Marlene Karas/ViewMichele Rothstein shows her former size 30 jeans at her Summerlin home. She had gastric bypass surgery about three years ago and lost more than 200 pounds.
Marlene Karas/ViewMichele Rothstein shows her former size 30 jeans at her Summerlin home. She had gastric bypass surgery about three years ago and lost more than 200 pounds.
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Many people might dread going to their high school 20th reunion. Not Summerlin resident Michele Rothstein. She can't wait to go to hers in two years in Southern California.
That's because she recently lost more than 200 pounds through gastric bypass surgery. Rothstein celebrated the fact by running the Las Vegas marathon in December.
Her before and after pictures show the change.
"It's like she's two different people," said Lori Nelson, a friend who works out at the same fitness club.
All through her childhood, Rothstein battled her weight. The only clothes that fit her were in husky sizes.
By sixth grade, she weighed 160 pounds, she said.
"I was teased a lot because of my weight," she said. "So I became the jokester. I was the first one to make fun of my weight. I seemed happy on the outside, but inside, I was very sad."
As a teenager, she spent a summer in a special camp, where she was medically supervised. She lost 30 pounds. Back home, she regained it all.
"We found out later that she was hiding food under her bed," said her mother, Lil.
In another medically supervised attempt, she subsisted on Optifast protein shakes, "the same thing that Oprah did when she lost all that weight," Rothstein said.
She lost 45 pounds in three months on Optifast. But she said no one could stay on such a diet forever. She gained it all back.
At her heaviest, Rothstein weighed 360 pounds and wore a size 30.
Well before that, she'd developed sleep apnea and high blood pressure. Sitting through a movie was torture. Riding in an airplane had her apologizing to the people in seats next to her.
"You have to understand, an alcoholic can say, 'I'm never going to drink again' and stay away from bars," she said. "But when you're a food addict, that's something you can't stay away from. You need food to live. You're around it on a daily basis."
When singer Carnie Wilson came forward with her story, Rothstein began researching gastric bypass surgery. It took a year before she was ready to take the next step and approach a surgeon.
The week before her surgery, she dined out with friends at her five favorite restaurants.
"I joked that I had five Last Suppers," she said. "It was like I was saying goodbye to food, goodbye to my best friend."
The surgery was performed in February 2005.
From that day forward, Rothstein committed herself to not just eating less, but exercising.
She joined a health club, got a personal trainer and abided by the strict eating rules that follow such surgery.
She began losing weight.
"I watched it melt off," Nelson said. "I saw her going from wearing pants and a cover shirt at the gym, to wearing shorts and regular workout clothes."
It was Nelson's goal of running a half marathon that prompted Rothstein to set a similar one.
But while training one day, she surpassed the half marathon mark and went on to run 22 miles without stopping.
On Dec. 2, she ran the Las Vegas marathon with no problem.
Rothstein stressed that gastric bypass surgery is not a quick fix, not a cure. At any point, she can gain weight again, she said. Indeed, Rothstein carries a photo in her purse. It's an image of herself at her heaviest.
"It's a reminder so I don't forget," she said. "I never want to be fat again."
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