Ana Arroyo (left) and her daughter Gabrielle Rodriguez (right) have made important lifestyle changes to help ensure the success of their bariatric procedures.
NEW WEIGHTS, NEW TRADITIONS HOW A MOTHER AND DAUGHTER’S DIETARY MODIFICATIONS BOLSTER THE IMPACT OF THEIR WEIGHT LOSS SURGERIES
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abrielle Rodriguez, 25, and her mother, Ana Arroyo, 57, of Port Reading knew something had to change. Food had always been an important part of their Hispanic heritage and family celebrations, but they realized cultural traditions contributed to longtime struggles with weight. “A lot of TINA THOMAS, MD our foods are Healthy Together
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traditionally based on carbs like rice and beans,” says Rodriguez, an IT security engineer. “Even with protein options, the ways they’re prepared can sometimes be unhealthy. A lot of dishes are fried or covered in grease.” Both women eventually decided to have weight loss, or bariatric, surgery at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) Somerset. They also came to realize that surgery alone won’t cure obesity. For weight loss efforts to succeed, they needed to make significant lifestyle modifications as well. “We’ve had to train ourselves to
prepare food differently, like air frying or baking instead of deep frying,” says Rodriguez, who lives with her mother and sister. Now their meals look very different. “A lot of things we used to eat are not the best options for us anymore,” Rodriguez says. She has lost 125 pounds since having weight loss surgery in 2020; Arroyo has shed 55 pounds since her surgery in 2021. “Bariatric surgery is just the first step in a lifelong commitment toward better health,” says Tina Thomas, MD, bariatric surgeon at RWJUH Somerset, who performed both women’s surgeries
Summer 2022
5/26/22 3:02 PM
