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OTC Success Stories: Sonia Susac

Please tell me about your weight history.

I was lucky to be in great shape all through high school and college without working on it. I was into synchronized swimming and a little bit of jogging. After college all the partying and going to great restaurants really caught up with me. But what really did me in was after I got married I gained weight from pure marital bliss! It crept up slowly, five pounds then ten pounds, then I’d lose a few pounds but then I’d go up way more.

When people asked how much weight I’ve lost I say about a thousand pounds. But I always managed to gain it back too! I weighed well over 200 pounds with each pregnancy. I even took pictures of myself on the scale because I thought wow, this is a milestone! I also assumed after I had the baby I would lose all the weight quickly. And I did lose weight. But somebody lied to me and told me that with breastfeeding you lose all your weight so I ate and ate and breastfed and sure enough I was back up to 190 pounds.

What diets did you try?

I did Slim-fast, a lot of watermelon and diet pills, which I’m not proud of but it got me through the day because I was always very hungry. I can eat as much as my husband can eat. I’m also not proud of that.

When did you decide that enough was enough?

I never really saw how I looked. When I finally did I said I’m in real trouble here. I could not drop below 180 pounds. No matter what I did. And I stayed there for about a year. And then I decided I had to do something drastic.

What did you do?

I hired a nutritionist and she was great but too expensive and I couldn’t keep her over a long period of time. After six weeks I didn’t have that constant reminder so I started to gain weight. There was no accountability. Then I decided to exercise. Since I’ve always been very athletic I decided to run a marathon. I trained but didn’t lose weight because after you run for two hours you get quite hungry

How was the marathon?

I finished the marathon in 4 hours 45 minutes with 2 stress fractures in my feet. And at the end of the marathon I still weighed exactly the same as when I started training.

How did you find out about OTC?

A girlfriend of mine ran the marathon also and when I finished I went back to look for her. She’s an OTC patient and when I saw her I barely recognized her because she was literally half the size she was before. And then I said that’s what I’m going to do.

How much weight did you lose and how long did it take?

I lost 52 pounds but it took me five months. I did Option II and as soon as I was finished I went straight to Skills. If I had only done weight loss and not followed up (with Skills) I wouldn’t be (managing my weight) today.

How long have you been in Skills?

Two-and-a-half years.

Did you have any obstacles in trying to maintain your weight?

I’ve had so many. My first is my children, a three and six year old. It’s hard to have pasta, chips and cheese around and it’s difficult not to have dinner with them but I can’t because sometimes it’s hard to stop. Control is an issue. I’m also in a gourmet cooking group and attend monthly functions with them and also going to restaurants has been difficult because you have to try the food when you’re reviewing it for the group.

What has been the most difficult obstacle?

The biggest obstacle of my life was that in March of this year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I was at a stage where I had gained 15 pounds and needed to go down again. It was something I was not expecting. I had to change my focus from my weight to making choices on how I was going to deal with my disease. It was hard to think of my weight when I was facing my own mortality.

What happened?

At first we decided to try a lumpectomy with radiation. That surgery was somewhat successful but there was additional tissue so I opted for additional surgery and then they bumped into another tumor. Because of that, they decided that I had a field effect, that it was everywhere. So at that point it was a full mastectomy. I decided to do a bilateral mastectomy in May. That was my third surgery of the year.

How did it affect your weight?

(I felt) I deserved to treat myself with lots of ice cream and lavish dinners and fattening breakfasts because I needed that mentally. My weight skyrocketed. I was giving myself time but I gained back 25 pounds, 50 percent of my weight. I had stopped going to OTC at that time because I didn’t want to bring people down and I thought I could deal with it by myself.

How did you feel?

It was a defeated feeling. I couldn’t exercise because the doctor says you can’t and you gain weight and can’t do anything about it. You’re depressed in the first place because you’re facing a life-threatening disease. I was very unhappy. Plus, I had given away all my (larger) clothes.

When did you decide you were ready to focus on your weight again?

The minute I felt comfortable going in public with my new body without making other people feel uncomfortable I came back to OTC. There were new (behaviorists) to deal with but it was like a new beginning. My whole life started over. I did it and I have a new perspective on life.

You have one final surgery coming up. Why don’t you just wait until you’re all through and then focus on your weight again?

My friends say that all the time but what’s most important is your health. And it’s such an abstract - lose weight for your health. My years of yoyo dieting were not good for my health. A steady, consistent diet is good for me and is adding to the (length) of my life. Now that I almost saw what could have been the end of my life, everyday is important. Everything you put in your mouth is important. I wish I could help people understand that but until a life-changing event happens you don’t really get it.

You could have used your illness as an excuse. Why didn’t you?

Breast cancer has redirected my life and taught me my true priorities and that is that I be there for my family and as healthy as possible. Every choice I make is incredibly important.

What do you do when your weight is up?

I take two supplements a day and, no matter what I attend Skills each week, even if it’s not my own class. Number one most important thing is keeping records. I use BalanceLog. And I like it because it’s visual.

Do you have any advice to patients at OTC?

Don’t let yourself go too far out of control because it gets too hard mentally to get back in the game. It’s a mental struggle. We’re all human and we will make mistakes. It’s how we bounce back from those mistakes that defines us.

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