As Rosie Axtman settled into her 40s, her health was taking a turn in the wrong direction. Deeply affected by a period of extensive weight gain like nothing she’d experienced before, the typically vibrant Rosie began to feel hopeless and depressed.
Originally from Brazil, Rosie was a busy hair stylist who moved to the United States 23 years ago after meeting her husband. The couple found a home in Georgia that they loved and created a wonderful life together. However, Rosie’s life in America was far more sedentary than it was in Brazil, mostly because she came from Rio where walking everywhere was the norm.
Rosie’s Weight Gain Takes a Toll
Over time, the weight piled on, and Rosie grew more and more disheartened and physically exhausted. At her heaviest, she weighed 245 pounds—which made it difficult to stand up for more than 15 minutes without feeling pain. This affected her career as a hairdresser and her ability to do the things she wanted and to enjoy life. Yo-yo dieting soon became a vicious cycle that she could not escape on her own. She tried many different weight loss strategies, but nothing gave her the results she needed to get back to the energetic and enthusiastic person she had always been.
“I literally had tried everything,” Rosie remembers. “From weight loss pills such as phentermine, to weight loss programs like NutriSystem® and gym memberships, but I just couldn’t lose the weight. Sure, five or 10 pounds would come off, but nothing substantial or permanent that could help me get my life back on track.”
Rosie’s weight gain also led to numerous health issues that affected her daily life—including sleep apnea, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, constant headaches along with joint pain so severe, she was advised by doctors to undergo knee replacement surgery. She was even receiving consistent cortisone shots in her knees, just to keep going. Combined with the lack of sleep caused by sleep apnea, Rosie’s physical and emotional exhaustion were becoming more than she could bear. One day, Rosie, then 47, was sitting on her couch feeling incredibly hopeless, and desperately wanting her life back. She was praying for a solution when she felt compelled to consider a weight loss procedure.
“I knew I didn’t want to endure surgery but wondered if there was something else out there for me,” Rosie says. “I am the mother of three college-aged children, and I would never want to take any risks that would prevent me from being here for them. But when I started looking online, I came across ESG. That was when my life began to change.”
