Being slightly overweight is not a problem. Not being perfect is not a problem either. We don’t have to follow the standards set by most of the commercials we see these days. If you take a minute and look at the background of these commercials, you’ll notice how everyone is perfect.
They all have great smiles and fit bodies, and that’s great. The problem is that even these “perfect” people are being photoshoped just to make them look as appealing as possible.
That’s what they’re selling to us, and that’s wrong. Being slightly overweight is not that of a problem when it comes to appearance, but it is a different story when it comes to your health.
Heather was only 29-years-old when she weighed 356 pounds. Heather was a borderline diabetic and she lived with sleep apnea, back pain, hypertension, problems with sciatica, and leg pain as well. These problems were a direct result to Heather being morbidly obese.
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Heather says; “My weight was not only affecting my health, but my job as I’m a hairdresser. I’m on my feet all day and there were days I really struggled to make it through the day. When I did get home, I was barely able to get out of my car to my front door, that’s how much pain I would be in on a daily basis.”
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Heather grew up with an abusive father, and constantly eating cakes, snacks and pies was just her way to deal with the abuse. There was no one around to talk to and she had to deal with her feelings one way or another.
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“My father was abusive and anytime something bad happened, I would run to the fridge and would eat whatever hostess cakes, snacks, pies, or cookies I could find, because they were his and I guess in my head that was my way of fighting back when I physically couldn’t. “
“I never really talked about it to anyone. I just felt embarrassed and ashamed, so instead, I would just eat my feelings and would continue to do so over the years.”
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Heather’s first job was working as an assistant in a hair salon, and it did required a certain level of activity. However, instead of getting better her eating habits just got worse.
“I would never eat breakfast and then I would eat whatever I wanted for lunch. Whole sub sandwiches, pizza, Chinese, you name it because in my head I thought oh I didn’t eat breakfast, so I can eat whatever I wanted for lunch.”
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“Also, was a huge soda drinker, basically would have soda all day long. Dinner time was just as bad, as I worked a lot of late nights. So, dinner for me was eating a two-cheeseburger combo meal, chicken tenders, and an apple pie from McDonald’s. I never cooked or meal prepped so I basically had taken out all day long.”
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We all experience the “enough is enough” moment and thankfully it happened to Heather as well. She started experiencing sharp chest pain and that’s when things got scary:
“I tried to ignore it thinking it would go away and continued to finish my client’s service. After I was done and still felt that pain and palpitations, I was so scared, and I left work early and my husband took me to the hospital. I remember feeling so embarrassed as they were literally taking my clothes off and putting all these wires and ekgs and I’m half naked in front of everyone. I felt like I hit rock bottom and all these thoughts in my head of ‘oh my gosh I’m going to die’ and ‘I’m too young to die.’
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“Thankfully after all the tests and everything I was ok and the drs. believed I was experiencing the chest pain and palpitations due to hormones. My body was so messed up due to my weight. Prior to this event, I was on birth control for years and when I got married in 2014 I stopped the pill in hopes of being able to start our family.”
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The challenge ahead of Heather wasn’t an easy one, but she had to change her lifestyle in order to stay healthy and happy. The first step was an appointment with a local bariatric center recommended by her coworker.
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“I met with Dr. Yurcisin and we discussed my options. I wasn’t a candidate for gastric bypass, but I was left with a decision to make to either have the sleeve or the loop duo denal switch. The loop DS is kinda like a sleeve, they still remove a portion of your stomach, but they also reroute your intestines, so you have malabsorption as well as the restriction.”
“After he explained the difference in the procedures and how if I wanted I could have the sleeve done and if I felt like I didn’t lose enough go back in for a revision to the loop DS. Just the thought of having to go back in for a revision I dreaded.
“So, I left that day with two decisions I had to make the next coming months, what surgery I was going to have and also putting off starting our family even longer as I would have to wait 18 months after surgery to even think about getting pregnant. That was really hard for me to hear as I had hoped I would have had a baby already.”
“To find out I would have to put that dream off even longer was hard. I knew though in the back of my mind that there was no way I would be able to have a healthy safe pregnancy with the weight I was at. After talking it over with my husband and making sure he was ok with my decision, I went ahead with the process.”
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Heather was detriment to change her life, and in order to do that, she had to start with eating habits. She had to lose 20 pounds on her own before the surgery.
“I cut out all soda, made my lunch, and drank protein shakes for breakfast in the morning. I didn’t work out or anything because I physically was in pain all the time.”
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“It was an amazing experience the next couple months. Having to relearn my body and this new way of life actually wasn’t so bad. I’m one of those people that you tell me what I need to do, and I’ll follow everything (for the most part) to a T.”
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Heather managed to lose a total of 231 pounds! This wasn’t as easy as it sounds, and it all started when Heather set a goal of being 250 pounds. Heather continued to lower her goal to 200, than 180, than 160 and so on.
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“This all just seems surreal to me! I’m so happy with my decision to have bariatric surgery, it’s saved my life! I have my health back! I’m no longer a borderline diabetic, have hypertension, or sleep apnea and eventually I’ll be able to start my family one day.”
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Heather’s story is truly an inspiring one. This means that the only person that can give you a second chance in life is yourself! It’s not going to be easy, but it is going to be worth it at the end.
“That the impossible is possible, no matter how out of reach it seems in that moment.”
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