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Dina in "One"derland

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Name: Dina Khiry
Age: 22
Surgery: Adjustable gastric banding with Lap-Band
Date of surgery: August 30, 2007
Weight loss since surgery: 48 pounds … and counting

Dina Khiry, now 22, recently had an awkward moment on a first date. Yes, first dates are often full of awkward moments, but hers was unique.

The problem? She couldn't make a dent in her entrée. "I played around with the food on my plate to make it look like I was eating," she says. Her date kept asking if anything was wrong with the food, and she simply said no, she just wasn't that hungry. He picked a bit off her plate, and she thought she was in the clear.

Not so fast. The waitress, too, was concerned about how much food Khiry didn't eat. "She kept asking questions about why I didn't like it and wouldn't let it drop," recalls a still slightly embarrassed Khiry.

After the meal, she told her companion the truth. No it wasn't just first-date jitters that left her unable to eat: Khiry had undergone gastric banding recently. As a result, she could no longer consume large volumes of food. After gastric banding, the upper stomach is restricted, so eating more than the new pouch can hold or eating too many calorie-dense foods can cause vomiting, expansion of the pouch, weight gain or even rupture of the stomach.

Not exactly the stuff that first dates are made of.

Her date never called again following her big reveal, but that is probably for the best, as the chemistry wasn't great anyway. There are many more fish in the sea now, she says.

Close to 40 pounds thinner, Khiry, a New York City-based public relations executive, now finds herself getting noticed by members of the opposite sex more frequently and even sports mini-dresses.

It's really a whole new world for Khiry, who can't remember ever weighing less than 200 pounds until now. Her weight plagued her through most of her school years, and she actually transferred schools in sixth grade because she was teased about her weight.

One insult in particular stands out. During gym class, a peer said, "Oh Dina, you can't do tai kwon do — you have to do fat kwon do."

Khiry was outgoing, popular, the student council president and the captain of the basketball team, but her weight stll cast a shadow over her school years.

She was actually ready to undergo gastric banding at age 18, but the night before her scheduled surgery, she developed fierce migraine headaches that forced her to postpone the procedure.

"I was always self-conscious and really depressed about my weight," she says. "It interfered with my friendships."

But that was then. Now Dina is in "one"derland, the term given to people who undergo weight loss surgery and finally weigh in the 100s, not 200 or higher.

That's not to say it has been easy, but Khiry has no regrets, except that she wishes she had done it sooner.

She has changed the way she eats, out of necessity. "I have to eat very slowly, and there are certain foods, like bread, that I can't eat," she says.

"There are times when I am on the go and grab something quick, and it doesn't stay down," she says, admitting that she still throws up about once a day. She also has heartburn and as a result has not been able to get a fill or adjustment in recent months.

"I still think about food," she admits. Some people who undergo bariatric surgery say their desire to eat is diminished, perhaps because of physiological changes brought on by the surgery.

"When I crave something, I fulfill the urge with a smaller portion than I used to have and am done with it," she says.

Through Thick and Thin?

Her friends have been supportive, although she can no longer chug beer like many young college alumni. "I can have one beer, and that's it," she says. "I get too full."

The exercise part isn't going as smoothly as she had hoped. Khiry joined a gym, but was too self-conscious and cancelled her membership. "I walk from the train to work every morning and back in the evenings," she says.

She is also into Wii Fit, the new component to the Wii gaming system, which is like having a virtual personal trainer in the privacy of your own home. The Wii Fit system offers 40 games in four categories (yoga, aerobics, balance and strength training) and allows users to track their progress.

Slow and Steady

Unlike other bariatric surgeries, weight loss following gastric banding is gradual. "I have lost about a pound a week," she says. "You need to be patient."

Another key to a successful surgery is having a good relationship with your chosen surgeon, she says. "I love my surgeon. He is accessible and easy to talk to." Khiry once had to call her doctor at 3 am from a business trip because of severe heartburn. "He called me back right away and made me feel much better," she recalls.

She likes him so much that she is encouraging her sister, who has also battled with her weight, to have her bariatric surgery with the same surgeon.

Send Your Questions to Dina

Are you considering bariatric surgery? Or are you trying to adjust to your new life after surgery? Whether it's about how to eat on a date, sneak in exercise or cope with killer cravings, Khiry would love to hear from you.

Send your questions to:

Send a LAP-BAND Patient Your Questions

Dina in "One"derland

Through Thick and Thin?

Slow and Steady

Send Your Questions to Dina

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