"We're pushing 40 and we didn't want to have that life anymore. We want to be active with our kids. We want to be able to do fun stuff with them."

Last year, Julie Reisner took her daughter Payton, and son Sam go-carting. But when Julie settled into a cart, ready to race around the track, her 307 pounds barely fit, and she couldn't buckle the seatbelt around her waist. She had to get out.

"That was my moment of truth," Julie says.

Soon after, she attended an information seminar at Bronson and learned about the various surgical and non-surgical procedures and resources for weight loss. Her husband Dan, who was also battling weight – at 5'9" he weighed 311 and was up to a 46-inch waist – went with her.

"We do everything as a team," Julie says. "I knew it would be easier together." Dan agreed, and told Julie that if she had surgery, he would too.

 After learning about the options available to them including dietetic counseling and reversible lap band surgery, they both decided to have a Roux-en-Y procedure performed by Alan A. Saber, MD. The procedure reduces the stomach to a small pouch and reroutes part of the large intestine. By doing so, it restricts the absorption of food and calories and increases the patient's sense of fullness. Julie had the procedure on December 4, 2007, and Dan had the same procedure several weeks after Julie on January 22, 2008.

"We chose Bronson for our surgeries because it is our preferred healthcare provider," Julie says. "We expected good care, but what we received was above and beyond that. It was phenomenal."

Julie's battle with weight began in college. "The freshmen 15 became the freshman 50 for me," she says. "I suffered from depression and anxiety... I found food was a friend... I could give a lot of excuses, but the truth is, I didn't make it a priority."

Dan's weight was a lifelong struggle. "He's always wanted to get in shape, but it was so hard," Julie says. "Now he loves to exercise. He runs 5K's and is training to run a marathon."

A year after surgery, Julie has lost 120 pounds, now weighing 188. Dan has dropped to a 32-inch waist and weighs165 pounds. Both Reisners adhere to their post-surgery diet and exercise recommendations and are active in Bronson's bariatric support group, which is a peer-counseling program. They started counseling before their surgeries. Now they serve as peer counselors for others.

"We know it is sometimes easier to ask another patient something you might be embarrassed to ask a nurse or a doctor," Julie says. Dan is considering going back to school for a certificate in bariatric counseling and physical training.
Dan before            Julie before
losing 146 lbs.       losing 120 lbs.

Julie's life has also changed. She and a friend recently opened a specialty boutique and party center for girls called Sugar & Spice. She manages the Oshtemo business while maintaining her full-time day job as a training specialist for Educational Community Credit Union.

"It used to take all my effort to get up and go to work," Julie says. "Now I have the energy to work and run a business, plus be a wife, a mom, a daughter, daughter-in law... It was the best thing I ever did for myself and my family."

On New Year's Day 2009, Dan, Julie and their children participated in the John Daley Memorial One Run. Dan ran while Julie and kids walked the 2.2 miles.

According to Julie, this would never have happened a year ago. "We're so excited to have this great way to start the new year!"