BEFORE & AFTER GALLERY

Michael H.

Procedure: Gastric Sleeve

My Story: I was “husky” as a child and then it turned into being a “big Mike”. My first diet was at 10 years old and so began the ups and downs of fad diets. Hypnosis, points, proteins, low fat, vegetarian have come and gone throughout my life. When I hit my highest weight of 336 pounds and was having chronic hip and back pain I researched bariatric surgery. DFWBI offered the inverted gastric sleeve and I was impressed with the office staff and Dr Castro. This is when I decided that surgical intervention was a solution for me. Fad diets did not work and I was moving toward hypertension medications, diabetes meds and a CPAP machine. I started my pre-op diet March 2, 2016 and had the inverted gastric sleeve on March 23, 2016. My life has changed from that day forward. I followed Dr Castro’s instructions to the letter and the numbers on the scales kept moving downward. I was walking on post-op day 1 which transitioned into using the Couch 2 5K app when I was cleared at my 6 week follow-up. I ran my first 5K race in November and then started training for a 10K in February. The scales along with blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose levels were still going in a downward trend. Meeting my activity goals of the Cow Town 10K I needed to reassess my activity goals. I am currently training for a half marathon in October! I run 5 days a week and use a rowing machine and weights on the other 2 days. I continue to follow the DFWBI nutritional guidelines as well. Prior to surgery I was lucky to do 3 days a week of exercise due to hip pain and overall poor general health. My weight loss goal was to be under 200 pounds and I currently 181 pounds. Dr Castro and DFWBI have provided a tool to help my achieve a healthier lifestyle. I am no longer that “husky” kid or the “big Mike”; I am a runner and healthy middle aged man. I know that there will be ups and downs but I have the mindset that my weight loss journey is a marathon and not a sprint.
Thanks!