pain and shortness of breath.
When did you decide to explore weight loss surgery?
After much thinking and research on bariatric surgery, I plucked up the courage to talk to my GP, who thought I would be a good candidate, so he referred me to Health Volition. I chose the Health Volition team for several reasons – cost was an important factor but wasn’t the only factor. Psychological screening, the bariatric dietitian, and ongoing support were very important to me.
I joined a couple of forums to help with research and was surprised to find that not all surgeons offered those comprehensive services. The actual surgery is important, but the support for all the lifestyle changes afterwards makes the biggest difference.
How did Health Volition help you on your weight loss journey?
People keep asking me how I have managed to lose so much weight and to maintain it. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. Surgery AND many lifestyle changes. Surgery alone will only get you so far, and in the long term, it won’t work. Going in thinking that the surgery will “fix” everything will only lead to failure and heartbreak.
I have worked with a bariatric dietitian and have stuck to my eating plan. I also did a lot of work on the head stuff before sleeve surgery and have kept on with it since then, dealing with each new challenge along the way. I still have a long way to go, but being an Exclusive Weight Loss Program Member at Health Volition is what will keep me on track.
It took about nine months of weight loss before I was able even to begin to exercise. The only exercise I have undertaken at all is walking. Expensive gym memberships are not essential unless it is something you enjoy doing. I love taking the stairs at the train stations now, but I had to build up to it gradually. And now I really enjoy walking, and I NEVER thought I would feel that way. I walk daily and want to remember how much I have gained, so I never take my health for granted.
Some people have had big weight losses over a short while, but it wasn’t like that for me. My weight loss was fairly constant and gradual throughout. I had a couple of plateaus and just kept going, and they each lasted about 3-4 weeks, and then there was a sudden weight drop after each one of 2-4kg. After the initial big losses in the first few weeks, I lost between 1-2kg most weeks.
I did not get discouraged that my weight loss was a bit slower than what other people were experiencing, as it just slowly kept coming off. It took me almost two years to lose weight, and I kept setting smaller goals along the way, finding ways to mark each goal as I reached it and then working towards the next goal.
Now, I am healthier than I have ever been. Since losing the weight, all of my co-morbidities have resolved. I no longer have gout, sleep apnoea, muscular pain and no arthritis pain. I’m off all medication. I can’t believe how much more energy I have, which frees me to work on other things and make different decisions; it really has a flow-on effect.
Losing weight alone won’t make you happy, but it will help you regain your health and have more choices.
I offer my story in the hope it encourages someone who is struggling or is trying to decide whether to proceed with surgery. If you take anything from this, let it be: get the head stuff sorted and keep on with that side because that will undermine you more than anything else. Oh, and the only person you can “cheat” is yourself.
