Forked River Nuclear Tech Loses 172 Pounds in 8 Months After Gastric Bypass

Ron Sudol of Forked River is a 31-year-old, charismatic professional who oversees nuclear instrumentation sites for a living. Unlike most men with a BMI of 53 and body fat of 49 percent, Sudol didn’t suffer from any of the usual obesity-related healthcare issues except for some chronic knee pain. In fact, if it weren’t for his excess weight and the knee pain, Sudol would have still been playing all the sports he loves.

But every year, his weight continued to increase and his goal of getting back into a gym routine became less and less probable. Eventually, Sudol began to research weight loss surgery online and joined ObesityHelp.com, a website dedicated to people before and after undergoing bariatric surgery. It was there he found Dr. Sowemimo (Dr. Seun) who maintained an office in nearby Freehold and is affiliated with CentraState Medical Center.

Excess weight prevented sports and gym work-outs

“I’m still a pretty young guy who loves sports, especially basketball,” Sudol explains. “But my weight was literally a roadblock preventing me from playing and working out at my gym. I decided it was time to take action and get back to enjoying every aspect of my life again."

He met with Dr. Seun and agreed with his recommendation that gastric bypass would be the optimal procedure for his healthcare situation and eventual weight loss goals.

After a thorough medical work-up, he underwent the procedure in September 2011. After surgery, he slowly began exercising again and now goes to the gym three to four times a week and also bikes outdoors for relaxation and exercise.

Astounding before and after statistics

Eight months after surgery, Ron has undergone a dramatic reduction in weight from 365 pounds to 193 pounds and:

• Lost 82.5 percent of excess body weight  
• BMI down from 53 to 27.5
• Body fat down from 49 percent to 16 percent

“I travel quite a bit for work and it’s been fun to visit colleagues who have not seen me in six months ─ they have literally walked right past me,” Sudol said.

Sudol says he is also a walking advertisement for Dr. Seun; several friends and colleagues with serious weight issues have gone to see him after watching Sudol's dramatic transformation in just eight months.

Share your journey and increase support from people around you.

“All I can tell people thinking about weight loss surgery is don’t wait. I would do anything to go back six years ago and do the procedure then. But the point is I finally did it and wouldn’t change a thing,” Sudol said.

He says people shouldn’t be embarrassed or try to hide the fact that they’ve had bariatric surgery.

“I was very open about my weight loss journey and it increased the positive support from people around me which was an important factor in my success,” he said.