She Lost Weight and Is Keeping It Off

Phyllis Whymark exercises and eats small portions

135 pounds lighter – Following weight-loss surgery, Phyllis Whymark of Bethlehem, Pa., went from wearing a size 28 to a size 6. Now she chooses foods wisely, a habit she’s instilling in her granddaughter, Faith.

Phyllis Whymark has shed 135 pounds since having weight loss surgery two years ago. The operation ended her years of yo-yo dieting, which tended to pack on more weight after she stopped than she lost.

Once as big as a size 28, she couldn’t exercise enough to lose weight because of her bad knees.She was desperate to reduce.

“I was afraid for my life. I wanted to see our daughter and son get married, but I wasn’t sure I’d make it,” she says. She had been treated for cervical cancer 15 months before, and one of the risk factors for recurrence was her excess weight.

Then she learned about Lehigh Valley Hospital’s weight loss surgery program and asked surgeon Richard Boorse, M.D. to do her surgery. It changed her life and her weight.

Now she’s wearing size 8s, and sometimes size 6s. She works out on her treadmill five-plus hours a week and cooks tasty, low-fat meals for her and her husband, which they eat in small portions.

“Surgery was only a tool to help me lose weight,” Phyllis says. “Now it’s up to me to keep it off.”

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