Media personality Willis Raburu has opened up on his weight loss journey, revealing that he is 30kgs lighter since undergoing a gastric bypass in May, 2022.
Through an episode on his YouTube channel, the TV host said he settled on the procedure after trying different avenues that did not bear fruit.
“I saw one of my friends post about it (bariatric surgery) and she was going through a similar process…not what I wanted because she wanted the balloon but I wanted the bypass.
“The Nairobi Bariatric Center explained to me the whole process and what would be required of me…after that I was comfortable to do the procedure,” he said.
Gastric Bypass causes weight loss by restricting the amount of food and reducing the absorption of the calories in the food you eat.
The stomach is divided into a small “pouch” in which food enters, and one large “remnant stomach” through which the food no longer passes.
This “excluded” part of the stomach remains in the body and continues to produce helpful digestive juices, which meet the food further downstream.
The upper, smaller “pouch” holds a smaller amount of food than before, and is connected directly to a portion of the small intestine, bypassing the larger part of the stomach created by the procedure.
Just a week after the surgery, Raburu had already lost 10kgs but he had to adhere to a new eating plan, strictly observing portions.
He now weighs 134kgs down from 164kgs and he admits he feels good and his family is proud of his achievement.
“I have lost 30kgs and I haven’t even started going to the gym. My friends are saying I have lost weight…I am looking smaller…I can now shop in different places, they never used to have my size.
“My dad is happy, my mum is happy, my fiancé is happy and I am happy because when you are healthier you get to guarantee more time with your kids…that was important,” he said.
Raburu added that his family keeps him in check whenever he craves junk food and that has been instrumental in his weight loss journey.
Unlike before when he would devour a plate of fish in one sitting, the TV host now has to control the quantity of food he eats; the head in the morning, the middle part in the afternoon and the rest at the tail end of the day.