Bariatric weight-loss surgery patients modeled off their new bodies at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton's Fitness and Wellness Center.
HAMILTON -- For Diane Sargeant, 50 is the new 20.
After having a massive stroke in 1993, Sargeant said her weight went up to 358 pounds from the medicine she was prescribed and from not being able to exercise as much.
"I was slowly killing myself," she said. "I had to do something."
After having gastric sleeve surgery in 2014, she said she lost 150 pounds and looks and feels like she is in her 20s rather than her actual age of 53.
"I did it for my health, for my confidence, for everything," she said. "It's changed my life."
Sargeant was one of 18 bariatric weight-loss surgery patients who modeled their new bodies at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Hamilton's Fitness and Wellness Center Tuesday night.
RWJ Hamilton surgeons Earl Noyan and Val Prokurat announced their patients like models as they strutted their new looks in front of a crowd of family and friends.
They lost a combined 1,700 pounds.
Before and after pictures, how much each person lost and what procedure the patients chose to undergo - either gastric sleeve or gastric bypass - were also displayed on a projection screen while they modeled.
Gastric sleeve is a weight-loss procedure in which a large portion of the stomach is surgically removed. Gastric bypass is the surgical procedure of dividing the stomach into a small upper pouch and a large lower pouch then rearranging the small intestine to connect both.
"It's not easy, it's a difficult step to take but compared to the risks, the benefits go all the way up to the sky," Prokurat said.
Noyan said bariatric surgery is currently the leading weight-loss procedure for treating obesity. He and Prokurat set patients up with a dietician and support group before the surgery so after the weight comes off, it stays off.
The doctors treat as many as 300 patients a year.
Brother and sister Daniella and Robert Meloro from Manalapan said they underwent gastric sleeve surgery almost exactly a year apart to the day.
Robert Meloro had the procedure done Oct. 17, 2013 and lost 130 pounds.
Daniella Meloro had the procedure done Oct. 2, 2014 and lost 70 pounds.
"I feel amazing," Daniella Meloro said. "It was easier when I was going through it because I had him to support me...he just kind of did it."
Bordentown resident Eleni Torrance lost 120 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass in 2008.
"I didn't have a lot of support when I was going through it," Torrance said. "If you know in your heart you can do it, do it. Don't let other people's opinions deter you."
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.