“I’ve been obese my entire life,” explains Debbie Rutledge. “I’m not one of those women who were a hundred and ten pounds at one time. I’ve been obese since I was two and in my baby pictures. I never thought another thing of it, honestly. I have a good self-image; I felt I was beautiful. I was just me; that’s the way I was."

“Then I turned forty-three,” she continues, “and between forty-three and forty-five, my knees started going out on me, my ankles were going out on me. I got high blood pressure, I got diabetes...I’m telling you, it just all hit me.”

Debbie says she knew it was time to get the weight off. “I started looking into weight loss surgery for health reasons. It really had not been a big issue for me until I started noticing that carrying around three hundred and ten pounds all these years was taking a toll on my body.” Like a lot of people, Debbie began to research procedures online, which ultimately led her to Wiljon W. Beltre, MD, a board-certified general surgeon, and specialist in weight loss surgeries.

“I knew what I wanted,” she explains, “so I went to Dr. Beltre. He asked me why I wanted to do the gastric bypass. I told him that I knew myself and if I had will power, I wouldn’t be in this predicament in the first place. I know myself, and I knew I needed a serious measure.” Dr. Beltre talked to Debbie about all of her weight loss options, but ultimately agreed that she would be a good candidate for gastric bypass.

“It made me feel even better that he asked me why I wanted the bypass over anything,” says Debbie. “He actually was interested in what I thought.” From there, Debbie went through preparations for surgery, including counseling and medical testing to ensure that she was mentally and physically ready for the procedure. “Then, I went back to Dr. Beltre and we scheduled the surgery,” Debbie adds. “It really wasn’t a very long process at all. Not anything like I had imagined it would be.”

Debbie has succeeded in her goal to live a healthier life, dropping nearly one hundred and fifty pounds since her gastric bypass surgery in August of 2007. “I have no diabetes,” Debbie confirms. “I have no high blood pressure. I have no sleep apnea, and it is just wonderful. I went from taking six or eight pills a day to taking six or eight vitamins. I’d trade that anytime. The quality of life is much better.”

Debbie is quick to add that weight loss is not necessarily the product of surgery alone; she encourages people who are interested in weight loss surgery to remember that it is about choosing a new life. “This isn’t a quick fix,” she reminds. “It’s a life change. I exercise four times a week now, and if I don’t, I actually miss it. I never thought I’d say that.”

Other life changes for Debbie include restructuring the way her family interacts with one another. “We don’t socialize around food anymore,” she explains. “I don’t eat a lot anymore, so we’ve had to do other things, and it’s actually been nice. My youngest son has lost forty-five pounds since I had the surgery because I cook better now, and I don’t go out and pick up fast food every day. So, the side benefit has been that my family has gotten healthier also.” “I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I would never go back.”