Patient Stories

Weight Loss Surgery

Memorial Hermann Memorial City

Christi, Weight Loss Surgery
Not One Regret

Christi was 29 when she had her roux-en-y gastric bypass on August 9, 2004. She considers the date the first day of her new life. "I celebrate it as my new birthday," she says. "I had the surgery at a good time in my life. Now I'm ready for 30, ready to start a new decade."

Like most people who choose bariatric surgery, Christi has battled a weight problem most of her life. "I went on my first diet at the age of 12, so I've been dieting constantly for 18 years. I got down to 135 pounds in high school but I really put on weight when I switched to dorm food during my first year in college."

Over the years she tried diets and exercise in an effort to slim down. "Any diet that's out there, I've done it," she says. "This is the only thing that has worked for me. I pay close attention to what I eat, and I exercise every day. I did all that before my surgery but I just wasn't getting good results from the effort. Now I am. Having that kind of positive feedback encourages you to stick with the program."
   

Christi describes herself as the perfect candidate for weight-loss surgery. "I was tired of living the way I lived," she says. "I did a lot of research before the surgery. I tried to eat the way I would after the procedure. I gave up beer and carbonated drinks. I did all these things in advance to see if I could live with them, and I realized I could."

Now, just a little over eight months after her surgery, Christi has lost 110 pounds. Her goal is to lose 31 more. "I weigh 161 and would be very happy to reach 130."

She joined a women's gym after her bariatric surgery. "It was a great environment to start out in – only women of all different sizes and shapes, very low pressure," she says. "Now I'm ready for a more intense workout. I've joined a gym closer to home now to work on building muscle."

Committed to exercise, Christi is on the treadmill at home every day after work, watching a soap opera she tapes while she's on the job in recruiting for Schlumberger.

"I'm committed to maintaining the gains I've made," she says. "Carrying around extra weight is a physical burden. You're always tired and worn out, and you're hot. But it's also an enormous emotional burden because you're self-conscious all the time. I can tell you how my life has changed in one word: I'm happier. Since the surgery, I'm just very happy. I have not one regret."