food my whole life - I truly ate my feelings. Stress, happiness, sadness, anger - there was always a reason to eat. I accepted my obesity and even took on the “funny fat girl” role. Growing up, I was always told I had a great smile and personality, but never that I was beautiful. Family and medical professionals focused on my weight from the time I was around 10 years old. I tried everything - Weight Watchers, starving myself, laxatives, every diet imaginable, even a personal trainer for a year. I lost about 40 lbs, but then the weight stopped coming off. I gave up on myself, convinced I couldn’t be helped. Between 2018 and 2021, I gained over 150 lbs. I hid food, ate in private, spent all my money on food, and panicked if I ran out. In 2020, a trip to Colorado changed everything. I saw mountains and walked trails, but I couldn’t breathe well and my body hurt. I knew I didn’t want to live that way anymore. I wanted to see more places - and I couldn’t at over 400 lbs. I filled out the application and went full speed ahead. Less than four months later, it was surgery day. I thought it wouldn’t work - that I would fail again. Instead, I surpassed my weight loss goals with KC Bariatric. The scale moved, my clothes got bigger, and I couldn’t believe it. Life happened - I had my daughters back-to-back, dealt with postpartum hormones and depression, and the weight crept up again. But I refused to lose myself. I reached back out, got the refresher I needed, and with the help of GLP-1s, I hit my goal weight for skin removal in just four months. Ten pounds was removed from my stomach. KC Bariatric and Dr. Hoehn saved my life and gave me a second chance. I’m now a mom - something I was told I could never be. I went from not being able to find my size in 5X to wearing a size medium.
- Vanessa