Shanna takes flight, literally, after weight loss
Shanna Thomas didn’t just lose weight. She got gravity to loosen its grip.
From an antique open-cockpit airplane in Buckley to a zipline in Hawaii, Thomas has been soaring in ways she never imagined since undergoing gastric sleeve surgery two years ago.
“I’ve lost a total of 120 pounds,” she says.
She also gained the ability to be more than a spectator in her own life. She has long enjoyed visiting the small airstrip near her home in Buckley with friends.
“We watched planes all the time,” she says. “Especially the small, open-cockpit style planes that would do stunts and stuff.”
She never dreamed that one day she’d take to the sky in one of them. It’s tough to take flight when you can’t even get in the plane.
But when she got an opportunity this year to climb aboard, she didn’t hesitate.
“You have to climb up in this thing and lift yourself up,” she says. “There is no way I would have been able to do it even a year ago.”
Thomas, 41, turned to the MultiCare Center for Weight Loss and Wellness on the advice of a friend. She’d been overweight since the age of 14 and had tried multiple diets and programs but they only offered short-term success.
The suggestion to try the Center for Weight Loss and Wellness would forever change her life. She says it’s not just the surgery but the follow-up care that has made the difference.
“The support is beyond imaginable,” she says of the Center.
In other support groups, she’s heard from other bariatric surgery patients who don’t have that kind of follow-up.
“It boggles my mind that there are places that don’t give the support that we get,” she says. “I’m like, ‘How do you get through all of this without having a dietitian available?’”
Thomas says even between scheduled visits, she would sometimes check in with the Center via MyChart messages or a phone call.
“There was always someone accessible,” she says.
Beyond just support and advice, Thomas says return visits and weigh-ins provide accountability that she needs.
“A lot of it is me having to hold myself accountable for the choices I’m now having to make,” she says. “Things that I used to eat in bulk I now look at and a couple of bites later I’m satisfied.”
But it’s not just feeling full more quickly that got the weight off.
“It’s a huge change in mindset,” Thomas says.
She takes vitamins every day and is sure to get enough protein while keeping carbs to a minimum.
“Watching those sugars is the biggest piece,” she says. “Looking and nutrition labels … it’s ridiculous how much sugar is in things.”
She’s dropped several clothing sizes and likes the change in her appearance. But better yet is how she feels. Her knees and hips don’t hurt anymore, she no longer deals with acid reflux and she can climb a flight of stairs without being out of breath.
“I could go jogging now just on a whim if I wanted to,” she says.
A year after her surgery she went to Hawaii and tried ziplining.
“I would have never thought to go ziplining (before losing the weight),” she says. “I would never have thought to go to Hawaii, honestly.”
The best part of her weight loss journey has been the freedom to do things she never imagined possible.
“I love just doing those things everybody should be able to do, but I never thought I could because I was too heavy,” Thomas says.
The MultiCare Center for Weight Loss & Wellness supports you before, during and after the weight loss journey.
