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Following gastric bypass
surgery, popular Canton DJ Gary Titus now in the best shape of
his adult life
By Kathy Anderson
Citizen Staff
Editor’s note: This is
the first in a series chronicling Canton resident Gary Titus’s
weight loss from gastric bypass surgery a year ago and his
journey to a healthy weight and lifestyle. Titus will publish
excerpts from his blog in the Canton Citizen to celebrate not
only a personal triumph but to serve as an inspiration to anyone
who has struggled with excess weight.
***
Popular Canton
disc jockey Gary Titus says he had tried “every diet in the
book.” He would lose the excess weight then gain it back, riding
the hope-and-disappointment rollercoaster that so many dieters
ride. But one year ago today, that all changed when Titus
underwent gastric bypass surgery at Tufts Medical Center. During
the last 12 months he has shed 134 pounds — and has tapped into
newfound energy that has helped improve his health overall.
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Gary Titus is pictured just prior
to undergoing gastric bypass surgery.
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Titus is
pictured last week.
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“I decided it
was time to shrink my gas tank and not put so much in after
trying every diet in the world,” Titus said of his decision to
choose gastric bypass surgery. “I’d heard about [the surgery] a
long time ago before it came to what it is today, before they’ve
perfected the technique. After a few high-profile people had it
with bad experiences it got a bad reputation, but I wasn’t
scared at all. I trusted the doctors and had seen the operation
on the internet.”
Titus’s wife,
Sarah, was very hesitant at first, he said. “Her initial
reaction was ‘absolutely not.’ She thought I could do it on my
own. One day Sarah saw me at my heaviest and out of the blue she
said I could start looking into the operation, so I went on the
internet and did a lot of research.”
With the
support of Sarah and the couple’s two teenage children, Titus
made the commitment.
“My promise to
my wife was that if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it 100
percent,” he said.
Post-surgery
took into account not only physical recovery but a change of
lifestyle. Titus committed himself to working with a personal
trainer at a local gym and educated himself on nutrition,
constantly reminding himself that his stomach capacity has been
reduced by approximately 75 percent.
“I can’t eat
the way I used to,” he said. “I’ve learned that a half cup of
oatmeal will satisfy and fill me up. The only sugar I eat is
natural sugar from fruit. I eat more protein and fruits and
vegetables now. Sometimes it’s hard to resist the temptation of
food that is bad for me, but for the most part it’s not that
difficult. Food addiction is the worst and most dangerous
addiction because you can do it the longest and it takes a long
time to kill you.”
As a disc
jockey who works numerous weddings and functions, Titus is often
at events where there are rich, fattening and sweet buffets and
meals. At home, his family also enjoys food that is taboo to his
strict diet. But he weathers the temptation and has found in the
months since his surgery that the appeal to indulge is no longer
a devil on his shoulder.
“Smartfood is
my treat,” he said. “If I find myself going a little past my
limit, I’ll make up for it the next day.”
Titus was born
and raised in Canton, and given his high-profile job and his
family’s successful restaurant and catering businesses — Big D’s
Neponset Café — he has noticed with surprise and amusement the
number of people he passes on the street who do a doubletake
when they see him.
“There are
people I’ve known for years, but if they haven’t seen me since
the operation some pass right by me,” he said. “They simply
don’t recognize me.”
Having cut his
body mass index nearly in half, from a 44 down to a 26, Titus
said he knows this time he will keep the weight off. At age 53,
he is in the best shape of his adult life.
“This was my
intervention,” he said. “I said to myself, enough is enough.
There are also people who have the surgery and then don’t do the
lifestyle changes, and they go right back up the scale. I didn’t
want to be one of those people. You have a day where you can say
‘I did it — I’ve reached my goal.’ But like an alcoholic or drug
addict, it’s one day at a time — you have to keep working at it,
but it really feels great.”
February 18, 2010
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