By Kim Hilsenbeck.
He thought he wanted gastric bypass surgery. He researched it and talked with his physician about the procedure. But his insurance wouldn’t cover it unless he had a five-year weight loss plan.
But he wanted the weight off much faster than that.
So did he go to Mexico for a less expensive surgery?
No, Ryan Scott of Kyle set out to lose weight the old-fashioned way. He ate less and exercised more.
And guess what?
Kyle resident Ryan Scott went from being tired and overweight at 410 lbs to being active and feeling great. Along the way, he lost 160 lbs. without any surgery. He said one motivation was his poor health - high blood pressure, sleep apnea and borderline diabetes. The other was tough love from his doctor who told him if he didn’t change his ways, he wouldn’t live to see his kids graduate from high school. Now at 250 lbs, and off the medication for high blood pressure, Scott enjoys spending time doing active things with his children. (Photos courtesy of Ryan Scott) |
It worked. He lost 160 pounds. between Oct. 2012 and Jan. 2014.
“I feel like I will keep it off,” he said in a recent phone interview.
In 2012, Scott topped the scales at 410 pounds. He said he’s been overweight since he was a child. He had high blood pressure and sleep apnea and was borderline diabetic. He took medication for his blood pressure.
His doctor, Kamakadurga Govindaraju (known by many as Dr. G) at the Seton Family of Doctors at Hays, said at 6’ 3”, Scott’s weight put him in the morbidly obese category.
They met when he came in to discuss a possible hernia, Scott said.
“Dr. G told me there was no way to have surgery to correct it – it was too dangerous,” he said.
The danger was his weight. So he wanted the weight gone. But it wouldn’t be easy.
His doctor used a little tough love as motivation.
“Dr. G told me if you don’t change the way you eat and lose weight you won’t be able to see your kids graduate,” Scott said.
That got through to him.
“He wanted the lap band surgery,” Govindaraju said in a recent phone interview, “but his insurance wouldn’t cover that.”
Govindaraju said even if insurance had covered the procedure, she wouldn’t necessarily recommend that route.
“It’s a quick fix,” she said. “Patients have it and bounce back [to their original weight]. It’s a temporary measure.”
Like many patients, Govindaraju said Scott told her he didn’t have time to exercise because of his work schedule. He also has two children, now 10 and seven.
“I pushed him to make time to exercise,” she said. “I told him, ‘You have to have different priorities,’ and that’s what he did.”
Scott said the doctor told him to eat less than 2,000 calories a day and walk a few times a week.
How did he feel back then?
“I was tired a lot,” he said. “But I didn’t feel unhealthy. “
He admitted to having some trouble doing active things.
“I was sitting on the couch most of the time,” he said. “My kids always wanted to go outside. I never felt like doing it.”
Since he already had a gym membership, though hadn’t used it much, Scott said he started slowly with walking a treadmill a few times a week.
Scott said his meals at home are much the same as they were before, he just eats less of them.
“Last night I had tacos and chalupas,” he said.
And he will have a fruit snack instead of chicken nuggets. He also eats more veggies because they’re low in calories.
His weight loss journey allowed Scott to educate himself about his diet.
“I’ve learned more about nutrition and how protein helps you burn more calories,” he said.
Scott also cooks more at home, avoids large portions and late night meals.
“I don’t eat after 9 p.m.,” he said.
And now that Scott is a healthier 250 pounds, he said he is happier than he was before he lost the weight.
How about that sleep apnea and high blood pressure? Gone. No more medicine, either.
Scott said the weight loss brought other benefits.
“I’m happier than I was,” he said.
As far as Govindaraju, she almost didn’t recognize Scott when he came back in January for a doctor’s appointment. She’d been seeing him monthly through the past year or more.
She is proud of his effort even though it took many months.
“Not everything is a quick fix – the weight took long time to come, so it took a while to come off,” she said.
