Keep on Truckin': One Man's Weight Loss Journey

Just this year, loving husband and devoted father, Lorne Johnson made one of the most important decisions of his life. Prior to his weight loss surgery with Dr. Feiz on May 20th, 2016, Lorne Johnson was worried that his weight might keep him from being around for his family further down the road. Lorne didn't specifically suffer any health issues prior to the surgery, however, he knew he had to make some changes now or deal with complications in the future.

Before this point, Lorne was very discouraged and wasn't sure whether weight loss surgery was right for him. He had struggled with his weight his entire life and even though he was able to lose weight without surgery before, Lorne had trouble keeping it off.

"I'm tired of being the big guy in the room...it's time for me," he said. So with that in mind, Lorne Johnson made an appointment with Dr. Feiz. Upon meeting him, Lorne knew that he had made the right choice. "His team made a huge difference in my life," he said. He liked the fact that Dr. Feiz was friendly, approachable and immediately treated him "like family."

After undergoing gastric sleeve surgery, Lorne was able to notice the difference in the way he looked and felt in the first couple of weeks. Today, weighing in at 272 pounds only a few short weeks after his procedure, Lorne lost a whopping 32 pounds. He couldn't believe how fast he was losing the weight.

A constantly on the move truck driver living in San Jacinto, CA,  Lorne Johnson says that he greatly values the time he gets to spend with his beloved family. Intriguingly, one of his many passions includes cooking. Coming from a large Italian family, Lorne was always surrounded by wholesome, homemade food. However, undergoing the weight loss surgery didn't diminish his passion and love for food. Lorne loves to cook, and after having his the surgery, he understands that he has a greater responsibility to his health than ever before. He continues to experiment with healthy food ingredients in the kitchen and shares his delicious home-cooked meals with his family today.

"My goal weight is 210 or 200," says Lorne. He still has a little ways to go but he is very excited for the future.

There's Only So Much Time...

If you follow the news around weight loss medicine and bariatric surgery, you are likely to see a fairly steady stream of stories about brand new techniques. Some of them might seem promising, others might seem very unattractive for any number of reasons. However, one thing they all have in common is that they are new and, therefore, far from proven.

At Dr. Feiz & Associates, we've seen first hand the good results that procedures like the gastric sleeve can achieve for the large majority of patients. We also see the growing mountain of evidence proving just how effective they are. Of course, it's only natural for patients to wonder if the grass might be greener on the other side of the weight loss fence. There's nothing wrong with that, and a bit of curiosity is never a bad thing. At the same time, severe obesity is an urgent health issue and there really isn't time for patients to wait, hoping for some kind of perfect medical miracle which will likely never arrive.

Right now, only proven bariatric procedures truly seem to help patients achieve the kind of consistently healthy lifestyle that's required to defeat severe obesity over the long haul. Your health is on the line and, honestly, there is only so much time.

What Type 2 Diabetes Can Actually Mean

There's been a great deal of good news recently about the impact of bariatric surgery on type 2 diabetes, in terms of improving or, in many cases, actually reversing the illness. Still, one issue that just about  all medical professionals come across when trying to persuade patients of the importance of preventing diabetes is that the disease itself, though all too real, can seem like something of abstraction.

The problem is that, on the one hand, type 2 diabetes is a chronic illness that can be managed if patients work hard at maintaining a truly healthy lifestyle. (Easier said than done, of course.) On the other hand, at least in its early stages the disease is typically asymptomatic. Moreover, while most people understand in an abstract way that diabetes makes you prone to more health problems and can easily shorten your lifespan, that's not the same thing as truly understanding what it can do to you.

So, we'll take a second to describe just two specific complications that most people might not know much about but which can be truly devastating. One issue that frightens many diabetics, once they start to develop symptoms, is that the nerve damage that can be caused by diabetes can often threaten the extremities, with far too many patients losing all or part of their feet in particular. Especially as people are aging and concerned with being able to stay active, this consequence is easy to understand.

One that's less well known, but actually far more devastating, is the fact the diabetes, especially in combination with high blood pressure (another very common obesity comorbidity) can essentially destroy kidney function. This puts patients in the terrifying position of having to choose between death and kidney dialysis. While dialysis saves lives, it is a hugely draining and time consuming process that takes about 12 hours a week and has many side-effects, many of which can be unpleasant. While many of us might find it bearable as a temporary stop-gap on the way to a kidney transplant, transplants are difficult to obtain and many older patients in particular might not even be candidates.

Of course, that's just two particular scenarios. Diabetes can also spur such debilitating conditions as strokes, Alzheimer's/dementia, blindness, hearing loss, not to mention the usual laundry list of life-threatening conditions such as heart disease. All of these conditions not only reduce lifespans, their impact on quality of life can be far more severe than you might imagine.

Fortunately, if patients are able to defeat their severe obesity, type 2 diabetes really can be reversed or, at least, greatly lessened in severity. Obviously, that's something we're able to help out with at Dr. Feiz & Associates, If you'd like some help defeating your severe obesity, we're here to help.

Portion Control

When it comes to incorporating a healthy diet in order to maintain our weight, we at Dr. Feiz & Associates emphasize balance and portion control. Just because we're filling ourselves with plenty of fruits and vegetables and stay away from junk food, it is still very possible to overwhelm ourselves with too much high calorie fruits.

While bariatric surgery can help diminish the urge to overeat, it is still important to remember to practice portion control with anything we consume. Including a healthy amount of protein as well as some complex carbohydrates into our meal plans is perfectly fine as long as we eat in moderation.

Undergoing a Lap Band or a gastric sleeve procedure can help an individual lose weight, however, it is up to the patient to make healthy food choices to maintain their weight for the rest of their lives. There is such a thing as eating too many fruits and vegetables. By choosing to include a variety of foods and practicing portion control, patients can keep a healthy weight for their entire lives.