Paula Joseph underwent weight loss surgery and successfully lost a total of 47kg. In this episode, she talks about why she finally decided to have this transformative surgery and how it has impacted her life for the better. Luckily for Paula, she didn’t have any major health issues, except for Plantar Fasciitis which hasn’t flared up since she has lost the excess weight.Now, Paula lives her life with hope for longevity as she enjoys spending more time getting active with her kids. For Paula, it was more about prevention rather than finding the cure. She is close to her goal weight of being under 100kg and now has the desire to achieve more great moments in life, like participating in the Gold Coast Marathon.For full episode details, go to www.felicitycohen.com/

 

Show Notes:1:35 - For me, it started in 2003 when I was working with kids on cruise ships, and part of my job was to take them to have their meals when it became apparent that we were only served things like hamburgers and pizza’s for five years. Over the course of this time, I had put on a fair amount of weight which I tried to lose by trying a number of diet fads and shakes upon coming back to shore every 8 months. Once returning to Australia for good, I fell pregnant and gained a lot of weight, which was incredibly difficult to lose.3:48 - It was hard to lose that weight as I was already in a bad cycle to start off with, and the limited healthy options made it even harder. This is something that we tried to fight for on the cruise ships, as even our staff meals were things like cheese lasagna.5:49 - In some ways, but it wasn’t until I went over to America and noticed how bad childhood obesity really is over there compared to Australia. I have an 8 and a 10-year-old, that I’m always mindful of what they eat6:35 - Yes and no. I do a lot more meal prepping now, rather than just sort of eating things on the fly. Now that I have more energy, my family and I eat more home-cooked meals compared to having take-away.7:23 - The biggest for me was suffering from plantar fasciitis, especially because I work a physical job that requires me to be on my feet for long periods of time. Luckily I hadn’t been diagnosed with diabetes or high blood pressure, but I knew I was going down that path. When I was on my pre-op diet, I had lost 13kg and around the 10kg mark, I could already feel a difference with the pain subsiding.9:47 - Due to the pain from plantar fasciitis, I wasn’t able to help my kids as much, and relied on them to be more self-sufficient. Now that I’m living pain-free, I’m able to help them out more. The pain was also an excuse for me not to be more physical and to exercise which also added to the weight gain.11:10 - I’ve always had a high threshold of pain but since losing the weight I haven’t experienced an episode yet. Winters were always the hardest and I’ve just survived my first winter.11:40 - For the first time, I’m no longer that sideline mom! Now I’m more active with my kids, like rollerskating, kicking a ball with them at the park, even going on waterslides with them. I never knew I had some of the muscles that I do until now.13:27 - I was fortunate that my husband and parents were very supportive throughout the whole process. One of our close friends had weight loss surgery himself, and seeing the changes in him and having his support was also an inspiration to have the surgery myself. 15:23 - I’m definitely more productive. And with the kind of work I do, it has helped massively as I manage stock which requires me to get low to the ground, so that has become much easier.15:49 - In the past 12 months post weight loss surgery, I’ve lost 47kg which is more weight than I expected to lose. One of the biggest surprises for me was the change in my clothing sizes. 16:46 - They are very well aware, especially when it comes to me being more active with them. My 10 year old always mention's when I’m doing the things I was unable to do before that I wouldn't