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These days, there are so many ways to shed those unwanted pounds, and though there are certain healthy living standards, each person must do what will ultimately work for them. So I found this article on five different approaches to weight loss pretty fascinating. It follows five women, their different approached to weight loss, and what the pros and cons of each approach are. One did gastric bypass, one did liposuction, one modified her diet only, one took up weight lifting and one became a runner. Each has her reasons for choosing the path she did, and each was successful in the journey.

Missie Davisson
24, Martial Arts Instructor, Vancouver, WA

Method: Gastric bypass surgery

What I Wanted: A body that is strong and resilient, lean and alive, and bursting with the energy of youth and strength. Obesity runs in my family. My grandmother was 400 pounds—big enough to be buried in a special coffin—so I knew this was a battle I was going to have to be fighting my whole life.

How I Got It: Surgery was not an easy way out; it was a tool that gave me a second chance. At 334 pounds and size 32, I had borderline diabetes, severe back pain, sleep apnea, insomnia, and occasional depression. I had tried every weight loss plan there is. Now, I weigh 160 and wear size 10.

Why It Worked: During the surgery, my doctors stapled off a 2-ounce pouch from my stomach and then rerouted my small intestine to the pouch. Now when I eat, the food bypasses the larger portion of my stomach and goes into that pouch, so it takes only a cup and a half of food to fill me up.

What It Cost: $25,000. All but $2,000 of my surgery was covered by insurance, but it took a year to get the coverage approved.

Upside: There are so many. I’m an athlete now, the top-rated female karate black-belt fighter in the Northwest. I feel closer to my husband physically. At the movies, I can cuddle up next to him and have half of my chair left. I used to not even go because the bars on the seats hurt so badly. I’m an active part of my 4-year-old’s life. (She was born 2 years before the surgery.) I can now go for bike rides with her; before, I couldn’t even sit on a bike without flattening the tires.

Downside: Choosing to have an elective surgery that I could have died from was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.

Biggest Surprise: Being obese was like being in prison, but I didn’t know it until I got to taste life as a healthy person. Also, my shoe size went from 11 to 9, and I no longer have flat feet.

What’s Ahead: “Obesity is a chronic disease, so Davisson has to be vigilant for the rest of her life,” says bariatric surgeon Patricia S. Choban, MD, an adjunct professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University. On average, over 10 years, weight loss surgery patients regain about 12 percent of what they lost, and up to 20 percent require follow-up operations to correct complications. Also, because postoperative patients can’t eat very much and have trouble absorbing vitamins and minerals, nearly 30 percent of them develop nutritional deficiencies, which can happen at any time.

Felicia Hall
38, Sales Support Manager, Bowie, MD

Method: Liposuction

What I Wanted: Better proportion. My lower body—meaning my thighs, hips, and rear end—was much larger than my upper body. My objective was to make it easier to buy pants (I love to shop). I’ve gone from size 16W to 14.

How I Got It: Three years ago, after my sister had a successful breast reduction, I decided that I wanted cosmetic surgery. I consulted with a plastic surgeon and decided on tumescent liposuction: Fat cells are infused with saline solution before they’re surgically suctioned out. That reduces postoperative bruising and swelling and meant I didn’t need general anesthesia, which was a big selling point.

Why It Worked: Dieting didn’t change my lower half, which was out of proportion. When I cut calories, I lost weight, but only from my face and chest. Liposuction gave me the shape I wanted—my weight is more evenly distributed, and my lower body matches my upper body.

What It Cost: $7,000 out of my own pocket.

Upside: There was no downtime. I had the procedure on a Friday and went back to work Monday, wearing a compression garment. No one in the office even knew.

Downside: After the surgery, my thighs were so inflated that I felt like a football player with pads on. It took 4 or 5 months for the swelling to go down completely and for my thighs to look slimmer.

Biggest Surprise: I bought a pair of pants before my surgery and they didn’t fit, so I put them away. Several months after the surgery, they slid right on. It was a wonderful feeling, one that I hadn’t experienced in a long time.

What’s Ahead: “Liposuction is a wonderful procedure to change the violin body shape—an enlargement of the hips, buttocks, and outer thighs,” says Rhoda S. Narins, MD, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center and the president-elect of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. As long as Hall maintains her weight through diet and exercise—which she has for 3 years—the results will last. But up to half of all liposuction patients regain excess fat within 2 years—often in other parts of the body. Once fat cells are surgically removed, they don’t grow back in the same place.

Jennifer Painter
33, Executive Assistant, Tampa, FL

Method: Diet

What I Wanted: To lose 100 pounds and get the body I had in high school—thinner, but not a stick figure. I longed to look better and to be able to wear styles I hadn’t worn in more than 10 years, like fitted pants, high-heeled boots, and little shirts. I wound up going from a high of 270 pounds to a low of 140—which was too thin for my large-boned 5-foot-9-inch frame—and then stabilized at about 165.

How I Got It: By following the Weight Watchers program to a T. The program assigns point values to all foods, and you are allotted a certain number of points each day, depending on your weight. I also attended weekly support-group meetings. These strategies helped me learn to eat and enjoy smaller portions, which slashed my calorie intake. Now I abstain from junk foods, such as greasy chips and candy, and drink alcohol and sodas moderately. Best of all, I’ve learned to truly love vegetables and fruits.

Why It Worked: Weighing and measuring foods according to the point system was the key. I wouldn’t have lost weight without doing so because before Weight Watchers, I drastically underestimated what I ate. (To me, a 7-ounce piece of chicken looked like 3 ounces.) I had tried to lose weight many times before with Slim Fast, calorie counting, exercise, even Atkins, but the pounds always came right back.

What It Cost: $20 to enroll and $9 (student rate) per weekly meeting for 18 months. Total: $722

Upside: It’s still possible to satisfy my wicked sweet tooth because nothing is totally off-limits; only portions are limited. Skinny Cow ice cream or fat-free pudding with a dollop of Cool Whip—that’s like heaven to me.

Downside: The temptation I feel at birthday parties and social events. I used to get as excited about the food as I did about the party. Now I eat beforehand and try to focus more on the people at the event.

Biggest Surprise: Walking into the grocery store and having men hit on me. After years of hearing things like, “You’d be pretty if you lost some weight,” I didn’t know how to handle compliments or come-ons.

What’s Ahead: “Painter has done a lot of hard work, but she still has hard work ahead,” says James Hill, PhD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. “Lots of people can lose weight, but only about 20 percent keep it off.” Painter wants to be in that minority, so she recently started following Hill’s best advice for weight maintenance—get regular physical activity—by walking with her family every night. She also now heads to the gym to work out 3 or 4 days a week.

Missy Holliday
37, Organ Transplant Coordinator, Cincinnati, OH

Method: Weight lifting

What I Wanted: The toned body I had before my four children were born. Although I’ve always been skinny, I’d developed cellulite and lots of flab.

How I Got It: I worked out for an hour three times a week with a personal trainer. One day per week, we worked legs and shoulders; another day, chest and back; and the final day, biceps and triceps.

Why It Worked: I didn’t need to lose that much weight, but I wanted to build muscle and tighten up. Weight lifting helped me to tone up quickly, and working with a trainer kept me motivated.

What It Cost: Three $40 sessions a week with a personal trainer for 3 months, then twice-a-week small-group training sessions ($280 per 8-week session), plus a once-a-week workout on my own or with a trainer. Total: $2,000 and counting…

Upside: It’s amazing what weight lifting can do for cellulite, which can even be a problem for thin women. I’ve lost most of mine.

Downside: Initially, you get so sore that it’s hard to even walk, lift your children, or sit down. Also, we’re financially secure but not wealthy, and I had to make my husband understand that working out with a trainer or in a group class is important to me—it’s the only way I can stay on course.

Biggest Surprise: Sometimes, I’ll be up late for my job, and I’ll still find the energy to get up at dawn to work out the next day. I’ve never been that dedicated, but I am when it comes to this.

What’s Ahead: “Holliday’s body has adapted to what she’s been doing, so to avoid a plateau, she has to keep challenging her muscles,” says Peter Melanson, educational programs coordinator at the National Strength and Conditioning Association in Colorado Springs, CO. “Every couple of weeks, she should add more weight or change the number of reps that she’s lifting.” Doing that, he adds, won’t make her bulk up. Also, to work her heart and lungs, he recommends mixing in some aerobic exercise. Holliday embraced the idea and now walks 2 days a week.

Debbie Shaffer
48, Registered Nurse, Aurora, OH

Method: Running

What I Wanted: To lose weight and stop shying away from activities because I was ashamed of my body. I now wear size-8 jeans, down from 18, and have lost 55 pounds.

How I Got It: Running 5 or 6 days a week. I started with just a slow half-mile and worked up to doing 4- or 5-milers.

Why It Worked: Because I did it out of necessity when I got a new puppy. She needed to be exercised whether it was raining or snowing or sunny. After a month of building exercise into almost every single day of my life, I noticed that my clothes fit differently.

What It Cost: Three pairs of running shoes that cost $69 each and $100 in running clothes (a must in foul weather). Total: $307

Upside: The ancillary health benefits: My cholesterol is good (the total is 130, and my HDL is 88), my heart rate is now a healthy 60 beats per minute (not 80), and my blood pressure is down from 120/70 to 106/56.

Downside: Some of my friends don’t talk to me now that I’m running. They either feel guilty or envious, or maybe it’s a little of both.

Biggest Surprise: Running gives me the time I need to work through the grief of losing two of my sisters. They both recently died of diabetes. I don’t listen to music when I run; instead, I often just think of them, and it’s very healing and helpful.

What’s Ahead: “To prevent injury, the most important thing Shaffer can do is to keep changing her shoes every 3 months or so. I know this is expensive, but it is better than replacing her knees,” says Paul M. Ribisl, PhD, an exercise physiologist and chair of the department of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University. He also suggests that Shaffer incorporate basic calisthenics or weight lifting to increase muscle, and a flexibility program to maintain her range of motion. Right now, she’s doing two out of these three recommendations, “being careful with my shoes” and “making sure I stretch.”

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