A Walk in Tony's Shoes

Name: Tony

Height: 5’7”

highest weight: 285 lbs.

current weight: 145 lbs.

Note: The following was written by Tony himself to detail the account of his personal weight loss journey. We thank him for taking the time to write his account and for being so candid.

Anyone who is “morbidly obese” knows it. No one needs to tell them. They know by the look, the stare, the condescending tone, the assumption when in a restaurant you order that special meal they say you shouldn’t be, the comment they’re saying under their breath that they think you can’t hear, or when the salesperson offers to help you find clothes in a department store that will actually fit.

Then you must deal with blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, or maybe insulin to control the inevitable diabetes that creeps up on you. Then there are the rollercoaster diets, the pointless exercising that yields no results because your weight makes it too difficult to continue since you tire so quickly.

When I was obese walking any great distance was difficult and therefore avoided.  When I went to car shows I would carry a fold-up chair which enabled me to sit down after about every 8-10 cars. Because I was visibly obese my friends would actually bring a chair to me if I didn't have mine with me.  

Every food was a "go-to food". Since early childhood I was raised on the "Clean Your Plate Club". If it was there I ate it. That carried over into adulthood and, sadly, I got good at it.

As I recall the obesity began to be intolerable around the year 2000 and worsened each year thereafter.

Another contributing factor was my back surgery in 2005 which drove me into a sedentary lifestyle. I was still eating too much and moving around less; thus, the weight climbed to back. huge proportions. My dad was heavy so perhaps I was predisposed to gain weight as well.

I dealt with all these issues before the day I finally decided to research bariatric surgery. I decided to attend an orientation at Dr. Korman’s office and concluded gastric bypass was the option I should take. It changed my life.

After the surgery when the numbers on the scale began getting smaller I realized I had made the right choice. After only a few months the look, the stare, the condescending tone, and all the rest that I was, sadly, so used to, disappeared.

The 3XL shirts, the size 48 pants could finally be put away in a box until that day when I could donate them to charity. In a short period of time, I was giving away my 2XL shirts, then the XL shirts, and even the size L shirts. Those size 34 pants felt just right as I let my life change. It has been seven years since my surgery and I’ve kept most of the 140 lbs. off. Of course, there’s always that troublesome 10 lbs. I’d like to lose.

I'm still taking meds to control my diabetes and high blood pressure, but I'm off insulin. The blood pressure is better than it was pre-op.

I keep the memory of those “big” days locked on the Wallpaper of my phone as a constant r