Gastric balloon experience report: How Anna (36) lost 50 kilos with a gastric balloon

The first few days after the insertion of the gastric balloon, Anna feels very weak and allows herself and her body some relaxation and a short break from any stress. One of the biggest challenges for them is drinking enough water. The feeling of fullness and the constant burping get in the way, which means that she simply does not drink enough. My Weight means slim together, so every member of the group helped where they could to help Anna get the most out of her therapy.

After just a week with your Spatz 3 gastric balloon, she can eat solid food again. This week Anna has already lost an incredible 3.6 kg (8.16 lb.). A great start! The journey can go on at this pace.

After a little over a month with the gastric balloon, Anna has lost the first 10 kilos (22.05 lb.). This means that Anna weighs 129.1kg (284.6 lb.) on January 6th. “Jubel Hüpf Freu” (“Cheers and glad”), she describes her feelings. A big success!

After the end of the first month with the gastric balloon and with the first 10 kilos (22.05 lb.) lost, nobody could stop Anna. This is exactly what we observe in many patients who have already had a few unsuccessful diet attempts. Only after the first 10 kilos (22.05 lb.) have fallen do you understand that the therapy is working, and you can hardly contain your ambition.

It was the same with Anna. For work and days when there is a lot to do or when things might get a bit more stressful, Anna prepares her meals in advance. She sticks to the recommended maximum portion size of 250 g per meal. This also makes it much easier for you to track your diet in an app. Now she always knows how many calories she eats a day and when she can reward herself with a small snack. Preparing meals is great for anyone who tends to eat in a hurry and/or resort to unhealthy choices when stressed. You can find out more about this in our blog post about meal prepping.

Through all of this, Anna gets great support from her boyfriend, who helps her get through the days, learn the new habits and is just there for her. At the end of the third month, Anna has already mastered a major milestone. You have already reached almost half of your goal. She wanted to lose 50 kilos (110.2 lb.) with the gastric balloon and by the beginning of March she had already secured more than 22 kilos (48.5 lb.).

In the second quarter, Anna hit the “weight plateau” with her gastric balloon, which affects many patients and can really sap motivation. After her great success in the first three months, a little frustration became noticeable in the otherwise always so positive thinker.

The weight plateau affects many patients between about the fourth month of gastric balloon therapy. Humans are creatures of habit and very adaptable. After the first 3 months, the stomach gets used to its new roommate. The longer the gastric balloon therapy lasts, the more each patient must work together to achieve their goals.

At the end of the fourth month, Anna was of course a little disappointed that after the first 22 kilos (48.5 lb.) of weight loss, she had to work harder for each additional kilo. With a new will, the 36-year-old continues and does not let herself be defeated. When she does get hungry, the disciplined fighter distracts herself by pursuing her hobbies and drawing something, for example. It pays off for them too. At the end of April, Anna reached her next big milestone after 5 months of gastric balloon therapy.

Over the months, Anna becomes more and more creative with food and with new combinations and alternatives, for example to reduce carbohydrates. Almost halfway through Anna has also reached half of the kilos that should be down from the start: 25 kilos (55.12 lb.). She herself sees the difference from six months ago, especially in photos. However, Anna still hasn’t gotten used to the fact that her body is currently changing so much.

Anna keeps setting herself new goals so as not to lose her motivation. She had hardly reached her goal of achieving half of her weight loss in half the therapy time when the next milestone was already set. It was early May and by the time her summer vacation begins, she wants to weigh under 200 pounds. And Anna did that too. A week before the start of the holidays, her weight is 89.4 kg (197.1 lb.), and she is over the moon about her decision to have gastric balloon therapy.

Despite all this, she always stays in touch with her fellow campaigners, exchanges ideas, motivates others and is motivated by others. The gastric balloon community, together with the support of her boyfriend and family, gives her the necessary motivation not to let minor setbacks throw her off track.

In addition, she motivates herself more and more to go out into the fresh air and exercise. She finds it fun to go back to nature and do a few laps. Especially with her mother, Anna wants to cover a few kilometers, have a good time and have fun in life.

For dear Anna, 2021 stands for the year of changes. Just losing weight is not enough for her. Not only has her body changed, but also her self-confidence. She finally dares to do something that she had planned for a long time but didn’t dare with the excess kilos. She cuts her hair short and is finding herself more and more in terms of looks. She can finally dress fashionably and wear eye-catching colors without being afraid of what other people will think.

Every kilo that Anna loses gives her more energy and joie de vivre. But not only that, but she also notices the small changes in her everyday life. When she goes on vacation with the gastric balloon after 10 months at the beginning of September, half of her wardrobe suddenly fits in her suitcase. Her dress size has now reduced so much that she can pack a lot more clothes in her suitcase than she used to.

Anna is completely amazed at her newly gained fitness. In the past, walking a kilometer was exhausting for her and caused pain in her legs and back. An active holiday was out of the question. Now she is on vacation in the vineyards on the Moselle and runs more than 15 kilometers through the mountains every day. But let’s be honest, that’s no wonder, now that she’s a whopping 100 pounds she doesn’t have to lug around anymore. Her joie de vivre and her newly found happiness can be seen in each of her photos.

A month before her gastric balloon removal, Anna draws her conclusions. For her, the gastric balloon was the best decision to break out of the hamster wheel between gaining weight and losing weight. Every kilo she lost provided more fun and vitality in everyday life. She was never alone though. She was always just a message to the group, to Dr. Hoepffner or the My Weight aftercare supervisor Marcus away from good advice, nice words and a lot of motivation.

And Anna had enough reasons to be and stay motivated. A week prior to her gastric balloon removal, she had lost exactly 100 pounds with the gastric balloon. At a height of 1.70, she now weighs 78 kilos (172 lb.) and feels very comfortable in her body. But the end of the gastric balloon therapy should not have been the end of her journey. She would like to manage the last 8 kilos (17.64 lb.) to her dream weight on her own.

The time has come at the beginning of December. The twelve months have passed and Dr. Hoepffner in Münster removed the Spatz3 gastric balloon. Anna’s weight that day is 78.65 kg (173.4 lb.). A great achievement! After the removal she has some sore muscles in her stomach. But most importantly, despite all her concerns in therapy, her eating habits have not changed since then. She is no more and no less hungry than with the balloon. On the contrary, without a gastric balloon, she now wants to prove to herself that she is in control of her weight and her body. 6 weeks after the removal of the gastric balloon she lets us know that she is now taking her destiny into her own hands. Since the removal, she has lost another 3 kilos (6.61 lb.) and has never been so close to her desired weight as she is today.

A year and 50 kilos (110.2 lb.) separate Anna from her old self. Does she want to go back? Never again! But she is happy to share her experience.

It’s been two months since Anna’s gastric balloon was removed. In the 12 months of therapy, Anna has lost a total of 110 pounds, which is an incredible result. More pounds have dropped than Anna could have imagined: “I’m still super happy that I took the step.”

She still diligently reports to the aftercare group on a regular basis about what her life is like now, what her next steps and goals are and what she has already successfully mastered. She now likes to go out into the fresh air voluntarily and without any pain in her legs or back. Now it’s time to keep the weight, but with her ambition it shouldn’t be a problem for the fighter.

If you would like to accompany Anna’s further journey, you can do so with pleasure on Facebook. If you would like to look around for information or read more reports, you are very welcome to do so on the blog. Are you also considering gastric balloon therapy and losing a lot of kilos? Simply contact one of our consultants without obligation.