Starting your weight loss journey can be challenging for everyone, but for Karen, it became a life-changing experience. Karen is a healthcare professional who has had the ‘gastric band to bypass revisional surgery’. After her gastric band was punctured 11 years ago, her life become more difficult, battling gradual weight gain.
Karen’s weight loss
She made the decision to undergo further bariatric surgery, getting the gastric bypass to receive a new outlook on life. In just 12 weeks post-surgery, Karen has lost an admirable 4 and a half stone. Since this, she has experienced not only a physical transformation but a refreshed outlook on her future and what it holds.
Why Karen chose Healthier Weight
As briefly mentioned, for Karen, the reason behind her gastric bypass was a lot to do with her health and her struggles day to day. Having always been passionate about helping others in the healthcare environment, as a paramedic, Karen understood the importance of needing to take care of herself. With this determination to find a solution, she began her research into weight loss surgery, where she discovered our leading surgeon, Dr Rishi Singhal. With years of experience in bariatric surgery and thousands of operations in his past, Karen knew he was the man she’d wanted to perform her procedure, choosing Healthier Weight.
Post-surgery experience
I did my research and found the amazing Professor Singhal with a fantastic reputation. Do I regret it? Never, I just wish I'd had it done sooner.
After her surgery, Karen received a significant boost in her confidence. Not only has this transformed her personal life, with her friends and loving husband. It has also impacted her job in healthcare as a paramedic. She has a newfound energy and vitality, allowing her to enjoy work with more enthusiasm and effectiveness.
That’s not to say that Karen’s weight loss journey didn’t come without its difficulties. The first few weeks following her surgery were physically demanding, and the emotional adjustment to her new lifestyle was overwhelming at times. However, Karen found support in our compassionate and helpful aftercare team at Healthier Weight. Although adapting to a liquid diet for the first 2 weeks was tough, Karen felt an immense weight lifted from her shoulders and eagerly looked forward to each new day. In retrospect, she only wishes she had done it sooner.
Karen’s relationship with food
Karen has embraced a new diet with lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Since the surgery, she no longer experiences that constant hunger that a lot of us can relate to. The surgery has helped her adopt a mindful eating approach and she can now savour each bite.
What are Karen’s goals now?
Now she is on her weight loss journey, Karen has space for other goals outside of her weight. She wants to focus on feeling comfortable shopping and being able to try on clothes she genuinely loves! She recognises that true success lies in being content with herself as well as self-acceptance, rather than fixating on a number on a scale.
Overall, Karen is a huge inspiration for us all and for those looking into bariatric surgery, she can offer a realistic view of what it will be like post-surgery. If you want to see more about Karen, keep an eye out on our social media for some exclusive footage!