Jeff’s Testimonial

Therefore, Russo underwent two procedures at once. The gastric sleeve removed 85 percent of the Russo’s stomach in order to change the way the body digests and processes food. The duodenal switch, meanwhile, rerouted where the food digested by his smaller stomach entered his intestine for digestion.

Together, the bariatric procedures mean that Russo’s body can only handle much smaller food portions. And what he does eat is digested in a manner that means that 70 percent of that food is not absorbed as calories. Of course, that also means that the nutrients in Russo’s food is not absorbed at a normal rate either – which in turn means that he requires a steady diet of vitamin supplements for the rest of his life. He also must make smart choices in what he does eat and that includes avoiding things such as pizza, coffee, sodas and sweets – all things that Russo used to enjoy regularly.

“It’s a mind game, and you constantly have to remind yourself of that,” he said. “It’s not always easy – but I don’t look at any of this as a negative. I look at it this way: What would you give up in order to lose weight? And for me, the answers are simple. Would I give up coffee to lose weight and keep it off? Absolutely.”

Any time Russo does find himself craving something like a steak – which he no longer eats, instead preferring fish as his main protein – he only need look in the mirror for confirmation that he’s doing the right thing.

“I had my surgery in October of 2019. At that point I weighed 380 pounds; now I weigh 210 pounds,” said the 60-year-old Russo. “I went from a size 54 – where I couldn’t buy clothes at a normal store – to now a size 34, and I can buy clothes in any store in America. But the best is just setting little goals and accomplishing them – because you have to make yourself happy. You do something like this for yourself. If you do it for someone else, you’re not going to be successful.”

Russo is also off the cholesterol medicine he once needed, and he believes he may be six months away from coming off his blood pressure medication. His knees no longer hurt when he walks, and he’s even starting to work up a weightlifting routine.

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He and his wife, Daryl, also spend hours of time in their garden, cultivating and harvesting their own food from raised beds that they constructed. And, even more important, he no longer has to worry about what it may take out of him to play with his four grandkids – or his wife’s six grandchildren.

“Before the surgery, there’s no way I would have been able to do any of that,” Russo said. “It’s been a life-altering change. I’ve accomplished something that, in the back of my mind, I once thought was impossible.”

And he still has many goals left to accomplish, as his exercise routine reveals.

“I’m walking five to eight miles at a time with no problem,” Russo said. “When I retire, I want to do the Camino de Santiago. I have been backpacking around Europe before, and I loved it. And now I’m exploring what I need to be able to do in order to accomplish the Camino de Santiago. It’s incredible to think that I can accomplish that now.”