For many years, Juan Merino Martos’ days seemed repetitious: wake, work, eat, sleep, repeat. At age 33, he was overweight, tired, depressed and suffering from severe joint and back pain. He knew something had to change but wasn’t sure how. “I didn’t have any energy,” the Freehold resident explains. [...]
Doug Brooks has struggled with his weight since high school, and it continued to climb through adulthood. Four years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Howell resident to work from home, his weight spiked from 220 pounds to 300 pounds. Easily fatigued and experiencing excruciating hip and knee pain, [...]
In the quest to shed extra pounds, many people have turned to a practice that’s increasing in popularity: intermittent fasting. This pattern of eating between designated hours not only aids in weight loss, but it also can offer additional health benefits. “Intermittent fasting gives your body recovery time at [...]
Father and son duo, Clifford and James “Scotty” Daniels, are almost certain that bariatric surgery at CentraState saved their lives. Clifford, a Neptune resident who was diagnosed with diabetes at 27, had watched his weight climb to 435 pounds over the years. He experienced neuropathy in his legs and [...]
There are thousands of medications that help people live healthier longer, but unfortunately, there is no magic pill for weight loss. Instead, your weight depends on the number of calories you eat and drink, how many of those calories you store, and how many you use. Quite simply, if [...]
As a paramedic who worked at Ground Zero on 9/11, Daniel Frazier knows all too well about survivor’s guilt and how PTSD can affect EMS workers—and has even lectured often on the subject. To deal with the stress related to this experience in his own life, he frequently used [...]
Manahawkin resident Catherine DaSilva, 43, shares the story behind her lifechanging weight loss journey. Catherine DaSilva faced an uphill battle with her weight all her life. “I felt like I spent my whole life dieting,” said the 43-year-old mother of two from Manahawkin, NJ. “I always managed [...]
Restaurant professional Sarah Jablonski was only 20 years old when she was diagnosed with prediabetes and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). After years of struggling with her weight and trying a variety of diet and exercise plans, her board-certified family medicine physician, Marc Feingold, MD, suggested she consider bariatric surgery. [...]
Barbara Vargas remembers the day that she decided to have weight loss surgery like it was yesterday. She was headed to Myrtle Beach for a family vacation when she couldn’t fasten her seatbelt on the plane. The Sayreville mom of two had suffered from obesity for most of her [...]
Bruce Springsteen famously sang, “You can’t start a fire without a spark.” For Freehold resident Mary Beth Wilson, that spark came in the form of emergency hernia surgery. Mary Beth, 52, an avid Springsteen fan, had been overweight for most of her life. She had struggled for years to [...]
