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Business Insider

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ese Milan, a 25-year-old content creator in Las Vegas, in the state of Nevada in the US. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My whole life, I have been a bigger person. I come from a Polynesian Samoan household, and my whole family is bigger, so I always thought it was normal. It was what I was used to.
But in 2021, I got sick and needed to see a doctor for the first time in years. The doctor told me I weighed 412 pounds (187kg). I was taken aback when I heard the number.
After that initial appointment, I found a doctor who, after testing, diagnosed me with several conditions, including high blood pressure, high sugar levels, and type 2 diabetes. She also told me I was morbidly obese.

I had got so comfortable living at that weight with these unknown health issues, but I knew I had to do something about my health.
The doctor put me on medications right away and made an appointment for me at the hospital to get a sleep apnoea test.
People treat me better now that I am smaller. It shows how shallow people can be
Ese Milan
Checking myself in for this test at the age of 22 was depressing. I was so young and yet was being checked to see if I stopped breathing in the night due to my weight. They strapped me to a bed for the night. I could not sleep because there was this huge machine stuck to my face. It was torture.
The medications were starting to make me feel terrible. I decided to stop taking them. Instead, I decided I would work hard to lose weight.
I started going to the gym every single day after work. The only way I was able to do this was because at least one friend came with me each afternoon. We had clubbed for years – now we went to the gym together.

At first, I stuck to the cardio machines. The people who did weights looked experienced and fit, and I felt uncomfortable working around them. I would not have had a clue of what to do. But I started watching them, figuring out how they used free weights and machines and started doing the same.
I became addicted to sweating. I loved seeing myself leaving the gym covered in sweat. The results were not quick at all, but by the time I was 23, I had lost 30 pounds.
The food element of weight loss was very hard to manage. I was surrounded by friends who socialised over food, and my family, who I lived with, continued to eat the same way.
I knew I was fighting against time and had to lose weight to fix my health. To stick through with this for the long term, I started considering weight loss surgery.
Without anyone knowing, I started researching doctors who performed weight loss operations and the types of surgery available. I decided on a vertical sleeve gastrectomy, and in November 2022, I went in for the procedure.

The operation did not last long; after 10 minutes, I was walking around.
I started telling people about what I had done. I did not care what anyone thought about the fact that I had weight loss surgery at 23. I did it to save myself.
Since the surgery, I have lost 150 pounds. It feels amazing to look back and see what I have achieved. I feel unstoppable. All the health concerns I had before are now nonexistent.
Other than the health benefits, my favourite part of losing weight has been the wider selection of clothes I can choose from when shopping.
However, I have been disappointed by how differently I have been treated since losing weight. People treat me better now that I am smaller. It shows how shallow people can be.

Weight loss surgery is not for everyone, but I have no regrets about having the operation. It literally saved my life.
Read the original article on Business Insider.
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Ese Milan, a Polynesian Samoan content creator in Las Vegas, had weight-loss surgery at age 22 and started strength training. She has lost 68kg since 2021. Photo: Instagram/ese.milan

Ese Milan in hospital after having a vertical sleeve gastrectomy in November 2022. Photo: instagram.com/ese.milan

Milan before and after her weight loss operation in November 2022. Photo: courtesy of Ese Milan

Ese Milan with her doctor on the day of her operation, and a year later, in December 2023. Photo: instagram.com/ese.milan/

Milan with her cousin in September 2022, before her weight-loss operation, and in November, 2023. Photo: instagram.com/ese.milan

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Kate Gladdin (right) pictured with her older sister, Nicole. Photo: Kate Gladdin

The cover of Gladdin’s book. Photo: Amazon

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

‘Morbidly obese’ Ese Milan tried weight-loss drugs, then had surgery; 68kg lighter, these days she works out and is still shedding the kilos


‘Morbidly obese’ Ese Milan tried weight-loss drugs, then had surgery; 68kg lighter, these days she works out and is still shedding the kilos.


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Disease

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