VickiStevens
As a child, I was very active and was able to maintain a normal weight. That changed once I reached my teenage years and did not participate as heavily in sports. By high school I was bigger then the rest of the girls. I was painfully aware of my size and often felt fat and ugly.
As an adult, I tried pretty much everything to lose weight: Weight Watchers - Jenny Craig, Slimfast, cabbage soup diet, PhenFen and a host of other diets. I was very successful at losing weight on both Weight Watchers (twice in fact) and Jenny Craig. Losing weight wasn't the problem - keeping the weight off was!
Dr. Srikanth performed my surgery at St. Francis Hospital. I had my surgery one day and went home the next. I was working from home within a week and back to work shortly thereafter.
I began losing weight immediately. It was as if the weight just melted off. Prior to surgery, I was wearing a size 22/24. By September 2003, I was down to a size 14. I remember thinking "the average American woman wears a size 14 and that's what I wear." It was the first time in my life I was happy to be average!
By the summer of 2004, I was at my goal weight - in fact, I dropped down to 122 pounds, which was a bit too small for me, and had to gain a few pounds back.
After maintaining my weight loss for more than four years, exercising daily - including yoga - and not being able to tighten up the skin on my stomach, I decided to have Dr. Srikanth perform a tummy tuck. I had my tummy tuck in April 2007. This surgery was also done at St. Francis and was done by Dr. Srikanth - I wouldn't trust anyone else!
Since the surgery my life has changed dramatically. One of the first work changes I noticed was being asked to do media interviews. I have been on network television shows in both Spokane and Seattle. I had media training years ago, when I was heavy, but was never asked to do television until after my weight loss surgery. I have also been on internal television programs and videos. And, I have been promoted - twice!
The changes in my personal life are just as dramatic. Prior to my surgery, I was not dating even though I was single. I began dating about nine months after my surgery - when I hit size 14. Now, I am well below the average size of an American woman - I wear a size 4 or 6 depending on the cut.
I know none of this would have happened without my surgery. I thank Dr. Srikanth for the wonderful life I lead!
