Get up and dance to your music with a new lease on life!
Life is a journey, and mine became very scary when I hit a peak weight of 527lbs and suffered my first pulmonary embolism in 2009. I had a large umbilical hernia for over 20 years, and my primary care physician referred me to a surgeon he met at a conference, Dr. Cynthia Paciulli, who he believed could help me with my hernia and weight loss. Other surgeons refused me due to my size. When I met Dr. Paciulli, I weighed 479 lbs, and she came up with a plan to repair my strangulated hernia in an emergency procedure. However, I had a couple of years of health issues with type 2 diabetes, mesh, and skin removal that delayed my progress in the bariatric program.
Dr. Paciulli and her team explained that bariatric surgery is not a quick fix but a lifetime journey to better health and quality of life. You are doing this for yourself, and you will get the rewards for the effort you put into the program. Dr. Paciulli and her team are compassionate and supportive, providing you with the tools to be successful, but you must be prepared to make lifestyle changes and face the challenges on the road to change.
The bariatric program is very thorough, providing a wealth of information at weekly meetings, such as various options, nutrition, exercise, motivational tools, live testimonials, support groups after surgery, and what to expect before and after surgery. If you are serious about wanting a better quality of life, start today by drinking lots of water. If you need flavor, add crystal light or slices of fruit like lemon, lime, or oranges. Cut out carbs and eat lots of protein. Replace a meal or two per day with high protein shakes to reach your weight loss goals. I used a company online called UnJury, which provided me with great success for protein products and bariatric vitamins.
We all have music we enjoy, so get up and move to that music! Exercise by parking further out in parking lots to add extra steps to your walking distance, use stairs when available, and even exercise sitting in chairs by moving your legs and arms. Get out, walk, and enjoy the world, stopping to smell flowers and listen to birds sing or find your reflection in a pond. I now average 14,483 steps per day in my routine of walking my four dogs several times a day, going to our barns to tend to pigs, chickens, and guineas, plus my job, which keeps me moving all day long.
I had the gastric sleeve surgery done by Dr. Paciulli, one of her first sleeve patients, on March 25th, 2015. I celebrate that day each year as my birthday because it gave me a new lease on life! I reduced my type 2 diabetes medications from six to two since then and went from a 66” waist to a 42” waist. I can now run and do activities that I could only imagine doing ten years ago. I am eight years out from my surgery and went from size 6XL shirts to 1XL. I am still losing small amounts and not gaining any weight. Since I had the gastric sleeve surgery, I can live again!
Dr. Paciulli and her team put together the greatest weight loss bariatric program I could have done in my life to be able to live a longer quality life of happiness. Every time I communicate with Dr. Paciulli and tell her how much she has meant to me, she replies, “you did it all. I just helped by giving you the tools to reach your goals.