Linda Petty learned how to lose weight with a proper diet and exercise through the Medical Weight Loss Program at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. The program gave her the tools she needs, she says.

Linda Petty no longer eats just to have something in
her mouth. She also is more
knowledgeable about what
foods to eat to maintain a
healthy diet. She credits this
new awareness to the Medical Weight Loss Program
at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital.

"You have to deal with all the
aspects of weight loss," says
Petty, who lost 30 pounds
during the program, which
she attended from June
through August. "It's not
just a diet; the awareness
is making you figure out
what you do. In doing that,
you actually stop and think
what you do before you do
it, whereas you may
otherwise do things without
realizing you're doing them."

Petty attended the program because she is borderline diabetic and needed to lose weight. What was beneficial to her about the program, she says, is that it was comprehensive, attacking weight loss from all sides, including the physical, nutritional and psychological angles. The program placed her on a vitamin-packed meal replacement diet, and then she slowly graduated to eating certain foods. She worked out once a week with the group and the other days at home.

One of the highlights was meeting with a licensed counselor, who helped her realize she had a habit of eating at work to be able to concentrate. She works as a team leader at the Small Business Administration National Guarantee Purchase Center in Herndon, Va.

Today, Petty is trying to stick with the diet that brought her success during the program. She strives for eight ounces of protein each day and stays away from a lot of carbohydrates. She also learned she needs to eat something before she goes home at night. One of her challenges has been maintaining an exercise program. But she knows what she needs to do.

"Now I'm aware," she says. "Once you become aware, you change your habits."

Being seriously overweight compelled Ken Shoebottom to research and eventually undergo gastric bypass surgery: "I can't wait to look in the mirror and think to myself, 'Yes, I made it,'" he said after surgery.

Undergoing gastric banding surgery has changed Ken
Shoebottom's life in "ways
that are hard to express.

"I take it one day at a time
and one meal at a time,"
the IT security professional
states. "Fresh, healthy and
smaller is a lifestyle I have
learned to love. I choose
food differently, I eat slower
and I'm in control. The
surgery was my gateway to
change."

Shoebottom, who lives in
Reston, Va., with his wife
and three children, believes
it was now or never for the
procedure, which he
underwent in October.
"I was over 300 pounds with
no end in sight," he recalls.
"I knew the dangers of
obesity could put me at
greater risk for cancer,
diabetes and heart disease, already in my family."

Shoebottom, who lost 28 pounds within three weeks of the procedure, notes that he has worked for his positive results. He prepared for the surgery for more than seven months, honing his eating habits to ensure a successful transition after the surgery. He attended free information sessions to learn about surgical weight-loss procedures and met regularly with registered dietitians. Professional fitness coaches
and a staff of highly qualified nurses provided assistance and top-of-the-line care.

He can't say enough about the Inova Fair Oaks Hospital Bariatric Team, which includes his surgeon, Amir Moazzez, MD, who also performed a hiatal hernia repair on Shoebottom.

Thanks to his experience at the hospital, Shoebottom feels better than he has in years. "I have more energy and a feeling of well-being that I have not experienced in a very long time," he says.