Joliet woman reborn after 200-pound weight loss

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Holly Caponi is half the woman she used to be — and glad of it.

One year after laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, Caponi’s weight has dropped from 450 to 250, she has lots of confidence and energy, and she feels healthier than ever.

Caponi is even taking the Command Fitness six-week boot camp class at the Provena Saint Joseph Inwood Athletic Club in Joliet. Her next step is surgery to remove loose skin.

“I’m able to run now, and when I walk I don’t get out of breath,” Caponi, 26, of Joliet said. “I love going to the mall because I can try on clothes in pretty much any store. When I went to Disney World with my family, I could ride all the rides. A lot of times when you’re heavy the bars won’t go down all the way or you don’t fit in the seat.”

Doctor is impressed

Dr. Brian Lahmann, of BMI Surgery at Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet, performed the surgery. He is pleased with Caponi’s progress since the average weight loss in the first year following bypass surgery is 42 pounds.

At this point, weight loss tapers off, so if Caponi wants to lose more weight, she has to restrict calories and increase her activity, just like everyone else. Without vigilance, Caponi can gain the weight back, but Lehman doubts that she will.

“Holly impresses me with how she can dedicate herself to a task and really achieve it,” Lehman said. “This first year is a testament to that. She really jumped in with both feet.”

Ryan Spreitzer is a personal trainer and specialty fitness instructor at Inwood Athletic Club. He first met Caponi after her surgery to explain the machines, so he did a double-take when she approached him in January about personal training to build up her strength.

“She had lost so much weight, I didn’t recognize her,” Spreitzer said. He’s impressed that Caponi keeps raising the bar for herself and he’s happy to steer her in the right direction. “She’s very goal-oriented.”

A path to pregnancy

Because Caponi hopes to one day marry and have children, she was concerned that obesity would hamper her ability to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy. She had tried Weight Watchers and similar structured diets in the past, but only lost an average of 30 pounds. Caponi said was ready for a change.

Caponi and Lehman discussed the pros and cons of traditional bypass surgery versus the safer, less invasive Lap-Band, but when the body mass index is over 60, bypass offers the best results. “She would not have lost as much weight with the Lap-Band,” he said.

Surgery preparations began two weeks in advance with a special diet to stimulate weight loss. This meant a daily total of two protein powder shakes, 4 ounces of protein — Caponi chose chicken — a half cup of nonstarchy vegetables and 64 ounces of water.

Right before surgery, Caponi’s blood pressure and glucose were elevated, which gave her confidence that she had made the right decision. The surgery itself went smoothly, with little post-operative pain. The worse part of the entire experience was waiting several days to take a shower.

Post-op sustenance

For the first two days, Caponi only drank sugar-free, noncaffeinated liquids (sugar will cause dumping syndrome; caffeine will irritate the stomach lining) and water. Next came 10 days of pureed-protein food. Small amounts of solid foods were gradually added at the 3-, 6- and 9-month milestones.

Small portions are maintained for life because the stomach is no longer the size of a fist, but of an egg. Vitamin supplements are essential since the food literally bypasses part of the small intestine, making it difficult to absorb the needed amounts of B-12, folate and iron.

Dense carbohydrate foods, such as ice cream and pizza, are banned forever, but Caponi doesn’t care. She much prefers the taste of crunchy raw carrots. “Pizza used to be my favorite food, but I’d rather give up pizza than go back to the way I was,” Caponi said.

Social functions featuring food are trickier. Caponi’s family understands her limitations and plans around it. If Caponi meets a friend for lunch, she orders a salad. For other events, Caponi eats at home first and concentrates on having a good time. For daily meals, Caponi’s stomach is her guide.

“Sometimes food makes me feel a little sick and tells me, ‘I don’t want to eat this today; try that instead,’ ” she said. “Anyway, I’m just not into food anymore. I’m into other things.”

‘Involved with more things’

Those other things include training with Spreitzer, studying to be an informational technologist (she graduates from Joliet Junior College next month) and volunteering for Meals on Wheels.

In March, Caponi participated in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties’ Bowl for Kids’ Sake and now is raising $2,300 for the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Walk in August. For that event, Caponi will walk 60 miles over three days.

“Now that I feel better about myself, I’m able to give back to the community,” Caponi said. “People used to make fun of me for being heavy. My personality has come out. I’m getting involved in more things.”

To learn more about the bariatric surgery program at Silver Cross Hospital, attend a free informational session on both traditional and laparoscopic surgery on any Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. in the Specialty Care Pavilion at the hospital, 1300 Copperfield Ave. in Joliet. To attend, visit www.silvercross.org or call 888-660-4325.