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For Carlos Torres, family is everything – his nieces and nephews are the center of his life. “I enjoy their childhoods since I don’t have kids of my own,” says the 30-year-old Emmaus, Pa., resident. However his weight affected spending time with them.
“At 490 pounds, simple things in life were difficult,” he says. “I was uncomfortable at concerts and restaurants, constantly having to worry about whether I was going to fit in confined spaces.”
Defining a new way of life
Torres attended a free information session at Lehigh Valley Health Network to learn about weight-loss surgery and found a new game plan. After enrolling in the program, he attended the required preoperative classes. “These sessions opened my eyes to a new way of eating,” Torres says. “People only need to eat a small portion, reminding me that eating is not a way of life.”
His goal was to reach 250 pounds after gastric sleeve surgery. However once he started losing weight and becoming more active, the weight kept coming off. Weight-loss surgeon Richard Boorse, MD, with LVPG General, Bariatric and Trauma Surgery, says Torres optimized his weight loss by following strategies learned at his preoperative classes. “Carlos eats well and takes great care of his body. He is now down to 178 pounds since his surgery two years ago,” Boorse says.
Living in the moment
After losing weight, one of the first things Torres did was purchase a bike. “I am never home now,” he says. Torres is always in search of new parks to ride and often rides with his nieces and nephews. “What I tell people is if you want a second chance at life and to experience things you’ve never dreamed of, weight-loss surgery is the route to take,” he says. “Don’t be scared – it is going to give you a second chance at life, and why would you say no to that?”
– Jennifer Leader