How a Former Weightlifter Shed 80 Pounds After GLP-1 Medications Lost Their Effect

• Former competitive weightlifter Dana Bichler lost more than 80 pounds after endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty (ESG), a minimally invasive weight-loss procedure.
• After regaining weight despite dieting and trying GLP-1 medications, Bichler turned to ESG because he was worried about obesity-related fatty liver disease.
• Bichler says the procedure restored his energy, helped him become more active, and made it easier to enjoy time with his family.

For many years, Dana Bichler competed as a weightlifter. He felt strong and fit at a body weight of about 200 to 210 pounds. But age and the strain on his body eventually led him to step away from the sport, and after that, the pounds began to add up gradually.

“I tried running, and a few other things, and the weight just crept up,” he told Healthline.

He lost around 50 pounds through dieting, but the weight always came back. At his heaviest, he was close to 300 pounds, which prompted him to visit a weight-loss clinic and follow a plan centered on the clinic’s food program.

“It’s a life of deprivation,” Bichler said. “You just can’t live like it.”

About five years ago, he tried a GLP-1 medication, and a few years later he tried two others. Each one helped at first, but the effect did not last.

“There was really no long-term positive effects or benefits that I saw,” he said.

He still takes Mounjaro to help control blood sugar because he is prediabetic.

He was also diagnosed with fatty liver disease a few years ago. The condition was linked to obesity and had already caused scarring on his liver.

Bichler knew how serious the disease could become. His two younger sisters and his oldest brother also had fatty liver disease. His brother and youngest sister developed cirrhosis, and his brother died after the disease spread to other parts of his body.

“I had to do something,” he said. “What I was doing was not working.”

Why he chose endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty for weight loss

From his home in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Bichler traveled to the University of Minnesota to see a hepatologist, who then referred him to a gastroenterologist who had worked with Boston Scientific on the tools used for endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty, or ESG.

ESG is a minimally invasive weight-loss procedure performed with an FDA-authorized endoscopic suturing system, such as one offered through Boston Scientific’s Endura Weight Loss Solutions.

During ESG, a doctor guides an endoscope through the mouth and uses sutures to fold the stomach into a narrower sleeve. No part of the stomach is removed, and there are no incisions. The smaller stomach limits how much food a person can eat at one time.

“Patients typically go home the same day and can return to routine daily activities within two to three days,” Brian Dunkin, MD, chief medical officer at Boston Scientific, told Healthline. “For the right person, that provides another less-invasive option to consider with their healthcare professional.”

While ESG may be useful for some people who do not reach their weight-loss goals with GLP-1 medications, cannot tolerate them, or do not want to remain on medication long term, Dunkin said he does not view it as ESG versus GLP-1 drugs.

“One of the best things GLP-1 medications have done is get more people talking to their doctors about obesity and recognizing it as a chronic disease that deserves treatment,” he said.

Each approach comes with different benefits, risks, and side effects.

“The goal is finding the right treatment, or combination of treatments, for the right patient at the right time,” Dunkin said.

ESG is intended for adults with obesity and a BMI between 30 and 50, but Dunkin said BMI is only one part of the discussion. He added that ESG may be an option for people who are not getting the weight-loss results they want, who do not want to stay on weight-loss medication long term, or for whom bariatric surgery may not be appropriate or desired.

“Obesity is a chronic disease that requires long-term care,” said Dunkin. “ESG is one part of that care, which is why I believe so strongly in a multidisciplinary approach. The goal is to look at the whole person and find a care plan they can sustain over time.”

Bichler decided ESG was the right choice for him and underwent the procedure through Boston Scientific. At the time, he was 67 and on Medicare, which pre-approved the procedure.

“I just felt comfortable with it not being invasive, and I really needed to deal with [my weight], so I did,” he said.

How his life changed after endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty

When Bichler had ESG, he weighed somewhere in the 260s. Now he weighs 178 pounds.

The procedure itself went smoothly, but he said the next month was difficult. Bread, pasta, rice, and carbonated drinks were off-limits, so he had to start with clear liquids, then gradually move to other liquids, and eventually cream soups.

“I found that extremely difficult,” he said.

What took him by surprise most was depression. Looking back, he describes it as a perfect storm. Working with his weight-loss doctor, he had stopped taking his antidepressant about two weeks before the procedure. After surgery, his eating habits changed dramatically, which also disrupted the social life he had built around food.

“I was in a pretty deep funk for a while,” he said. “I really was.”

He restarted his antidepressant and gradually adjusted to a new way of eating.

“I’ve discovered I like cream soup,” he said. “I still have it for meals.”

Even though he has lost more than 80 pounds, Bichler said the biggest difference is how much better he feels. He now exercises four to five days a week and has more energy, with movement that is easier than it has been in years.

“I haven’t felt this good in 30 years,” Bichler said. “I’m not kidding you.”

He can now do things he enjoys, including working on the farm he owns with his wife. There he hunts ducks, turkeys, pheasants, and small game, and runs a trapline, all of which had become nearly impossible because of his weight.

“It used to be really hard for me to do because of the physicality of doing some of these things,” he said.

Although he has retired from his profession, Bichler said he is busier than ever. He serves as a protodeacon in the Eastern Orthodox Church and also works as a chaplain for his local police department, which requires him to climb in and out of squad cars and go up and down stairs.

“Before I’d be sucking air trying to keep up,” he said.

What matters most to him is that he has more energy for his family.

“I have a grandson that I can actually do things and be active with now,” Bichler said. “It’s like starting all over. I just feel like a new person.”