Yo-Yo Dieter Takes Back Control

Lisa Harris of Clementon, NJ, was a self-proclaimed “yo-yo” dieter her whole life. Moved by her father’s dying request to get healthy, Harris had gastric bypass surgery at Penn Medicine with Alan Shuricht, MD, FACS.

In this blog post, she discusses her decision to have weight loss surgery at Penn, and how the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program team helped her lose 150 pounds (and counting!)

I’ve been a yo-yo dieter all my life. As a kid, I was overweight, but struggled to diet and lose weight from time to time. Kids were cruel, and at one point, my parents pulled me out of public school because I was teased about my weight so much.

When I graduated high school, I was heavy, but it wasn’t until June, 2010 I really paid attention to my weight and my health. My father was very ill, and told me he was worried about my health. Here he was, dying, and worried about the effect my weight was having on my health. It was like someone had snapped me in the back of my head. When he died two months later, I was ready to make a change.

Taking the first steps

I attended an information session about weight-loss surgery at Penn in Cherry Hill. It was there I met Dr. Schuricht, and I knew I was doing the right thing. When I made my first appointment that January, I was 357 pounds.

At 357 pounds, I was not healthy. Two sleep studies revealed I had severe sleep apnea. I was on blood pressure medication and was borderline diabetic. I was only 43, but I felt tired all of the time.

And I wasn’t happy with the way I looked. I could only shop at Wal-Mart because I couldn’t fit into “normal” sized stores. I’d hide behind people if there was a photo being taken, and my body was hurting all of the time. It was no way to live.

I worked with the Penn Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Program before surgery and lost 15 pounds. I joined a gym, even though I was very self-conscious. I was on my way.

Food is fuel

On the day of surgery, I was calm. Completely confident in Dr. Schuricht’s skilled hands, I was at ease. I was ready.

I had gastric bypass surgery, and when I got home from the hospital, I felt like a new woman. I began to lose weight, and started taking photos of myself each month to document the “shrinking woman” I was. Today, 12 months after surgery, I am down 151 pounds. I’ve gone from a size 28 pants to a size 16.

I don’t have to shop at Wal-Mart for clothing anymore – I can go to the mall and shop in any store I want.

But moreover, I feel healthy. I sleep better, am no longer borderline diabetic, and have gone off all of my blood pressure medications. I only wish my father was alive to see me. He would be so proud.

For me, food was an addiction. But for the first time in my life, I feel stronger than it. I don’t equate food with love; it’s fuel that gives me energy and helps me stay healthy.

Today, I am almost 45 years old, and my 19-year-old daughter struggles to keep up with me. How’s that for winning?

Get more information about weight-loss surgery at Penn

Learn if bariatric surgery is right for you and attend a free information session about the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

At this free session, you will learn more about weight-loss surgery at Penn, and meet physicians and team members from the Penn Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Program.

Register for this free event here.