Bariatric Surgery: A Patient Story - Allen
Allen Bogati shares his Bariatric journey and the positive effects it has had on his life.
Featuring:
Allen Bogati
Allen Bogati is a Bariatric Patient. Transcription:
Evo Terra: Allen Bogati was always a bigger child. He describes himself as a stocky kid, saying most people didn't realize how big he was because of the way he held his weight. So it wasn't a big deal until after high school, when he stopped playing sports. Soon after, he hit his highest weight of 385 pounds.
Allen Bogati: You know, and I've been kind of yo-yo dieting my whole life and, you know, exercising and then the weight goes on, weight comes off on a small scale. And I come from a large family, so, you know, we always blame the genes, blame the metabolism.
Evo Terra: At one point, Allen managed to lose 100 pounds on his own by calorie restricting, eating nothing but chicken, rice, and broccoli. But then life happened and stress crept back in. Within six months, he says that all that weight came right back. That's when he decided this wasn't sustainable, he needed help.
Allen Bogati: I'm a big researcher. So I look at reviews, I look at options and, you know, I looked at what procedures are out there. You know, the invasive, noninvasive, surgical, nonsurgical, and you know, Dr. Bilof's team and Garden State Bariatrics was rated very, very high.
Evo Terra: Allen met with Dr. Michael Bilof here at Garden State Bariatrics to discuss his options in April 2020. And they settled on the duodenal switch procedure due to Allen's very high BMI rating.
Allen Bogati: Brandy and Jess, they're like the sweetest girls ever. They both undergone procedures as well. So it's like when you're speaking to somebody, you're speaking to somebody who comes from a place of experience, whereas "Oh, I don't know, I'll have to ask the doctor" or, you know what I mean? So you just automatically feel at ease and have that resource.
Evo Terra: But there's a long process to get through before having the surgery. You start by seeing a nutritionist for the first three months to overhaul your lifestyle and eating patterns. You have to get clearance from a psychiatrist as well as a pulmonologist. It can be a lot.
Allen Bogati: You also start thinking, "Well, what if I can't afford it? Is this considered cosmetic?" You know, those are all questions that Dr. Bilof was able to answer for me to kind of relieve me of any worries or anxiety. And then, I had the procedure in September.
Evo Terra: Before this period, food was also a coping mechanism for Allen. Whenever he was stressed or feeling emotional, food is where he could turn for comfort. Allen said food was about volume for him back then and he could eat a lot in one sitting.
Allen Bogati: It wasn't about the quality even as much. It was more about the amount of food that I could fit into a sitting. So that's why, you know, it wouldn't be something like I would be going to a nice restaurant and getting quality food, it would be how many, you know, burgers could I get down or how much sushi could I get down in that sense.
Evo Terra: Now, with all of his new diet rules, Allen says that if he's going to eat only a small portion of food, he wants it to be the best food he can eat, both in quality and in nutritional value. Allen says the 180 that he did after surgery is insane. Before, he couldn't walk around the supermarket without getting tired or his legs hurting. Now, he works out, takes walks and hits new milestones he didn't even know he could reach.
Allen Bogati: So I enjoy walking much, much more. I'll walk everywhere. My wife will complaint that I parked too far from locations. I have a reason to walk.
Evo Terra: A lot of people have strong opinions on a weight loss surgery, both positive and negative. Allen says he ran into a lot of that. People who said he was too big, say he's too small now, but he's not going to let that get in the way of living his best life.
Allen Bogati: I just want people to kind of be prepared for that and know that no one makes that decision but you. But it caught me off guard, you know, those kinds of comments. You know, I don't know what the right number for me is. I don't know if I'm done losing weight, but you got to find out what's right for you, both aesthetically, both medically and, honestly, whatever your comfort level is and what you want.
Evo Terra: Allen Bogati was always a bigger child. He describes himself as a stocky kid, saying most people didn't realize how big he was because of the way he held his weight. So it wasn't a big deal until after high school, when he stopped playing sports. Soon after, he hit his highest weight of 385 pounds.
Allen Bogati: You know, and I've been kind of yo-yo dieting my whole life and, you know, exercising and then the weight goes on, weight comes off on a small scale. And I come from a large family, so, you know, we always blame the genes, blame the metabolism.
Evo Terra: At one point, Allen managed to lose 100 pounds on his own by calorie restricting, eating nothing but chicken, rice, and broccoli. But then life happened and stress crept back in. Within six months, he says that all that weight came right back. That's when he decided this wasn't sustainable, he needed help.
Allen Bogati: I'm a big researcher. So I look at reviews, I look at options and, you know, I looked at what procedures are out there. You know, the invasive, noninvasive, surgical, nonsurgical, and you know, Dr. Bilof's team and Garden State Bariatrics was rated very, very high.
Evo Terra: Allen met with Dr. Michael Bilof here at Garden State Bariatrics to discuss his options in April 2020. And they settled on the duodenal switch procedure due to Allen's very high BMI rating.
Allen Bogati: Brandy and Jess, they're like the sweetest girls ever. They both undergone procedures as well. So it's like when you're speaking to somebody, you're speaking to somebody who comes from a place of experience, whereas "Oh, I don't know, I'll have to ask the doctor" or, you know what I mean? So you just automatically feel at ease and have that resource.
Evo Terra: But there's a long process to get through before having the surgery. You start by seeing a nutritionist for the first three months to overhaul your lifestyle and eating patterns. You have to get clearance from a psychiatrist as well as a pulmonologist. It can be a lot.
Allen Bogati: You also start thinking, "Well, what if I can't afford it? Is this considered cosmetic?" You know, those are all questions that Dr. Bilof was able to answer for me to kind of relieve me of any worries or anxiety. And then, I had the procedure in September.
Evo Terra: Before this period, food was also a coping mechanism for Allen. Whenever he was stressed or feeling emotional, food is where he could turn for comfort. Allen said food was about volume for him back then and he could eat a lot in one sitting.
Allen Bogati: It wasn't about the quality even as much. It was more about the amount of food that I could fit into a sitting. So that's why, you know, it wouldn't be something like I would be going to a nice restaurant and getting quality food, it would be how many, you know, burgers could I get down or how much sushi could I get down in that sense.
Evo Terra: Now, with all of his new diet rules, Allen says that if he's going to eat only a small portion of food, he wants it to be the best food he can eat, both in quality and in nutritional value. Allen says the 180 that he did after surgery is insane. Before, he couldn't walk around the supermarket without getting tired or his legs hurting. Now, he works out, takes walks and hits new milestones he didn't even know he could reach.
Allen Bogati: So I enjoy walking much, much more. I'll walk everywhere. My wife will complaint that I parked too far from locations. I have a reason to walk.
Evo Terra: A lot of people have strong opinions on a weight loss surgery, both positive and negative. Allen says he ran into a lot of that. People who said he was too big, say he's too small now, but he's not going to let that get in the way of living his best life.
Allen Bogati: I just want people to kind of be prepared for that and know that no one makes that decision but you. But it caught me off guard, you know, those kinds of comments. You know, I don't know what the right number for me is. I don't know if I'm done losing weight, but you got to find out what's right for you, both aesthetically, both medically and, honestly, whatever your comfort level is and what you want.