I Lost Over 100 Pounds With Endoscopic Sleeve Gastroplasty—Here’s What It’s Really Like
The non-surgical procedure reduces your stomach size by 70%
I first started dieting at age 9 after an unkind comment from a boy about my weight. By age 30, I had already tried every diet and weight loss pill you can think of. The military diet, the cabbage soup diet, juicing, fasting, keto, exercise, Ozempic…the list goes on. I even tried a gastric balloon in 2020, which helped me lose 60 pounds before I gained it all back in just two months. It was late 2023 and I was at my highest weight ever: 244 pounds on my 5’6” frame. What’s more, I had a back problem due to my weight, was pre-diabetic and was in pain all the time. I was desperate for a solution that would free me from the pain and curb my emotional eating—and that’s when I discovered endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG).
Why I chose ESG weight loss over surgery
While talking to a friend about how diet and exercise had never been enough to help me lose weight and keep it off, she mentioned that she had undergone endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, where doctors sewed her stomach to make it smaller. Intrigued, I immediately started making phone calls and trying to schedule appointments to get a price for the weight loss procedure, which turned out to be much more difficult than I had thought.
Then one day, an ad for Bariendo popped up on my phone and I clicked it. The price was right there on the website (it’s not covered by insurance and currently costs $11,995), and their questionnaire revealed I was a candidate for ESG for weight loss. Because it’s minimally invasive and not a surgical procedure, I knew it wouldn’t be painful. I called and made an appointment to get the procedure six days later, hoping this would finally be my solution for long-term weight loss.
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What the ESG procedure was really like
I was told not to eat for two to three days prior to the appointment, so I began a liquid diet almost immediately. On the day I arrived, I was prepped and they explained the FDA-approved procedure. Then I went to sleep under general anesthesia, and when I woke up, I felt like I had eaten a whole meal. I went back to my hotel and the next day I was ready to drive home to Tampa from Miami.
How endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty works
“We like to say at Bariendo that ESG is like ‘LASIK for weight loss,’” shares Christopher C. Thompson, MD, a Harvard Medical School professor, co-founder of Bariendo and the inventor of ESG Stomach Tightening. “Like LASIK, Bariendo’s ESG is fast—taking about 60 minutes—and you go home the same day. With the patient under anesthesia, a physician inserts a small device through the mouth and into the stomach. Using this tool, physicians place seven to eight internal stitches to reduce the stomach’s volume by about 70 percent.”
This reduction in stomach volume is the key to weight loss. “Patients feel full sooner and stay full longer between meals, leading to dramatic weight loss,” Dr. Thompson says. “With a stomach reduced to three to five times its original size, ESG Stomach Tightening has been shown to significantly improve three key areas: cognitive restraint, emotional eating and uncontrolled eating.” Typically, patients must have a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 to qualify for the procedure.
“It’s a powerful option for individuals who want a medical solution to weight loss but don’t want to undergo bariatric surgery, with its higher risks and longer recovery time,” Dr. Thompson adds. “And unlike GLP-1 drugs, where patients often regain weight after stopping the medication, ESG patients don’t see the rebound weight gain that people stopping medications do.” In all, Dr. Thompson says that people lose an average of 18 to 20 percent of their body weight.
Challenges during recovery: what you should know
After the procedure, the biggest issue I dealt with was cramps. They were about half as intense as period cramps, but they were more constant and went on for about two weeks. It was hard to sleep—the cramps woke me up multiple times during the night—but they did eventually go away.
For the first 45 days after the procedure, you are on a liquid diet. It sounded miserable, but I soon realized it wasn’t actually hard. I would drink an ounce of protein mixed with water and feel like I ate an entire burger.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. At one point, I got dehydrated because I couldn’t fit much water in my stomach. I wasn’t doing so well, so Bariendo sent IV fluids to my home and a nurse to administer them. Thankfully, after that, I was back to normal and made it a point to prioritize water and occasionally squeeze in some protein. I lost 45 pounds in those first 45 days.
I realized I felt full on less food
The first time I ate solid food again, I went straight for the chips. But after 45 days of liquids, they tasted like gasoline. So I had one ounce of chicken and felt like I had eaten a whole pizza. At first, I could only eat about half a cup of food for a meal. My stomach did stretch a little over time, which I would test by trying to eat pizza. Not long after my endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, I could only eat about a third of a slice. But after a month of eating solid food again, I was up to half a slice.
Because I struggled with food addiction, endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty helped me enjoy the foods I love—but in small, manageable portions that don’t derail my weight loss goals. At the time, I was still dealing with back issues, so I wasn’t able to exercise. The fact that I was able to lose weight even when I couldn’t be active was encouraging.
How ESG helped me lose over 100 pounds
As I continued to learn how to adapt to my new, smaller stomach size while still getting all the nutrients I need, I realized that I had to prioritize protein and liquids. For the next couple months, I lost a pound every two days, which eventually slowed to about a pound a week. Finally, I stepped on the scale and it read 128 pounds, about a year after having the procedure.
Now I’m in maintenance mode to maintain my results. I wake up and drink half a bottle of water, then the rest 45 minutes later. I usually don’t eat solid food until around 2 pm, which is typically a cup of protein like chicken and fruit. Then, 45 minutes after that, I’ll have more to drink, then a small dinner around 6 or 7 pm.
Since the ESG procedure, I have to make choices of whether something is for pleasure or fuel because of the limited space in my stomach. It’s taught me to prioritize healthier options to keep my body properly fueled. The best part? I’m no longer pre-diabetic—and I’m never going back!
As told to Alyssa Sybertz
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