Corey Seegers stepped on a scale and weighed in at 602 pounds last March. Now, almost 10 months later, he’s lowered that to 382 — thanks to dietary changes, exercise and bariatric surgery.
Seegers is a Columbus resident and an engineer at Faurecia. About a year ago, he read an article about a man who underwent bariatric surgery. The story struck a chord with Seegers and got him thinking about weight loss.
Then, in early 2020, Seegers began coaching basketball again at the request of his youngest son, Lucas.
“That was kind of my ‘aha’ moment, was I couldn’t get on the court and really show the kids anything,” Seegers said. “It was just, I weighed way too much to be trying to demonstrate any type of physical activity.”
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He had his first appointment at the Bariatric Center at Columbus Regional Health was on March 4. While the doctor at the center wanted him to lose 100 pounds, Seegers set out to push himself as far as he could. By the time of his surgery on Oct. 1, he had lost 170 pounds.
Seegers said that dietary changes and walking both played major roles in his weight loss.
In terms of diet, he began focusing on what he was eating, worked with dieticians at the bariatric center, researched diet ideas, counted calories and removed items from his diet. Seegers said that he changed not only how and when he ate, but also how he thought about food.
“Instead of just being something that was enjoyable, it was a source of fuel to keep my body going,” he said.
Seegers also began working out “gradually” after his March appointment, as going too hard could result in an injury and subsequent setback. He started small, going on walks that were about a mile and a half long at first. A couple of months in, he was walking about five or six miles a day. He also took care to walk in different locations.
Since his surgery, Seegers has lost an additional 50 pounds for a total of 220, as of Dec. 29.
“Most people lose more weight at this point following surgery, but because of all the weight I dropped to prepare for surgery, the doctors say I’m still ahead of the curve, and my body is still making adjustments,” he said.
Seegers has continued to watch his diet, keeping it mostly plant-based and getting protein from small portions of eggs, fish and chicken. He’s also been going to the gym fairly regularly since mid-October, when doctors cleared him to start working out again.
“I’ve always been an active and athletic person,” he said. “So it’s not so much a change as it is almost getting back to the way things used to be, getting back to the norm that I allowed myself to get away from for the past five or six years.”
In 2013, Seegers’ father passed away due to cancer. Seegers said this played somewhat of a role in him becoming less active.
“While it (his death) seemed like it went by pretty fast, it was kind of a long, drawn-out process,” he said. “So there was a lot of emotional stuff tied to that.”
During his father’s time in the hospital, Seegers spent all of his time trying to take care of his father. Then, after he died, there was an emotional ripple.
“I did lean towards alcohol and not really taking care of myself,” Seegers said. “But I would still try and … force myself to get into the gym a couple of times a week. And then over time, it just got harder and harder and eventually just stopped.”
Seegers has been open about his journey and has posted about it in great detail on Facebook — not just the changes he underwent in 2020, but also how he struggled with keeping his weight down as a college athlete and how, after college, he went back and forth between being out of shape at times and in shape at others.
Seegers said he decided to share his story because it might inspire someone else the same way reading about another man’s experience inspired him.
“I’ve tried to be pretty open and public about not just my diet and change in the habits, but also the surgery,” he said. “It’s just been something that’s helped me, not only with that motivation that I might be able to help somebody else, but it’s also helped keep me focused on my own goals.”
When asked what advice he would give to people who are interested in losing weight, Seegers said that it is “a commitment” and a “continuous process.”
“There’s going to be peaks and valleys and to really make sure that you know a lot about yourself going into it,” he said. “Two of the biggest things that I’ve found to be key are setting goals and making sure you have a plan. The goals, I think, are important to help keep you focused and know where you’re going. And the plan, I think, allows for transgressions and creating boundaries and just making sure that you’re able to see that path to your goal.”
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For more information on the Bariatric Center at Columbus Regional Health, visit columbusbariatrics.com.
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