Weight Gain Presents a New Challenge for Rachel
A Massachusetts native who now lives in Four Oaks, N.C., Rachel, 49, is a devoted wife and mother of two sons. She works as a receptionist in the main office of a local high school. Before starting a family, Rachel had always been thin and active – she never thought that weight gain could one day become a major challenge in her life. In fact, she was once an avid weightlifter who followed an intense training routine.
“In addition to pregnancy weight and PCOS, which was the root of my problem, my tendency to be the doer and caretaker of my family exacerbated things,” Rachel says. “I lost myself in the shuffle. I wasn’t taking care of myself, and the weight just kept piling on.”
Rachel Struggles with Yo-Yo Dieting
Over the years, Rachel tried many different diets and weight loss strategies, including Beachbody and the 21-Day Fix® workouts, WeightWatchers®, the Atkins™ diet, portion control, monitoring macros, and the OPTAVIA® weight loss plan. At one point, Rachel even worked as a Beachbody coach. While some of these diets and programs were completely ineffective, some did help Rachel lose weight in the short-term – but none of the programs were sustainable. After grappling with unrealistic diet requirements, the weight would inevitably come back. In time, she realized that her yo-yo dieting was unhealthy and was even disrupting her hormones. One of the diet programs she tried even forced her into early menopause.
Throughout these years of rollercoaster diet programs, Rachel felt physically awful. She constantly struggled with low energy, feeling tired all the time, grouchiness, and irritability, and felt inflamed and swollen all over. Her cholesterol and fatty liver numbers were very high, which was quite concerning due to the health issues that ran in her family (diabetes and heart disease). Rachel also began struggling with food allergies and intolerances that would cause her to break out in hives without warning. By this point, Rachel could feel that the inflammation in her body and her overall health was coming to a turning point.
She recalls one particular family outing that helped inspire her to make a change, once and for all. “While on a trip a few years ago, we attended a game as a family,” Rachel remembers. “While in the arena, we had to climb five flights of stairs. But I could hardly climb one flight of stairs – I was embarrassed because I was so out of breath that I couldn’t keep up with the rest of the family. I knew this was not the example that I wanted to set for my sons.”
Rachel Digs Deeper & Discovers True You
While she had considered a “mommy makeover” to help herself look and feel better, Rachel knew she needed to go deeper to address the root cause of health and weight problems. She especially wanted to get her PCOS permanently under control. Most importantly, Rachel wanted to ensure she would be alive and healthy for her boys for many years to come. Fortunately, the answer to Rachel’s problem was much closer than she thought.
By chance, Rachel heard a radio ad for True You Weight Loss in 2020 that piqued her interest. She learned that the clinic was located right down the road, in Cary, N.C. Curious, Rachel did some online research and discovered that the clinic’s founder, Dr. Christopher McGowan, was a world-renowned leader in endobariatrics who offered the endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), a non-surgical, incisionless, minimally invasive procedure to reduce stomach size.
“This was a perfect fit for me because I didn’t want a bariatric procedure that involved surgery or cutting my organs,” Rachel explains. “Plus, I learned the risks with ESG were very minimal, which was appealing.”
But, she wasn’t quite ready to take the leap. Instead, Rachel continued to follow and research Dr. McGowan for well over a year – regularly watching his YouTube videos and following True You Weight Loss on social media.
“I was so impressed with his experience, and his ability to connect with his patients,” Rachel says. “It was exciting when he announced his one-thousandth ESG procedure online.”
Instead of the “mommy makeover,” Rachel asked her husband to join her for a consultation with Dr. McGowan and members of the True You team. From that point on, she was ready to invest in her own health and happiness.
“I adored everyone on the team. As soon as I met with them, I was ready to schedule my ESG,” Rachel says. “They were the first healthcare providers I’d found who truly listened to me, especially about my PCOS, and they were eager to help me address the root of my problems. I never felt any judgment, and from the beginning, the journey was more personal than any doctor’s office experience or weight loss plan I had ever tried before.”
