DEL.ICIO.USWEIGHT LOSS SUCCESS STORY
Virginia Rock, 48, loses 230 pounds, keeps it off 8 years
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, February 09, 2009
Former weight: 400 pounds
Current weight: 170 pounds
Family photo
Virginia Rock before photo. Weight in photo: 400 pounds; age in photo: 40 years; when photo was taken: March 2001.
Joanna Stotter, North Fulton Regional Hospital
Virginia Rock after photo. Weight in photo: 170 pounds; age in photo: 47 years; when photo was taken: December 2008
Pounds lost: 230
Height: 5 feet 7 inches
How long she’s kept it off: Eight years
Personal life: “I am a bariatric program assistant at North Fulton Regional Hospital. I love my job,” says Rock. She lives in Buckhead and has two college-aged children. “I have a wonderful supportive boyfriend who is helping me do the things on my to-do list that I have always wanted to do and I have a walking partner, her name is Lucky, our dog.”
Turning point: “I have been on a diet since I was 11 years old. In March 2001, I had gastric bypass. It was the tool I needed to help me lose the weight and keep it off,” says Rock. “I now have a full switch. Everyone else knew when they were full when they were eating — I didn’t. Gastric bypass is not a magic pill that you lose the weight and it doesn’t come back. You have to create healthy eating and exercise habits — a lifestyle change that you can do the rest of your life.”
Diet plan: “I am not on a diet,” says Rock. “I choose not to eat bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and sugar. I have not had [them] in eight years. I don’t miss it, I don’t feel deprived, and there are so many healthy things to eat. Also, I am a good cook, so if I want something I make it. This was not a destination to a particular weight this is a journey that I will be on the rest of my life.”
Exercise routine: “I love to be outside,” says Rock. “I work out four to five times a week for 30 minutes to 1 hour.”
Biggest challenge: “I had always failed at every weight loss attempt I had tried. I promised myself that this time I was not going to fail,” she says. “My biggest challenge was actually having the surgery. It was a big step and I was very nervous about it. I prayed about it and knew that I had to do whatever it took to get the weight off.”
How life has changed: “Life has changed in so many ways. I am doing things I only dreamed about doing: whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, I can run; I am 48 years old and there is nothing physically I can not do — life is so good,” she says. “Gastric bypass was the tool I needed to help me lose the weight and keep it off. I thank God every day that I was able to have it.”
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