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BEFORE
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AFTER (90 pounds lost)
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If you followed last week’s blog, you met Stephanie–a labor and delivery nurse and one of Barker Bariatric’s valued patients. Stephanie had a LapBand placed in 2005 by an inexperienced physician. Her gastric banding led to daily vomiting and a complete lack of weight loss, which went on for two years! Since then, Dr. Barker has removed the LapBand and completed a successful RNY gastric bypass for Stephanie–helping her to lose a total of 90 pounds, and truly change her life! Read on to hear more.
After your turbulent weight-loss journey, what words of wisdom do you have for others faced with the same surgical decisions?
Pick the most experienced surgeon you can find. Not only does your surgeon need good surgical skills, but he needs a comprehensive “program” for success. While having the surgery is a tool to help you get healthy, you have to work that tool. I am now 2.5 years out from my RNY, and I continue to work at it every single day.
It’s also important to know that he further out you are, the harder it gets. You’ll have to make lifelong changes and commitments to your diet. Vitamins are NOT optional. When you sign up for surgery, you sign up to take vitamins for the rest of your life. Without them you could get into serious trouble. You also need to commit to follow-up care, getting your labs tested regularly and incorporating exercise into your life. This is NOT the easy way out, but it’s definitely the best decision I ever made for myself.
What was your impression of Dr. Barker and the staff at Barker Bariatric?
Dr. Barker and his staff walked me through the whole process. There was never any pressure to choose one surgery over the others. He just presented me with the facts. He also gave me a written explanation of his complication rate, which really helped me to understand that I had chosen a very skilled surgeon. His staff was always helpful, and handled all the insurance paperwork for me. They also answered any questions that I had along the way.
Congratulations, Stephanie! We’re thrilled to hear about your weight loss success, and about the positive experience you’ve had with our team.
For those of us who are natural procrastinators, the phrase, “I’ll do it tomorrow” quickly becomes a daily mantra. And when it comes to facing the discipline involved with healthy eating, exercise and self-control–we may be more apt to say, “I’ll do it next year.” We become paralyzed by fear of change, fear of hard work–or fear of failure. But the reality is, your health can’t afford to wait.
So how can we learn to embrace the “now” and get rid of the procrastination bug? Here are a few tips.
- Have a frank “self-talk” about the results of putting off your weight loss plan. It’s serious business, and you need to be honest with yourself about it. If it hasn’t, already, your obesity could lead to diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension and other serious health conditions. And if you ignore your weight gain and your health becomes worse–you could be incapacitated or at risk for life-threatening, health-related complications.
- Commit publicly. When you tell a friend, co-worker or family member about your weight loss plan, you’re more likely to feel accountable/responsible for pursuing your goals.
- Take baby steps. Like learning to ride a bike, fix a car or program a computer, it’s important to take things one step at a time. If you know you won’t hit the gym five days a week, try committing to two at first. When that has become a habit, add a third day. Having trouble giving up sweets? Commit to avoid them every other day at first. When you realize how much healthier you feel by fueling your body with veggies rather than chocolate, you may may just decide to give up your daily candy fix forever.
- Set a timer. Force yourself to work out for just 10 minutes, just 30 minutes — whatever you’ll stick to. The next day, add five minutes to the timer. Eventually, you’ll reach an hour of walking, running or weight lifting–and it won’t seem so painful.
- Visualize your success. Imagine what it will be like to buy a new, size-smaller outfit–or take a trip to the beach after you’ve lost 25 pounds. Picture yourself succeeding–and you’ll be more likely to take the steps to get there.
If you’re ready to discuss a RNY gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy or gastric banding surgery with Dr. Barker, contact us to schedule your initial consultation. Dr. Barker and his team are experts in their field, and can provide you with the surgical option that best fits your weight loss needs. Don’t procrastinate. Call 1-888-OneDrBarker today.
After undergoing comprehensive health exams, qualified West Australian police officers can receive financial assistance for gastric banding banding procedures.
The initiative is part of a WA investment in public employee health, and according to WA Police Executive Director Greg Italiano, the subsidy is a worthwhile investment created to reduce the occurrence of obesity-related illness and will “inevitably save the force money.”
While not many officers have taken the West Australian government up on their offer, financial assistance will cover up to $2000 of the procedure.
Find the article HERE.
