Before & After VSG with Charles – 272 Pounds Lost!
April 19, 2016Celebrating Charles' Before & After VSG Journey!
When I was 40 years old, the scale read 470 pounds. Starting when I was 20, my weight had continually climbed higher each year. My family had concerns and they often talked to me about my weight. I ignored their concerns because I was stuck in my drug of choice - food. I had no idea that a few years later that I would be sharing my Before & After VSG journey.
Food was my sense of pleasure. I went to it ever since I was a kid. Food was my way of getting out of things if I got in trouble or if something happened in the family and I got depressed. Food was my go-to for anything and everything in my life. And as the years progressed, eating more and more food had a stronghold on me as my drug of choice. I continued this way of live and took it way beyond what it should have been.
My love of eating the way I was changed when my good friend, Derrick, was dying of obesity. He grabbed my hand and said, “Promise me that you won’t end up like me.” That moment changed my life forever. I made that promise to Derrick – and I was determined to keep that promise.
After doing research on weight loss surgery, I visited Dr. Mujeeb Siddiqui of Premier Metabolic and Bariatric Associates, and we discussed surgical options. I chose to have a gastric sleeve (laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy) because I wanted a treatment that would make me work for results. I wanted to do more to prove myself. With the gastric sleeve, you have to watch what you eat, and you also have to exercise.
Before & After VSG
Weight Loss Total: 272 lbs
Surgery Type: Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy VSG
Date of Surgery: May 19, 2014
Bariatric Surgeon: Mujeeb Siddiqui, D.O.
I had my surgery at Miami Valley Hospital (Dayton, Ohio) on May 19, 2014. A year and a half later, I now weigh 198 pounds. I’ve lost 272 pounds! I’m a father and a grandfather but I feel like I’m 19 years old again. I’m active and I even jog. You better believe I stick to what I’m supposed to eat.
I know Derrick is watching over me today because I feel like he is here with me right now smiling saying, “Awesome job, Chuck.”
My Milestones & Non-Scale Victories
Seven years ago, when I was pushing 400 pounds, I was with my 10-year old daughter at a local amusement park, Kings Island. She had never ridden a roller coaster before, and she was so excited to try this world-famous ride called “The Beast.” We got in line but I was nervous about my size, wondering if they would let me ride. They didn’t. I was too big to fit in the seat safely. My daughter cried – of course, and she wouldn’t ride without me. I was embarrassed and sad. It was an awful time. No dad wants to disappoint his daughter, especially like that.
After my weight loss surgery, as I lost weight, I wondered if I could fit on a roller coaster. This past summer, after losing over 200 pounds, I was in Atlanta on business so I went to an amusement park to test out my new body. I was so excited because I fit on the roller coaster.
Upon my return home, I asked my daughter, now 17, if she’d like a father-daughter day. Then as a surprise, I took her to Kings Island. When we pulled into the parking lot, she knew what I was up to. We almost ran to The Beast, and we boarded it without a problem. She was crying again – but this time, it was tears of joy. Her Daddy had tackled The Beast, in more ways than one. What a moment!
Share Your Before & After Success!
Do you have Before & Afters, special milestones and non-scale victories from your journey that you’d like to share? The OH team wants to hear from you! Visit our Before & After Submission page for details.
