Page 68 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2017

HEALTHY LIVING mind & body
Getting
Joseph Tuggle loses 136 pounds and changes his life thanks to the help of South Mississippi Surgical Weight Loss Center.
story by Kelsey Sunderman-Foster Tphotos courtesy of Joseph Tuggle
he way that other people perceive us can play a vital role in our views of ourselves. For Joseph Tuggle, facilities coordinator
and director of men’s housing at Jones County Community College, the journey to
reaching his weight loss goals started from within. “First and foremost was my concern for my
health,” said Tuggle. “At the time, I was on several medications for blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes. Along with that, I got tired of my weight always being the topic in any conversation that I had with people.”
Part of Tuggle’s inspiration throughout his transformation was a line in the movie “Cool Hand Luke”: “You have to get your mind right.”
“Once you make the decision to begin the journey, it all starts with eating habits,” Tuggle said. “Eating the right foods in the right proportions
and getting into a fitness program are two very important steps in the right direction.”
The next step in his journey was finding a support system and getting a plan together. “I knew several other people that had weight loss surgery and I heard some very bad stories about some places,
RIGHT
68 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • March 2017
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HIS
but heard great
stories from this one
place,” said Tuggle.
“Someone that I
knew went and
had the surgery
from South
Mississippi
Surgical Weight
Loss center, and
they had nothing
but great things to say about Dr. Avara.”
Like many others, Tuggle had
reservations about undergoing
gastric bypass surgery, but quickly
felt at ease after his first meeting with the staff. “I met Dr. Payne for my evaluation and left with the feeling that I was going to be in good hands,” said Tuggle. “I had a great experience, the whole staff makes the journey a pleasant one.”
Though the surgery aims to help patients lose weight, there is certainly a mental counterpart. “You need to think about what the surgery does for you emotionally,” said Tuggle. Though it can lead
MIND