Aziza lost 150 pounds with weight reduction surgery

Today’s featured weight loss success story: Aziza went from 300 pounds to 150 pounds with weight reduction surgery.  She says that she had to change her mind, habits, and lifestyle to lose the weight, because surgery is not magic.   Here is what she shared with us about her journey:

My weight loss story: Where do I start, it seems like I became overweight overnight.  With one pregnancy, I went from 155 lbs and a size 9/10 to 215 lbs and a size 18.  What a shock it was for me.  All my clothes were a size 10 except maternity clothes. I thought even though I gained almost 100 lbs, that after delivery I would go right back to my normal weight, but that was not true at all. My son weighed only 7lbs, so all that weight belonged to ME. Instantly I was faced with the shame of being overweight, not knowing how to dress as a full figured woman, not to mention I was fresh out of high school and only 19 years old. All I knew is that I wanted to be normal again, look and feel normal again. So, I looked to instant weight loss gimmicks, for instance DIET PILLS. Not having any example around me of anyone eating right and exercising, I looked to a fast and not so healthy quick fix. By the time my son turned 2 yrs. old, and after trying several different diet pills, I did lose weight and went down from an 18/20 to 170 lbs and a size 12. That actually felt good! However, if anyone knows anything about diet pill and weight loss, it’s not permanent. Shortly after, I met the man of my dreams, got married, had 3 more babies, and ate myself up to my heaviest 300lbs a size 4x/ 24.

In my opinion, there are many different avenues to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle. With anything you do, you must discipline yourself and stick to it, whether it be Weight Watchers, P90X, Jenny Craig, Slim Fast, Gastric Bypass, Fit for Life, The Atkins Diet, Gastric Sleeve, Tae Bo , The Cabbage Diet, LAP-BAND or Bow flex. These are just a few ways that can become a chosen tool to help defeat obesity. After about 5 years of prayer and research, the tool I chose was to undergo Gastric Bypass Laparoscopic Surgery on June 9, 2009. I AM NOT PROMOTING SURGERY, NOR AM I A SPOKES PERSON, OR ADVOCATE GETTING OTHERS TO HAVE GASTRIC WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY. This was a personal choice that I used as a tool, to kick start me in the direction of healthy living. Though I have been very successful, I did have to change my mind, habits, and lifestyle. Surgery is not magic; again it is just a tool that I chose. I have maintained a size 7/8 by working out 4 times a week, eating a low to no carb diet and staying focused and motivated to never let obesity be a part of my life ever again.