Page 86 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2021

HEALTHY LIVING
journey’s
END
Achieving Happiness and Health Through Surgical Weight Loss
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster photos courtesy of Aubrey Bosarge
F or Aubrey Bosarge, her entire life has been a weight loss journey. The 31-year-old teacher from Lucedale recalls doing laps up and down her neighborhood street as
early as second grade in the hopes of burning calories.
“The year before I got married, I did the Keto Diet and lost
just over a hundred pounds. The year after I got married, I gained it all back and then some,” Bosarge said. “At that point, I knew I needed help.”
Bosarge realized that she couldn’t continue to ride the emotional and physical rollercoaster of “yo-yo dieting.” A quick Google search for weight loss centers in her area brought her to the South Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center (SMSWLC) site, which Bosarge read top to bottom. The information she found there paired with glowing reviews online made her decision an easy one.
“During my journey with SMSWLC, a registered dietitian there, said something that has stuck with me,” recalled Bosarge. “She said, ‘If you are on a diet, you will eventually get off that diet.’ This surgery and the classes I took through SMSWLC gave me the tools to make lasting changes in the way that I eat so that I am no longer trying (and failing) every fad diet I come across.”
Bosarge’s surgeon, Dr. Jason Payne, affirms that weight loss success stems from lifestyle change. “Weight loss surgery is not the easy way. It takes a lifelong commitment and dedication to healthy nutritional diet and exercise regimen in addition to surgery in order to maintain the weight loss.”
With the support of the team at SMSWLC and through her own determination, Bosarge has lost 163 pounds in one year. “I weighed 326 pounds at my heaviest and now weigh 163 pounds – exactly half of my original weight,” said Bosarge. “Not only do I weigh significantly less, but according to my labs, I am so much healthier. I was a borderline diabetic before surgery and that is no longer a concern. My birthday was extra special last
ABOVE: BEFORE weight loss surgery. RIGHT: Bosarge lost 163 pounds in one year.
year because I turned 30 and felt comfortable and confident in a swimsuit for the first time in my life.”
The South Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center has been helping men and women like Aubrey Bosarge to meet their weight loss goals since their formation in 2000. Founded by South Mississippi Surgeons (SMS), they have been providing the Coast with quality surgical care for over 30 years.
Visit the South Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center website at www.smsurgicalweightloss.com, where you can register by watching a free webinar in less than 30 minutes and learn about surgical and non-surgical weight loss options.
DR. WILLIAM AVARA, III DR. JASON PAYNE DR. JOHN HALL
South Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center
1124 Oakleigh Road, Ocean Springs 228.872.7277 • www.smsurgicalweightloss.com
86 | November 2021
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