Profile: Nancy Kaneshiro tried weight loss and exercise, then lap-band surgery

Nancy Kaneshiro tried practically every popular weight-loss program in the 1990s, including Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig. But the fortysomething book publicist remained 100 pounds overweight.

When diagnosed with diabetes in 1998, “I flipped my wig,” she said. Her internist started her on the diabetes drugs metformin, glipizide and Actos. The Woodland Hills resident became a zealous calorie-counter and gym-goer, doing 30 to 60 minutes of cardio and resistance training at her 24 Hour Fitness every morning for 10 years.

“As you get older, the changes that Mother Nature visits upon women are very mean,” Kaneshiro says. “No matter what I tried, the [ weight loss] was minimal.” Her doctor explained that her age — by then she was in her late 50s — and her diabetes were conspiring to keep the weight on. Lab tests had him worried that irreversible kidney damage was around the corner. She decided it was time for more drastic measures.

Fourteen months ago, Kaneshiro had lap-band surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Doctors placed an adjustable band around the top of her stomach, which restricts the amount it can hold and digest to about half a cup of food (a normal stomach can hold 6 cups of food). It is a less-invasive type of bariatric surgery, which is recommended for diabetics who are severely obese.

“If you are not ready to take control and be responsible for what goes in your mouth, don’t do it,” advises Kaneshiro, who is still learning to take smaller bites and eat slowly. “The surgery is a complete change of lifestyle in one day —you don’t have a choice.”

At her one-year post-surgery appointment, Kaneshiro was initially dismayed that she had dropped only 45 pounds. But her internist cheered her up by focusing on how much her health had improved. He reduced her metformin dose, eliminated Actos and is no longer worried about kidney damage.

Kaneshiro now reports less chronic back pain, fewer knee aches and better stamina than she’s had in years. “I’m a big fan of this intervention for people who just can’t swing” the weight loss, she says.

—Kendall Powell