My name is Lucia, I’m 25 and I am a student. Four years ago I underwent bariatric surgery.

I opted for surgery instead of other options because, in reality, I already tried all the other options. Obesity has been my burden since the early years of my life. I tried so many diets, until the last one that I did one year before the surgery. This was a completely different diet, that negatively changed my approach to food. I met countless dietologists and nutritionists, I've been to a lot of gyms. Every time I was starting, putting in all the effort and then, when I was stopping losing weight my self-confidence was decreasing too and I was going back to where I started. Before surgery I reached my maximum weight: 125 kg. I saw in bariatric surgery my last chance and if I could, I would make the same decision with no doubt. I had the pleasure to be followed by Giuseppe Marinari, a special doctor who has been able to guide me with extreme transparency, to support and motivate me since the first meeting we had. Since the very first kilos I lost, I realised how my body was literally a cage. I started feeling lighter, more willing to do a lot of things. I felt free and curious about discovering again my body. It's still hard for me to remember how my life was before I looked like I do now. I feel good, I am maintaining the results I achieved and I'm happy about how my look changed but especially about the person I am today.

LIFE BEFORE SURGERY

After surgery I realised how my body impacted my life, not only from a physical perspective, but from a mental one too. Something absolutely simple like going upstairs was a real struggle for me. The minimum effort used to get me exhausted. Nonetheless, my biggest problem was my lack of desire to get involved. None of the things that are normal and easy for a 20-year-old girl were easy for me because of my body and the way it made me feel. This has been a huge source of suffering for me.

HOW LUCIA’S LIFE HAS CHANGED

Before my weight-loss, people considered me as a person with a heavy character… cumbersome, like my appearance. I questioned my personality and I finally found peace with myself. I learnt to understand my body, to understand its necessities. My relationship with food changed accordingly in a natural and spontaneous way. I have a lot of energy now, I feel light and willing to do things I would have never done before.

Going out with friends, buying clothes or even moving… I couldn’t take any of these for granted. Nothing was normal and easily doable for me. I was always thinking about the way I would have felt surrounded by people, about the way they would have perceived me, the way they would have seen me. I couldn’t accept myself.

Thanks to surgery and the path I pursued I obtained the key to a normal and peaceful life.

The way I approach food changed completely. I realised how food is a necessity. The biggest achievement is that my body is now deciding what to do, not my brain. I think that's why everything happened in such a natural way.