Following gastric bypass surgery, popular Canton DJ Gary Titus now in the best shape of his adult life

By Kathy Anderson

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series chronicling Canton resident Gary Titus’s weight loss from gastric bypass surgery a year ago and his journey to a healthy weight and lifestyle. Titus will publish excerpts from his blog in the Canton Citizen to celebrate not only a personal triumph but to serve as an inspiration to anyone who has struggled with excess weight.

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Popular Canton disc jockey Gary Titus says he had tried “every diet in the book.” He would lose the excess weight then gain it back, riding the hope-and-disappointment rollercoaster that so many dieters ride. But one year ago today, that all changed when Titus underwent gastric bypass surgery at Tufts Medical Center. During the last 12 months he has shed 134 pounds — and has tapped into newfound energy that has helped improve his health overall.

Gary Titus is pictured just prior to undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

Titus is pictured last week.

“I decided it was time to shrink my gas tank and not put so much in after trying every diet in the world,” Titus said of his decision to choose gastric bypass surgery. “I’d heard about [the surgery] a long time ago before it came to what it is today, before they’ve perfected the technique. After a few high-profile people had it with bad experiences it got a bad reputation, but I wasn’t scared at all. I trusted the doctors and had seen the operation on the internet.”

Titus’s wife, Sarah, was very hesitant at first, he said. “Her initial reaction was ‘absolutely not.’ She thought I could do it on my own. One day Sarah saw me at my heaviest and out of the blue she said I could start looking into the operation, so I went on the internet and did a lot of research.”

With the support of Sarah and the couple’s two teenage children, Titus made the commitment.

“My promise to my wife was that if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it 100 percent,” he said.

Post-surgery took into account not only physical recovery but a change of lifestyle. Titus committed himself to working with a personal trainer at a local gym and educated himself on nutrition, constantly reminding himself that his stomach capacity has been reduced by approximately 75 percent.

“I can’t eat the way I used to,” he said. “I’ve learned that a half cup of oatmeal will satisfy and fill me up. The only sugar I eat is natural sugar from fruit. I eat more protein and fruits and vegetables now. Sometimes it’s hard to resist the temptation of food that is bad for me, but for the most part it’s not that difficult. Food addiction is the worst and most dangerous addiction because you can do it the longest and it takes a long time to kill you.”

As a disc jockey who works numerous weddings and functions, Titus is often at events where there are rich, fattening and sweet buffets and meals. At home, his family also enjoys food that is taboo to his strict diet. But he weathers the temptation and has found in the months since his surgery that the appeal to indulge is no longer a devil on his shoulder.

“Smartfood is my treat,” he said. “If I find myself going a little past my limit, I’ll make up for it the next day.”

Titus was born and raised in Canton, and given his high-profile job and his family’s successful restaurant and catering businesses — Big D’s Neponset Café  — he has noticed with surprise and amusement the number of people he passes on the street who do a doubletake when they see him.

“There are people I’ve known for years, but if they haven’t seen me since the operation some pass right by me,” he said. “They simply don’t recognize me.”

Having cut his body mass index nearly in half, from a 44 down to a 26, Titus said he knows this time he will keep the weight off. At age 53, he is in the best shape of his adult life.

“This was my intervention,” he said. “I said to myself, enough is enough. There are also people who have the surgery and then don’t do the lifestyle changes, and they go right back up the scale. I didn’t want to be one of those people. You have a day where you can say ‘I did it — I’ve reached my goal.’ But like an alcoholic or drug addict, it’s one day at a time — you have to keep working at it, but it really feels great.”

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Feb 18 2010. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.