Lou Schopfer

Celebrate my one year Surgical Anniversary!
On Monday, July 28, 2014 Dr. Alan Leslie Schuricht performed a gastric sleeve on me at Pennsylvania Hospital where I weighed 343 pounds (my high weight was 363 pounds) and a year later I am 143 pounds lighter and weigh 220 pounds! Thanks Dr. Schuricht and Penn Bariatric Medicine! Thanks to the following: Dr. Sara Slattery and the team from Penn Medicine Fitness Now; Beth Marks, www.GetFitNowNJ.com and Kennedy Health Bariatric Fitness; Personal trainers from the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County! I am also thankful today to my beautiful wife, Jan and my great kids Liz and Matt!

Celebrate my one year Surgical Anniversary!
On Monday, July 28, 2014 Dr. Alan Leslie Schuricht performed a gastric sleeve on me at Pennsylvania Hospital where I weighed 343 pounds (my high weight was 363 pounds) and a year later I am 143 pounds lighter and weigh 220 pounds! Thanks Dr. Schuricht and Penn Bariatric Medicine! Thanks to the following: Dr. Sara Slattery and the team from Penn Medicine Fitness Now; Beth Marks, www.GetFitNowNJ.com and Kennedy Health Bariatric Fitness; Personal trainers from the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County! I am also thankful today to my beautiful wife, Jan and my great kids Liz and Matt!

Great job!!! Congratulations!!!

Congratulations on your success!!

Oh my!!! What a difference!!! Congrats on all your hard work and effort!! You look good!!

Congrats!!!!!

Congrats Lou. My numbers are similar to yours. Heaviest at 343 pounds - April 6, 2015. Sleeved June 30. Working hard and am now down to 274. Hope to get where you are. Thanks for the inspiration! You look good and healthy friend.

Great work!! You look great!

Congrats Lou on your inspiring success story!

congrats!

Yeah!!! Congrats

Great job congrats and keep up the great work

Happy Sleve Birthday Lou. You are so inspiring and you look fantastic
Kate

@@Lou Schopfer
happy surgiversary
great pics
nice to recognize the people that have and will continue to support you
they are very important - wife, kiddos doctors, trainers etc
all those people were there for you in many different ways
YOU were the one that did all the hard work!!
sad we will continue to see "less and less" of you
we love the great results you are getting
you get the blue ribbon for the day
please come to the boards more often
newbies et al can never get too much good advice, help, experiences
keep up the amazing job
(i know you will)
kathy
congrats

CONGRATULATION! Keep up the good work.

Celebrate my one year Surgical Anniversary!
On Monday, July 28, 2014 Dr. Alan Leslie Schuricht performed a gastric sleeve on me at Pennsylvania Hospital where I weighed 343 pounds (my high weight was 363 pounds) and a year later I am 143 pounds lighter and weigh 220 pounds! Thanks Dr. Schuricht and Penn Bariatric Medicine! Thanks to the following: Dr. Sara Slattery and the team from Penn Medicine Fitness Now; Beth Marks, www.GetFitNowNJ.com and Kennedy Health Bariatric Fitness; Personal trainers from the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County! I am also thankful today to my beautiful wife, Jan and my great kids Liz and Matt!

Celebrate my one year Surgical Anniversary!
On Monday, July 28, 2014 Dr. Alan Leslie Schuricht performed a gastric sleeve on me at Pennsylvania Hospital where I weighed 343 pounds (my high weight was 363 pounds) and a year later I am 143 pounds lighter and weigh 220 pounds! Thanks Dr. Schuricht and Penn Bariatric Medicine! Thanks to the following: Dr. Sara Slattery and the team from Penn Medicine Fitness Now; Beth Marks, www.GetFitNowNJ.com and Kennedy Health Bariatric Fitness; Personal trainers from the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County! I am also thankful today to my beautiful wife, Jan and my great kids Liz and Matt!

Celebrate my one year Surgical Anniversary!
On Monday, July 28, 2014 Dr. Alan Leslie Schuricht performed a gastric sleeve on me at Pennsylvania Hospital where I weighed 343 pounds (my high weight was 363 pounds) and a year later I am 143 pounds lighter and weigh 220 pounds! Thanks Dr. Schuricht and Penn Bariatric Medicine! Thanks to the following: Dr. Sara Slattery and the team from Penn Medicine Fitness Now; Beth Marks, www.GetFitNowNJ.com and Kennedy Health Bariatric Fitness; Personal trainers from the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County! I am also thankful today to my beautiful wife, Jan and my great kids Liz and Matt!

Celebrate my one year Surgical Anniversary!
On Monday, July 28, 2014 Dr. Alan Leslie Schuricht performed a gastric sleeve on me at Pennsylvania Hospital where I weighed 343 pounds (my high weight was 363 pounds) and a year later I am 143 pounds lighter and weigh 220 pounds! Thanks Dr. Schuricht and Penn Bariatric Medicine! Thanks to the following: Dr. Sara Slattery and the team from Penn Medicine Fitness Now; Beth Marks, www.GetFitNowNJ.com and Kennedy Health Bariatric Fitness; Personal trainers from the YMCA of Burlington and Camden County! I am also thankful today to my beautiful wife, Jan and my great kids Liz and Matt!

Lou Schopfer is a married father of two who had bariatric surgery at Penn in July 2014. Since then, he has lost 110 pounds and has discovered new activities to keep fit, including a fitness program at Penn Medicine called Fitness Now. In this post, he shares his story and what has made his weight loss a success.

I grew up as the youngest of six kids, in a Christian home filled with the fundamental values of faith, family, fellowship, friends and fun.

Like other families, we had our share of ups and downs, and fitness was never a priority for us. We didn’t have a lot of funds to spend on activities or time discussing a healthy diet.

sleep apnea. I tried every diet and was in a constant cycle of losing and gaining weight. The quality of my life just started to decline.

One of the turning points for me was when I went to “back to school” night at my daughter’s high school. I couldn’t fit in a school desk and finally felt: I needed to do something.

Coming to Penn
My brother became very ill with cancer. During that time, we’d talk about my weight often. He told me to “live life like you’re dying.” I had thought about bariatric surgery, but it wasn’t until I went to an informational session in Cherry Hill that I seriously considered the procedure. At the time I was 363 pounds, and I knew I needed to something drastic to change my life.

That was August 28, 2013, and I decided to go through the medical weight management, not knowing if I would have the courage to go through the surgery. By going through the process and being fully prepared on what to expect, I found I did.

In July 2014, at 344 pounds, Dr. Schuricht performed my gastric sleeve procedure . And now, just six months later, I really believe I have a second chance at life. I am more than 100 pounds lighter. I am off all of my diabetes medications. I have ditched my cholesterol medications and significantly lowered the dosage for my blood pressure medications.

What Led to My Success
There are a lot of people and activities that really helped me get to where I am today. Having a surgeon like Dr. Schuricht has been a blessing. He is the best at what he does, and I highly recommend him.

In addition to my surgeon, I had the privilege of training with a personal trainer, Beth Marks, at a local facility in South Jersey. I also trained with Penn physician Dr. Sara Slattery, who ran a study on obese patients under Penn’s Fitness Now Program. Having these women train me in a safe place without mirrors and teach me everything from nutrition to monitoring the number of steps I take, has been pivotal to my success.

I attend monthly support meetings at Penn Medicine, swim four days a week at the local YMCA, take four exercise classes a week and power walk at least five days a week. I keep to a 1,000 calorie diet a day and continue to have the support of my beautiful wife, Jan, of 28 years and my great kids, Elizabeth and Matt.

I want people struggling with their weight to know that you don’t have to live like this. I hope my simple story helps and encourages you.

Tips from Me to You
Find a tool you like and use it. I use apps like “My Fitness Pal” and “Lose it.” All my meals are entered the day before, so I have a plan.
Get enough Protein.< /strong> I don’t eat many carbs, so I like to fill up on protein, which keeps me fuller, longer.
Know Portion Control.< /strong> When we go out to eat, I might have half of the meal and take the rest home.
Get organized. At home, I have my own shelf in the pantry for “my” food. I know what I can eat, and it’s easier to make decisions.
Get support. I go to as many support meetings as I can at Penn Medicine. There, you can help others, and they can help you.
Color your plate. At mealtime, I load my plate up with greens first, then protein and whole grains.
Set goals. As a father, I want to be able to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. My biggest goal is just to live a long, healthy life.
Try something new. I always wanted to take a ballet class. I was embarrassed at the thought because I knew I would be the only guy, but now I take a Pure Barre class and guess what? It’s difficult!

Lou Schopfer is a married father of two who had bariatric surgery at Penn in July 2014. Since then, he has lost 110 pounds and has discovered new activities to keep fit, including a fitness program at Penn Medicine called Fitness Now. In this post, he shares his story and what has made his weight loss a success.

I grew up as the youngest of six kids, in a Christian home filled with the fundamental values of faith, family, fellowship, friends and fun.

Like other families, we had our share of ups and downs, and fitness was never a priority for us. We didn’t have a lot of funds to spend on activities or time discussing a healthy diet.

sleep apnea. I tried every diet and was in a constant cycle of losing and gaining weight. The quality of my life just started to decline.

One of the turning points for me was when I went to “back to school” night at my daughter’s high school. I couldn’t fit in a school desk and finally felt: I needed to do something.

Coming to Penn
My brother became very ill with cancer. During that time, we’d talk about my weight often. He told me to “live life like you’re dying.” I had thought about bariatric surgery, but it wasn’t until I went to an informational session in Cherry Hill that I seriously considered the procedure. At the time I was 363 pounds, and I knew I needed to something drastic to change my life.

That was August 28, 2013, and I decided to go through the medical weight management, not knowing if I would have the courage to go through the surgery. By going through the process and being fully prepared on what to expect, I found I did.

In July 2014, at 344 pounds, Dr. Schuricht performed my gastric sleeve procedure . And now, just six months later, I really believe I have a second chance at life. I am more than 100 pounds lighter. I am off all of my diabetes medications. I have ditched my cholesterol medications and significantly lowered the dosage for my blood pressure medications.

What Led to My Success
There are a lot of people and activities that really helped me get to where I am today. Having a surgeon like Dr. Schuricht has been a blessing. He is the best at what he does, and I highly recommend him.

In addition to my surgeon, I had the privilege of training with a personal trainer, Beth Marks, at a local facility in South Jersey. I also trained with Penn physician Dr. Sara Slattery, who ran a study on obese patients under Penn’s Fitness Now Program. Having these women train me in a safe place without mirrors and teach me everything from nutrition to monitoring the number of steps I take, has been pivotal to my success.

I attend monthly support meetings at Penn Medicine, swim four days a week at the local YMCA, take four exercise classes a week and power walk at least five days a week. I keep to a 1,000 calorie diet a day and continue to have the support of my beautiful wife, Jan, of 28 years and my great kids, Elizabeth and Matt.

I want people struggling with their weight to know that you don’t have to live like this. I hope my simple story helps and encourages you.

Tips from Me to You
Find a tool you like and use it. I use apps like “My Fitness Pal” and “Lose it.” All my meals are entered the day before, so I have a plan.
Get enough Protein.< /strong> I don’t eat many carbs, so I like to fill up on protein, which keeps me fuller, longer.
Know Portion Control.< /strong> When we go out to eat, I might have half of the meal and take the rest home.
Get organized. At home, I have my own shelf in the pantry for “my” food. I know what I can eat, and it’s easier to make decisions.
Get support. I go to as many support meetings as I can at Penn Medicine. There, you can help others, and they can help you.
Color your plate. At mealtime, I load my plate up with greens first, then protein and whole grains.
Set goals. As a father, I want to be able to walk my daughter down the aisle at her wedding. My biggest goal is just to live a long, healthy life.
Try something new. I always wanted to take a ballet class. I was embarrassed at the thought because I knew I would be the only guy, but now I take a Pure Barre class and guess what? It’s difficult!

Cherry Hill here.