Up, Up and Away
Robin Cyr is flying high and flying lightly after losing 230 pounds
By Linda Trainor, RN, BSN
Robin Cyr loves floating through the air in a hot air balloon.
“It’s liberating,” she says. “It makes you feel weightless, happy and free!”
Robin is now an enthusiastic cheerleader encouraging everyone she knows to experience the joy of being in a hot air balloon. Weightlessness can certainly be a liberating experience, especially for someone who once weighed 386 pounds.
Admitting that flying in a hot air balloon is the best thing since ice cream, Robin remembers a time when she was not floating in the air but grounded by excess weight and bogged down with medical issues, not to mention very low self-esteem.
“Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have considered getting into a hot air balloon weighing 386 pounds,” she says.
Today, not only is Robin flying high and flying lightly at 156 pounds, but she also enjoys horseback riding, bicycling, kayaking, and even zip lining. Robin attributes her new adventurous and exciting lifestyle to having weight loss surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
“I am so happy that I had the gastric bypass," she says. "When I was in the hot air balloon I couldn’t help but feel ‘free.’”
Robin explains that being up in the air was very symbolic of her weight loss journey.
“I have been given a new life, and I'm freed from being imprisoned by my former body,” she adds.
Not long ago, Robin described her life very differently from flying high in the blue skies. She vividly recalls an inactive, unfulfilling life with many limitations imposed by her extra 230 pounds, and states that even her relationships were compromised.
Robin disclosed that her primary relationship was with food, which resulted in self-condemnation, decreased self-esteem and, ultimately, isolation.
“I physically isolated myself from others and only had “phone friends,” she explains. “I would simply talk on the phone with friends because I was very self-conscious and feared being seen in public places because I knew I was constantly being judged about my weight.”
Robin’s daily life consisted of only going to work and then going home to watch TV because she was physically exhausted.
“I was truly depleted of all my energy doing these things," she says of her past routine. "I always felt badly about my weight and eating too much but I couldn’t break the vicious cycle on my own.”
Robin describes using food prior to her surgery as a tranquilizer and a way to deal with life’s stressors.
“Food always calmed me down for the time being,” she laughs. “No wonder I had a problem. I would eat a five-pound bag of peanut M & M’s, a pint of Häagen-Dasz ice cream or a whole pizza and chicken wings with a lot of blue cheese dressing.”
Robin finds it interesting that despite her food intake, she never stood on a scale before she underwent a screening for weight loss surgery.
“I did not want to know what I weighed,” she remembers. “I figured if I didn’t know what the number was on the scale, I didn’t have to do something about it.
“The Roux-en-Y [RNY] gastric bypass did for me what I couldn’t do for myself. It helped me gain control of my life.”
Today, Robin is no longer afraid to hop on the scale. She even looks at herself in the mirror, something she always avoided doing. Prior to her surgery, Robin only ordered clothes from a catalog in “the biggest size available.” She reports that physically shopping for clothes was “way too much of a workout.”
"My husband is not allowed now to question if I need to go shopping again,” Robin sighs. “Sad but true, he knows that I am making up for twenty years of lost shopping opportunities.”
Even so, Robin states that her husband is thrilled with her weight loss because she is no longer unhappy with herself.
“In the old days, when I was eating M & M’s and he wanted one, I would lash out at him,” she admits. “’No, these are all mine, go buy your own.’”
Robin confesses to hiding food in the past and labeled herself as a “closet eater,” so no one would know about her eating habits.
“If my husband or anyone even hinted that I had a problem, or I was heavy, I would deny it, blaming it on bad genes, or my metabolism,” she says. “My favorite excuse was that everyone in my family was obese, which was not true.”
Robin emphasizes that she “never, ever took responsibility for my size, never. If anyone ever asked me if I ate a lot, I always lied.”
Clearly, Robin has now changed her stance.
“I own my body now,” she says, and proudly states that she takes personal responsibility for all her actions — which she loves.
"I still enjoy food but I view food differently,” she explains. “I now see food as fuel for my body instead of my world.”
Reflecting on her new life, Robin seizes every opportunity to shop with friends, go on vacations and just play. Robin also faithfully attends post-op WLS support groups at BIDMC.
She has even learned new ways of coping with life’s stressors. Now, when she gets stressed at work, she gets up and gets out of her office at lunch time, going for a 30 to 40 minute walk.
When Robin feels stressed at home, she rides her bicycle, goes for a run, or uses her treadmill with a new flat screen TV attached. Replacing old behaviors with new behaviors has had a tremendous impact on her life.
Instead of feeling badly for relieving stress, "I feel good about myself because exercise is a great way of coping with stress, providing physical and emotional health benefits,” she says.
Perhaps one of the most delightful benefits of having the RNY gastric bypass, Robin stresses, is the opportunity to have fun.
“I cannot thank Dr. [Daniel] Jones enough for performing this life-changing surgery and the staff at BIDMC for their compassionate care,” she says.
“I can play now, I don’t have to be on the sidelines sitting and watching everybody else enjoying life,” Robin giggles. “It is really cool to join in the fun. l like myself now!”
Her weight loss journey has even changed her from an introvert to an extrovert.
“I never knew what feeling comfortable in your own skin meant,” Robin says. “Now I know and it is a great feeling."
The question is … is the sky the limit for Robin? Definitely not. While it may be the limit for some, there are no limits in Robin’s future. You don't have to be an astrologer to forecast that her future includes an endless soaring and exploring of many more wonder-filled adventures now that she is healthy and fit.
One can easily see her amongst the shining stars, serving as an inspiration to others.
Go Robin! The universe awaits you!
All photos courtesy of Robin Cyr
Above content provided by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. For advice about your medical care, consult your doctor.
Posted October 2011
