More than two years ago, Halethorpe resident Carole Ferrante recalled teaching students in her physical education class at Reservoir High School in Howard County how to calculate their Body Mass Index.
"You could just see their eyes rolling," Ferrante said. "I felt like I wasn't in the right place."
Back then, Ferrante, 45, weighed 310 pounds.
"It was really tough to walk into a school to teach kids about living a healthy lifestyle when you're morbidly obese," said Ferrante, a former volleyball coach at Reservoir High who led her team to the state finals in 2006 and a state championship in 2007.
Participating in physical activity with her students was also difficult.
"I was just so heavy, I couldn't even do it with them," Ferrante said. "I felt like I was in a jail cell and needed to be set free."
Ferrante underwent bariatric surgery in May of 2012 and has lost 155 pounds.
Now, she wants to help other women struggling with obesity as a personal trainer and nutrition coach.
Making the decision to have surgery to help lose the weight was a difficult, but necessary, decision in order to improve her health, Ferrante said.
"Weight loss surgery comes with such a stigma," Ferrante said. "People just don't understand that it's not a quick, easy fix."
Ferrante has hypothyroidism, which occurs when the thyroid gland is not active enough, according to National Institutes of Health information. It can cause weight gain, fatigue, joint and muscle pain and depression, NIH says.
The condition caused Ferrante, who had always played sports such as volleyball, softball and flag football, to gain weight in her twenties and made it difficult to shed the pounds, she said.
After trying a four-month diet and following the instructions of her nutritionist to a tee, Ferrante had only lost two pounds.
"At that point, she suggested weight loss surgery," Ferrante said.
Ferrante was hesitant about undergoing the procedure, which induces weight loss by reducing the amount of food the stomach can hold. "I told her I could do it myself," she said. "But she looked at me and said, 'No, you can't.'"
Sitting in the doctor's office for her initial consultation on the procedure was nerve wracking, Ferrante said.
"I'll never forget the day that I met Dr. [Kuldeep] Singh, because I really went through a lot of hesitation because I felt I could do it myself," Ferrante said.
Ferrante said she spoke with another obese woman in the waiting room who made her feel like the surgery wouldn't work. She was about to leave and give up on the procedure altogether when she was called to meet the doctor.
Ferrante said she was unsure if the procedure was right for her, but Singh explained that as long as she followed his instructions, she should be able to keep the weight off.
"Most of the patients that come to us have spent about two years of their life thinking about it," said Singh, a bariatric surgeon at Saint Agnes Hospital. "Weight loss surgery, contrary to what many people think, is not an easy way out. It's a medical condition — obesity — and this is a treatment for it."
Singh said people should have an open mind when considering how weight loss surgery can help them overcome obesity, which is a disease.
Ferrante had Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery on May 21, 2012. She didn't tell anyone in her family except for her mother Kathy Bedini, afraid of being judged about having the surgery, she said.
During the procedure, about 80 percent of the stomach is removed. Because of the way the surgery affects the stomach, it can cause improvement or remission of diabetes, Singh said.
Gastric bypass, another type of bariatric surgery, has the best outcome for diabetes patients, Singh said.
He added that gastric bypass surgery is accompanied by a set of long-term risks such as ulcers, internal hernias, malabsorption and gallstones.
"Sleeve gives results similar to bypass, but in the long run doesn't have the issues of bypass," Singh said.
Singh said more women than men undergo bariatric surgery. About 80 percent of his patients are female, he said.
"Men are men. They don't ask for direction," Singh said.
Ferrante stuck to a strict diet regimen, attended a bariatric support group at Saint Agnes Hospital and nutrition classes in order to lose the weight.
"This is one of the most difficult, and rewarding, things that I have ever done in my life," Ferrante said. "It's a tool that I was given to help me achieve my goals."
Ferrante said having the surgery led to a complete change of lifestyle. For example, she nowpays close attention to all of the food she eats and she exercises on a regular basis.
Singh said he recommends patients eat between four and five healthy meals each day and exercise regularly to keep the weight off after surgery.
"Anyone who goes on a diet knows once you get off of it, you will gain the weight back," Singh said. "With the surgery, that doesn't happen."
Ferrante said that in hindsight, her eating habits were not as healthy as she thought. "By talking with my nutritionist, I found out that most of my calories were from liquid. I would intake almost 2,000 calories a day in orange juice, iced tea and hot tea," Ferrante said.
She also realized her portion sizes were too large.
According to information published on the National Institutes of Health website in 2013, portion sizes have grown two, or sometimes, three-fold from 20 years ago. For example, a 6.5-ounce soda in 1993 was a 20-ounce soda in 2013, NIH said.
Because the surgery reduced the size of her stomach, Ferrante said she eats much smaller portions now. She also eats healthier food.
During a recent visit to the Cheesecake Factory with a group of friends, Ferrante opted for lettuce wraps, an item she never would have chosen before. The dish came with three lettuce wraps, and she ate one.
The drastic weight loss has improved the way Ferrante views herself, which in turn, has improved the way others see her, she said.
Ferrante said she stopped coaching girls volleyball last season to make time to help others who want to live a healthier lifestyle.
"I want to work with people who are in the same place I was," said Ferrante, a certified health coach who is working on becoming a certified personal trainer. "I had people that helped me along the way and I think that is the biggest gift that I could give back."
She will be offering private coaching and will be working with a new company called Trilogy Transformations that her friends have recently established..
"The idea that I could inspire someone and help them to change their life and be able to live again seems so rewarding to me," Ferrante said.