Here's how I lost the weight...
The weight-loss procedure I chose to have was the gastric sleeve. I had the procedure 6 months ago and I’ve already lost 60 lbs – and I am not done!
Before surgery, my life was slow-paced, and I couldn’t quite do everything that I wanted; I would see my friends going out and having fun without me, and I’d be sitting on the sidelines. I wanted to be a part of that life with them.
Some challenges I faced before my surgery – the biggest one I can remember is getting on an airplane and not being able to sit in the seat. It was embarrassing, and I didn’t enjoy or look forward to traveling because of that. Also, before my surgery my habits weren’t good – I was single, living alone and I could still finish a large pizza by myself.
Before my surgery, my self-esteem was extremely low. Normally I am a very confident person in most areas – my life, my job, my family, and my friends – but not when it came to self-esteem. That’s where I knew I was lacking, and that’s where I knew I needed to make a change.
At that moment I decided I’d had enough and that I needed to make a change, I actually was having a conversation with my boyfriend, and I was blaming him for things I was upset about, but realized at the end of the talk that it was about me and about the changes I needed to make. It was no one else’s fault but my own and I had to be the one to move forward. That fact made me move forward with the surgery.
My boyfriend was with me when I decided to make this change, and he has been very supportive every step of the away. Dr. Naik has been amazing throughout this entire process; he made me feel comfortable, and that losing weight was doable and that weight loss surgery has been proven to be successful. There was nothing I had to do other than to make an appointment with his office. At any time when I need to contact Dr. Naik at the office I just make a phone call – I’m never put on hold and my issues get taken care of quickly. The office staff has been so understanding of the weight loss journey. I couldn’t be happier whenever I walk into the office.
When I graduated college, I decided I wanted to lose weight and have weight-loss surgery, and I actually chose to have the lap band while I was living in Orange County. I had the surgery, and I was successful for a while, but then there were complications so I had to have the band taken out. I thought I was going to be okay with keeping the weight down, but instead I gained all the weight back and then some.
So that’s when I decided to call Dr. Naik. We talked about all options, and I decided to have the gastric sleeve. I should have done this the first time. It has been amazing – I’ve had great results, and I like I said, I’m not done yet. I couldn’t have done it without Dr. Naik.
I have really enjoyed having a surgeon here locally in Bakersfield. Dr. Naik and I have created a relationship outside of just being surgeon and patient, he cares about my life and it’s been incredible. When I was ready to take that next step with surgery it was actually my mom who showed me an ad in the paper for Dr. Naik, and I decided to attend one of his seminars. After hearing him speak for the first time I knew that this man was confident and that he would take care of me, so I had no issues moving forward with him.
My experience with New Life Medical has been an amazing one. They have been helpful, understanding, and they make clear what the next steps to take are; even now after surgery they are excited with me, in seeing my progress with weight loss and that makes the journey that much better.
When I next got on a plane I wasn’t bugging the person next to me, and that made me feel excited and good for even a silly plane ride. Now I’ve gotten to experience activities that I’ve never been able to do before, like parasailing and hiking in Mexico, and going to fun places that weren’t possible for me before because I didn’t have the energy or the strength.
Healing time after the procedure was extremely quick; I spent little time in the hospital and, and when I got back home it was easy going from there. After two weeks I was back at work. I’m a little lucky because I’m a teacher, so I had surgery during Christmas break, and when school resumed back in January I hopped right back into work like nothing had happened.
Now I’m in eating smaller portions, but I’m also making smarter choices knowing that I can’t eat a lot. I choose to have the protein and vegetables first and then there’s not so much room for that cake and ice cream at the end.
If I had to do it all over again I absolutely would. I would tell anyone that is thinking about it that they should stop just considering it, and just call Dr. Naik. I would tell them to do the research, know what the process is like, and go for it; stop questioning and stop thinking that something might go wrong, and just go for it. Your life is waiting for you.
Wishing you the best on your new life,
Larissa
*There's no guarantee of specific results with weight-loss surgery and results can vary.*