Lawrence L.

Obesity & Me

Describe your behavioral and emotional battle with weight control before learning about bariatric surgery.

Before surgery, I had struggled with weight loss for about 12 years. I had not been overweight most of my life, having been a thin child and a pretty stable adolescent. After my divorce 12 years ago, I found comfort in food. I ate until I was sick most of the time and found that I would binge and graze all day long. The emotional struggles were great. I had varying degrees of weight loss successes and failures through Nutrisystem, Optifast, Jenny Craig, Meridia, and Weight Watchers. However, I always felt restricted on these diets, even when I went to a hospital for food addiction and joined OA, I felt excluded.

What was (is) the worst thing about being overweight?

The worst thing about being overweight was not being able to enjoy the times with my family and friends. I would isolate and not leave the house because my depression prevented me from doing so.

If you have had weight loss surgery already, what things do you most enjoy doing now that you weren't able to do before?

I run and play with my nephews and niece and I love to walk my dog... I can't wait to travel again, either. One of my loves is the theater and I'm looking forward to auditioning in the not-too-distant future! :)

How did you first find out about bariatric surgery and what were your initial impressions of it?

I had found out about bariatric surgery through my brother who is a doctor initially. I had felt skeptical three years ago that this could be a solution for me so I put it off, much to my disdain today.

Do you notice people treating you any differently now?

Everyone treats me differently now because I treat myself better!
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Before & After
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before photo after photo

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