Mellisa M.

Farm living is the life for Mellisa Moore, but the day-to-day physical demands weren’t enough to keep this mother of five healthy. In fact, her busy schedule actually contributed to excessive weight gain as she grazed through each day, rather than pausing for planned meals and family time.

During her first pregnancy 17 years ago, Mellisa gained weight that she never lost; subsequent pregnancies only added more unwanted pounds as well as contributed to gestational diabetes. Add hypothyroidism to the mix, and Mellisa was too tired and too heavy to participate fully, relegated to the sidelines yet barely 30 years old.

Prior to weight loss surgery at Excela Health’s Bariatrics Center, Mellisa topped out at 299 pounds. Since then she’s shed 150 pounds. “I’m half of what I was,” she says.

Beyond the surgical intervention, Mellisa credits the center’s dietitian with helping her reshape her lifestyle and her thinking about food. “Society misleads you with restaurant portion sizes that are the equivalent of two or three meals, not just one. We just overeat and when we see the appropriate portion, we think it’s small or not enough, but it really is enough to be satisfied, not starved.”

Now this 4-H mom is back in the saddle riding horses with her children, and preparing prize-winning pigs for show and sale, no longer fenced in by poor health.