MY STORY: Brenda Bagan

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one third of all Americans are obese.  Brenda Bagan is well aware of those startling statistics because she was included in those numbers.  At her heaviest, Brenda weighed 308 pounds.  She was tired of the way she felt, and she was afraid of what her weight would do to her health and her life.  After talking with her husband, Brenda’s search for an answer brought her to North Florida Regional Medical Center (NFRMC), home to a program that is recognized as a Bariatric Center of Excellence.

“My surgery was in late April 2007, and I have never looked back,” Brenda says.  “I have nearly reached my goal weight and will not stop until I get there.”

By the end of 2009, Brenda’s weight was down to 122 pounds.  She says she has been successful because she carefully followed the guidance of medical staff at the Obesity Center for Surgery & Treatment at NFRMC about what, when and how often she ate.  She added diet into her daily routine and has been extremely committed to that.

“Exercise is now part of who I am,” Brenda says.  “It is not a chore to me.  I actually enjoy it, and it makes me feel good.”

Brenda shares a home with her husband in Lake City and says her weight loss has made it much easier for her to do her work as a correctional officer.  Her work requires her to move around a great deal, and she is now very capable of doing that with ease.

Nearly two years after her surgery, talking about her success is still emotional for Brenda.  Looking at photographs of her more than two years ago brings tears to her eyes, but they are tears of joy – not tears of sadness.  She is grateful for the major change in her life and what it means, and she is very aware that thousands of other people are out there and wish they could experience the same.

“When I get a chance to talk to other people who are where I once was, I encourage them,” Brenda says.  “It is a chance to give back and help someone else who needs to hear the same kind of encouragement I got to help me get where I am today.”