Rebecca and Jason Whiting will tell you that bariatric surgery can help people dramatically change their lives, but it's no easy fix. Achieving and maintaining weight loss and staying healthy require a lifelong commitment.
These two know a little something about lifelong commitment.
Jason and Rebecca met in August 2008 at a Hospital of Central Connecticut Bariatric Support Group. Jason had had gastric bypass surgery seven months earlier and Rebecca was preparing for bypass at HCC in November.
Jason was immediately interested in Rebecca, and when at a future meeting she asked group members to exchange e-mails, he was happy to comply. Before and after Rebecca's surgery, Jason sent her messages of support and encouragement. By December, they were dating, and Rebecca confessed to Jason that she'd suggested the group e-mail exchange to get his address.
A year later, Jason decided it was time to pop the question, and he wanted to do it in the place where they'd met. During a Bariatric Support Group holiday party, Jason led Rebecca out of the room, got down on one knee and proposed.
"We went back to the party as an engaged couple, taking pictures, laughing with friends. It is a night that I will never forget," Rebecca says on the couple's website,
www.rebeccaandjason.com/.
Getting engaged makes any couple feel like celebrities, but Jason and Rebecca became the real deal when they entered a Dream Wedding contest with other Connecticut couples. Their fellow Bariatric Support Group members were among the many people who voted and helped the couple win!
Jason and Rebecca were married April 15, 2011 at The Society Room of Hartford in a ceremony televised on the FOX CT morning news. They then enjoyed a week long honeymoon in the British Virgin Islands.
Along with the wedding and honeymoon photos the couple posted on their website are photos they posted from before their weight-loss journeys to show how bariatric surgery can change a person's life. Since the surgery, Jason has lost 200 pounds, and Rebecca 100 pounds. The New Britain couple has kept the weight off by staying active - both enjoy everything from snowboarding to walking their dogs - and eating a healthy diet. Luckily, Jason likes to cook and bake and has found ways to modify recipes.
Despite their weight-loss success, they continue to attend Bariatric Support Group meetings - this time as a married couple.
"I've seen how much this support group has changed the lives of its members," Jason says. "Not only is it a path to a healthier life, but a happier one!"
