Mar. 21 starts a new season, it also is the beginning of a transformation for one SF State student. After months of dieting and healthier eating habits, Kristal Williams is having a life changing procedure performed - gastric bypass surgery.

She stands almost 5 feet 10 inches tall; her naturally curly black hair is straightened today, laying on her shoulder. She is cooking dinner, a skinless, low-fat fried chicken, rice and a Diet Coke.

“You learn to be creative,” says Williams about her dinner, “after a while you start to crave healthier foods.”

She has never been skinny and doesn’t want to start now. For Williams, who already has diabetes at the age of 23, losing weight isn’t about vanity, but about being healthy.

“I’ll be happy when I’m a size 14,” says Williams, looking at a black halter top.

Williams is just one of the 104,702 Americans between the ages of 20 and 27 choosing to lose weight by having gastric bypass surgery. She’s been waiting for over a year to have this procedure done, partly because she’s had to prove to her doctor how serious she is about losing weight by sliming down, at least 50 pounds through diet and exercise alone, and partly because she’s scared of being “put under” during her operation.

Williams, who doesn’t want to use her real name because she doesn’t want everyone to know she is having the surgery, wasn’t always this serious about becoming smaller. In high school, her eating habits were unhealthy. Unlike a common misconception about obese people, she didn’t consume large amounts of foods, but she does admit she ate mostly fried foods. The fact that she wasn’t teased about her weight only made Williams more content with her size. It wasn’t until she saw herself following in her family’s footsteps that she decided to lose weight.

Although she has lost 50 pounds over the last six months, she still is what is considered a plus size girl, weighing close to 250 pounds.

Gastric bypass surgery became popular in 1999, when Carnie Wilson had her surgery broadcast over the internet. In 2002, weatherman Al Roker also successfully lost weight after his surgery.

Because of less active lifestyles and less time to eat healthier foods, more Americans are becoming obese. In 1994, 31 percent of Americans were classified as obese, compared to 65 percent today.

The surgery is only recommended for people who are more than 100 pounds overweight, or with a body mass index (BMI) over 30. According to Dr. Paul Cirangele, who started as a trauma surgeon before deciding to perform weight loss surgeries exclusively eight years ago, counseling is not a requirement to have the operation most doctors urge their patients to.

During the surgery, the stomach is reduced from a quart - about the size of a fist - to an ounce, which decreases the patient’s appetite. After the operation the stomach absorbs fewer nutrients and calories from food, which allows the patients to reach a healthier size.

After the surgery, patients are usually able to move around the same day, and immediately will be able to notice a decrease in their appetite. Some side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration and sometimes food intolerances. After surgery patients should drink liquids slowly to avoid vomiting. For example a cup of water, or a low-fat beverage, should take 30 minutes to drink.

“One problem with most patients is they eat and drink too fast,” says Cirangele.

Another side effect is “dumping syndrome,” which happens when undigested food is released too quickly into the bowels. This usually occurs after eating sugary foods.

According to Cirangele, about 90 percent of operations are successful, meaning the patient loses weight permanently. Typically after the surgery patients lose about four pounds a week, on average. For someone more than 100 pounds over weight, it can take more than four months to lose enough weight to be considered healthy.

Although some obese people find it difficult to obtain insurance because of pre-existing conditions caused by their weight, such as high blood pressure, type two diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, hypertension and gallbladder disease, gastric bypass is covered by most insurance companies, but sometime requires a lengthy process. Medicare pays for the surgery only if the candidate can prove they are completely disabled. Other companies require documentation proving other weight loss methods were tried, but failed. Some people decide to take loans if they don’t have insurance, or their insurance doesn’t cover it. The operation can cost between $20,000 to $30,000 and this does not include expenses for care after the surgery.

Cirangele started doing weight loss surgeries because of the impact the surgeries had on his patients’ lives. He recalls one of his patients who weighed close to 500 pounds before he had the surgery. He couldn’t leave the house because of his size. Now almost four years later, the patient has kept off the original 325 pounds he lost as a result of the gastric bypass and still weighs about 175 pounds.

“His whole life has changed,” says Cirangele. “After surgery, the patients we take are happier and have a much better lifestyle.”

Side bar:
To calculate your BMI, divide your weight, in kilograms, by your height, in meters squared. To convert from kilograms to pounds multiply by .54. When converting inches to meters multiply them by 2.54.

BMI standards
18.5 Underweight
19-24.9 Average
25-29.9 Overweight
30-34.9 Obese
35-39.9 Morbidly Obese