BODY: It happens every year. Scores of Americans resolve to shed those extra pounds after the holiday splurge. By February, or sooner, most have given up on their well-intended promises and have abandoned their diets and exercise routines.
Not Tina Stewart. Her New Year's resolution in 1997 was to lose weight - not just the inevitable holiday pounds, but a lot of weight. Last January, Stewart resolved to beat a problem that had plagued over half her life for more than 20 years - obesity. A little more than a year ago she carried the weight equivalent to three women on her 5-foot-4 frame. ''I thought of the diabetes that ran in our family,'' Stewart said, ''and all the health problems I would probably have to face, and I just wanted to feel like a normal person again.'' Trying to find a place to sit could be downright embarrassing, she said. Many chairs would not accommodate her size. Movie seats were too narrow and a plane trip was out of the question. A year after her resolution, Stewart is 125 pounds lighter and feels, she says, like a new woman. But it wasn't just a fad diet or good old-fashioned determination that helped Stewart win her battle. She took a drastic step. Gastric bypass surgery, called Roux-Y, involves tying off a large portion of the stomach and bypassing a portion of the intestines to alter the digestive process. The surgery seemed her final option, Stewart said, to preserve her health. ''The physical problems I was having, that had a lot to do with it.'' Over the years the burden of weight began to take its toll. She suffered from inflamed knees and lower back pain. She said her feet hurt much of the time and she began panting for breath before she could walk half-way around a mall. Surgery was a major undertaking, but she claims she has not for a minute regretted the decision. Stewart, 41, who lives in Simonsdale with her husband Bernie and son Jason, said her weight problem began 21 years ago, after Jason's birth. ''I really don't think it hit me for a long time. I knew I had a problem, but thought I could deal with it myself. I tried Weight Watchers, Scarsdale diet, grapefruit diet, you name it!'' Nothing seemed to work. In fact, she claims, as each diet failed she got heavier until she reached a weight that her doctors referred to as obese. Carrying all of her extra pounds put stress on every part of her body, she said, from bones and muscles to heart and lungs. Her condition forced her to take medicine for high blood pressure and occasionally anti-inflammatory drugs for joint pain. Then there were the daily things that most people take for granted. Walking, for instance, was an effort for Stewart. Stewart claims, though, that the saddest aspect of her condition was the stigma she sometimes felt. ''For years I did not go anywhere like a grocery store or Wal-Mart by myself,'' she explained. ''I thought that if ever anything happened to me, who would want to help that person . . . because I was overweight.'' For the past four years, Stewart has been a K-3 teacher at Sweethaven Christian School in Portsmouth. ''It's probably one of the things that kept me going,'' she said. ''The kids accepted me no matter what my size.'' Despite her weight problem, Stewart maintained an active life. She claims she was never a heavy eater. But as she continued to gain weight she began to fear diabetes, permanent joint damage and a future of physical disability. ''I thought,'' she said, ''if I go on like this I could die. Even if I didn't, at an early age I would have all kinds of problems.'' In the fall of 1996, Stewart saw Portsmouth orthopedic surgeon Dr. Sidney Tiesenga for back pain. During the visit, the doctor suggested she consider gastric bypass surgery. Stewart was familiar with the surgery. ''There was a girl at work,'' she said, ''who had it done the year before. She had talked to me about having it done then, and I said there is no way I would ever have it done.'' Because of her strong feeling against the surgery, Stewart surprised herself by the answer she gave to Tiesenga's suggestion. ''While I was sitting there, I heard myself say, 'Well, yes, I've been thinking about having that done.' It's funny, but I had peace about it.'' Dr. Robert Brewer, who has done more than 15,000 Roux-Y gastric bypasses, performed the surgery at Sentara Bayside in Virginia Beach on Jan. 23 of last year. The first three weeks, she was only allowed small portions of liquid. She said, ''Your mind doesn't realize your stomach can't hold food, so I was hungry all the time.'' Four days later, Stewart was at the mall walking with her husband for exercise. There were a few setbacks, however, not the least of which was adjusting to the strictly controlled diet. Today, a year after her determined resolution, Stewart enjoys shopping - even shopping alone. She shops for new clothes and feels proud of the way she looks. ''I feel like it's a dream,'' she said, '' and I'm going to wake up.'' Stewart's husband, Bernie, is proud of his wife. ''I have seen how much faith she has,'' he said, ''and I've seen God work in her life through the experience she has been going through. I think she's stronger than she thinks she is.'' But in spite of her happiness, Stewart cautions against the drastic measure. She said she wouldn't recommend this procedure unless ''you feel like you have tried anything and your health is in danger.'' What of this year's resolution? Stewart says she wants to lose another 60 pounds.
