Meet Beth

125 lbs weight loss

Beth Scheidler of Princeton is like many women these days who struggle to find the right work/life balance. As a Family Nurse Practitioner in Princeton, her job is very demanding and her days are long. She is married to Jason, her husband of over 25 years and they have an adult son, Jake. Over the years with going to school, having a family and a hectic work schedule, Beth neglected to take a lot of time out for herself and focus on what she needed. She, like many other women put everybody else first. Her top priority was her family, and being actively involved in her son’s rodeo activities.

“I’ve always struggled with my weight,” said Beth. “I couldn’t ride horses anymore and my feet and knees just hurt.”

When her weight reached a point where she could not do some of the things she loved anymore, that is when Beth made a decision to do something about it. She contacted Dr. Brian Swain and Bariatric Solutions in Murray to set up her initial appointment.

“I was nervous to go because I knew I was unhealthy. Dr. Swain and the staff are all great! No one makes you feel like they are judging you; they provided so much education and support. It was just a great experience and the only regret I have is that I didn’t do it years ago.”

She met with the office to start the education process and in January took a step further before her surgery to begin exercising and making better eating choices. Two weeks prior to gastric sleeve surgery Beth began the liver shrinking diet and by her surgery day was already down 25 lbs.

I asked her what she thought the key to her success with the surgery has been. Beth said that she learned a lot and received so much education on what to expect and what comes next that she felt very informed about everything that was going to happen in the process. She also said the support from her husband Jason and her son Jake was key to keep moving forward.

When I asked her what the hardest part has been, she said the liver shrinking diet prior to surgery was probably the hardest but she thought to herself that she could do anything for two weeks.

Today, Beth has lost 125 lbs and what a reason to celebrate her success on her 1 year anniversary! Now a shopper which she didn’t love before, Beth continues to celebrate the little things like walking in a store and being able to purchase items off the clearance rack because she’s a size medium when she started as a 3XLG and hadn’t been able to do that.

What else has changed for Beth and her family? She can ride horses again with her husband and her son. When her son qualified for nationals in rodeo, she was able to go to Wyoming and go white water rafting and do a variety of activities with her family that she could not before.

“I just have much more energy and don’t just crash when I get home like a did before. Also, even my patients notice a change and make comments to my staff and myself that I just overall seem happier and bubblier. When they ask what I did, I always tell them that I exercise regularly and changed my diet, gastric sleeve surgery was just the tool I needed to get me going,” said Beth.

It’s not easy she continued to tell me, “I still have cravings for bad food but now I just eat smaller portions and I try to make healthier lean meat choices and eat more veggies. I typically eat three small meals a day and have two snacks. My favorite snacks are almonds, and apples with peanut butter. I’m also still exercising 3-4 times a week and have found a great group that I enjoy doing Barre, Cycling and Kettle Bell classes with!”

Her final thoughts for anyone struggling with obesity, and where to start next, were these simple words: Once you get your mind really set, you can do anything!