‘A stomach reduction is not the easy way, I now know’
Image: Nine IJff
Jamie van Beekum (34) is married to Hans (37) and mother of Sandro (11), Danté (9), Lennox (6) and Peyton (2). After years of fighting the pounds, she underwent gastric sleeve surgery.
“I was always heavy, but I only got fat after my third pregnancy. I unexpectedly gave birth at 27 weeks. Afterwards it turned out that I had HELLP syndrome (a serious form of preeclampsia, ed.). In the following months I worried about my son and ended up in a depression. I didn’t feel like anything and preferred to stay in bed. Only food offered comfort.
After overcoming the depression with therapy, I started yet another diet. Unfortunately I only got 5 kilos off. When I knocked on the door of the GP and the scale there indicated 152 kilos, I found that shocking. I had never weighed myself again – was I really that heavy?
The easy way
I laughed off the stomach reduction operation that the doctor suggested. That was choosing the easy way, for people who did not want or could not lose weight themselves. Still, I went under the knife a few months later.
On an information day at the hospital about a gastric bypass, I began to realize that I was used to eating such large amounts that even if I halved my intake, I would still be eating too much. Moreover, medical checks showed that I was a ticking time bomb. I was still healthy now, but I could easily suffer from ailments such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
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Big change
Four months after the operation I was 40 kilos lighter. Psychologically that was intense; my body went faster than my head. In stores, I still walked to the plus size section. When I got pregnant with our fourth, I was even underweight. One advantage: my tummy quickly became visible and for the first time the baby’s kicks were visible on the outside. After giving birth, some kilos stuck. Since then I weigh around 70 kilos and see a happy woman in the mirror. Someone who shines, who is proud of himself.
“In the mirror I now see someone who shines, who is proud of himself”
I now know that surgery is not the easy way at all. I’m lucky that I didn’t get any complications, but I have to take vitamins for the rest of my life and take six small meals a day into account. I think it was brave that I dared to make that choice to reach a healthy weight.”
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