Weight Loss Surgery That Feels Different—Because It Is

Before sleeve surgery, Maria felt lonely and drained as she watched others do things she couldn’t due to her weight. Her family was also concerned about her health. “My sister said to me, you were eating yourself to death, I was really concerned about you.” When Maria began to lose weight, she realized just how much she was missing in life. Now, she enjoys all the small, non-scale victories she is experiencing, along with improved sleep, increased energy and a new found love of exercise. “I feel so much better, it’s changed my entire life.”

Before sleeve surgery, Michelle had struggled for over twenty years to lose weight. “I was successful with some things, I would lose fifty or sixty pounds, then gain back forty. My weight just started going up and up and up.” When Michelle realized she was close to the highest weight she had ever been in her life, she knew she didn’t want to go back, she wanted to make a change that would save her life. Since Sleeve surgery, Michelle no longer struggles with asthma. She exercises without pain and loves to go to Walt Disney World where she can fit comfortably on all the rides. “This has been a very positive experience.”

Before sleeve surgery, Roxanne was facing an addiction to food that felt crippling. “Every diet I’ve tried, you’re depriving yourself of something, so you’re always fantasizing and thinking about the food that you’re depriving yourself of.” Not only has sleeve surgery and aftercare allowed Roxanne to work on healing her relationship with food, it has also improved her stamina, knowledge of nutrition and overall quality of life.

Before sleeve surgery, dieting had always been present throughout Alba’s life, with her very first experience dating back to when she was only twelve years old. “I’ve always lost weight, but I’ve always gained it back. I was never able to keep it off.” Soon, Alba began to find difficulty in everyday tasks and movement. “I started to have trouble clipping my toenails and walking up the stairs in my home. I would eat and eat until I couldn’t breathe anymore.” Since having her sleeve surgery, Alba is rediscovering her self-confidence by fully immersing herself in travel and expressing herself through new clothes that make her feel amazing. “Everything has changed. I’m a new person now, and I’m looking forward to all the years that I have that I’ve given myself back.”

Before sleeve surgery, Alex felt defeated, sad, old, and a shell of a fraction of who they were as a person. “Being fat, you feel like no one will ever love you. You want to hide.” That was until they met with the team at The Sleeve Clinic. “Since having gastric sleeve surgery, everything has changed. I feel amazing. I look amazing. My head is held high.” Now, Alex wakes up with a smile. “I went from feeling like I was 85 to now feeling like I’m about 30. My mental health has done such an incredible turnaround. I used to have up and down days. Now I have more days where I’m up. I feel like I’ve been transported back to my younger self, but with all the knowledge of an adult. Surgery is like hitting restart on your life.”

Before sleeve surgery, Barb struggled with joint issues and couldn’t get down on the floor to play with her six grandchildren. “I was limited to what I could do because of my size.” Like many women, as a mom and a grandmother, Barb put everybody else in her life ahead of herself. That was until she decided it was her turn to look after herself. Since having sleeve surgery, Barb can now run and play with her grandchildren without pain. “I have a level of happiness with myself because of what Dr. Gmora and The Sleeve Clinic team were able to do for me.”

Before sleeve surgery, Caitlyn felt shackled by her weight. A battle that held her back from truly living her life confidently and experiencing a healthy relationship with herself. “It feels like everyone hates you, but you are okay with that in a weird way, because you know that no one can hate you as much as you hate yourself.” Sleeve surgery has allowed Caitlyn to free her life from those shackles. She’s opened her world to new experiences like ziplining and is able to accomplish other day to day tasks that don’t leave her feeling tired for the remainder of her day. “I can just live now.”

Before sleeve surgery, Jackie was struggling with high blood pressure, severe sleep apnea, mobility issues, depression, and anxiety. As a result of her weight, Jackie was experiencing embarrassment, zero self confidence and no energy. “My health was failing me, and it was absolute desperation. I didn’t know what else to do.” Gastric sleeve surgery has allowed Jackie to gain a new lease on life, full of exercise, a healthier relationship with food, and a new confidence and self-esteem she has not felt before. “I feel amazing. I don’t think I could feel any better.”

Before sleeve surgery, Mina struggled with her weight for about eight years. “It’s always been a yoyo effect with all the other diets out in the market.” She would gain extreme weight, drop the weight, and then once she returned to her regular habits, she would gain double the weight back. “It affected my inner self-worth. It affected how I viewed the world and how the world viewed me. It felt very degrading.” Since having sleeve surgery, Mina’s bipolar type two disorder has stabilized, and she feels better than ever. “I have never experienced this before. It’s honestly the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Before sleeve surgery, Tiffany’s weight held her back from her goal of pursuing a career in policing. “I did the volunteering, I did the education, got experience in the field, but it was the fitness requirement that I wasn’t even close to passing”. When Tiffany pushed herself physically, she experienced pain in her ankles, knees, hips and back. “I never would have said I had a bad quality of life. I just didn’t know how much better it could get.” Since surgery, Tiffany has developed a healthier mindset and outlook on the future, she has also achieved numerous fitness goals much faster than she ever could have anticipated.

Before sleeve surgery, the physical demands of Sara’s job were starting to take a toll on her. “I was a fairly active person, but I was starting to feel like I was going down the path of being physically unwell.” Even though Sara feared failure, she decided to take back control. Now, Sara has learned how to listen to her body’s cues. She’s gained control of her eating habits and doesn’t restrict herself with food. “It’s 100% worth the investment. This is one thing you can do for you, and it’s one thing you’ll never regret. The only thing that I regret is that I should have done it sooner.”

Before sleeve surgery, Nadine hit the highest weight she had ever been. Even after trying every diet out there, she still felt like she couldn’t get control of it. “I saw a picture of myself and I’m like, I don’t even know who that person is. I had this feeling of hopelessness. I didn’t know what to do and I didn’t feel like me anymore.” Now, since having had sleeve surgery, Nadine can hike, go for walks, and ice skate with her kids again. “Even more than the weight I’ve lost or how I look physically, I feel so good. I have not had one negative experience, not one. I am so much more active now and that has opened so many new experiences for me. Those non-scale victories are what has made me feel really good.”

Before sleeve surgery, Tara had been struggling with her weight since her thirties. She was experiencing fertility issues, low self-esteem, low self-value and had issues with emotional and stress eating. “My weight kept going up, even after seeing a nutritionist. I just wanted my life back. I wanted to take control for myself.” Now Tara sees food as fuel. She goes to the gym five days a week and doesn’t feel guilty when she has a treat. “Everything that was holding me back has completely changed. I am a different person now. I’m more confident. I’m happier. Everything is so much better.”

Sandra had been struggling with her weight since she was 15 years old. Before sleeve surgery, Sandra was taking medication for diabetes and high cholesterol. She was struggling with depression, and the pain in her joints made it difficult for her to go on walks. “Now, I can take my dog out for walks properly. My dog comes home more tired than I do! Yes, I’ve lost weight, but I’m more thrilled that I’m no longer on medication. I no longer have diabetes, and there’s no pain in my joints. I can do everything I used to do before, but I can actually do it better than what I did back then.”

Kathie tried every single diet out there, and nothing ever stuck or became a permanent lifestyle. “This was my last resort. Hands down, if anyone is going to select a surgeon that puts you right at the top of the list, it’s Dr. Gmora. Now I have so much energy it’s unbelievable. I wake up, I have energy immediately. I go to bed, I still have energy. I’m more self-aware of how I’m fueling my body. If I could go back in time, I would go back and do this earlier. I could have saved myself years. But here I am. I’ve done it. I’m doing very, very well, and I’m very, very happy. And the support that I get is amazing.”

Before sleeve surgery, Lisa was scared of getting diabetes, having a heart attack, and not being the best mom she wanted to be for her son. “Now I’m a super mom. We go sledding, run around, we play. I always faked my confidence, but now I have real confidence. I feel great inside my own skin now. It hasn’t touched my Crohn’s at all. I’m still in complete remission with my Crohn’s, and now more so, I’m not as symptomatic because I’m not ingesting as much. I have a completely different outcome and outlook on life now.”

Before sleeve surgery, Steve never had a healthy relationship with food. He struggled with high blood pressure, knee pain, and mobility issues. Now, after losing 173 pounds, “my knees don’t hurt, and stairs are no longer an issue. The difference between my sleep now and my sleep before is night and day. I haven’t snored since the day I had my surgery. I’m learning how to build a relationship with food that is positive. This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. I just changed my life.”

At 30 years old, Kristina had been struggling with her weight her entire life. She felt uncomfortable in her body and was tired of spending thousands of dollars on diets, skinny teas, and personal trainers and still not seeing any sustainable results. That’s when she began doing her own research and found The Sleeve Clinic. “I wanted to feel good in my clothes. I wanted to be able to walk up a set of stairs and not be out of breath. I wanted a higher quality of life – and I can definitely say I have that now.”

Before sleeve surgery, looking in the mirror was difficult for Heather. She struggled with her weight all her life, and after having a baby, she was ready to try something different. “I was sick of being the fat mom on the playground. I wanted to be able to run after my kid. I wanted to do all the things that someone in shape and in control of their eating could do. I wanted to be skinny before turning 40 – I turned 40 in April, and I did it!

At the time of his surgery, Jordan was 319 lbs and had struggled with his weight for as long as he could remember. After trying every diet under the sun, he realized he needed a more sustainable solution and one that wouldn’t leave him starving at the end of every day. “I wanted to be able to extend my life and to be able to see my kids graduate and get married. That’s when I realized enough is enough, so I decided to have the surgery.”

Rochelle had been struggling with her weight for nearly half of her life. Before her Gastric Sleeve Surgery, she was showing signs of early-stage hypertension. She had chronic back and knee issues and didn’t feel good in her body. It’s been almost a year since Rochelle decided to have Gastric Sleeve Surgery and now, she’s hiking in the mountains without losing her breath and her knees and back are no longer a source of her pain. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all of this, it’s that it’s not about quick fixes. This is about resetting. It’s re-learning and unlearning and using the tools that have been given to me.“

Scott had been overweight since graduating high school and steadily gained weight through college and post-college. He had been an obese person for the better part of 30 years. He tried diets galore and would go up and down like a yoyo. By the time he turned 50, he ended up on a CPAP machine for sleep apnea. That’s when he began his search for a better solution. “I got thinking, what was the next step? What was above dieting? And it was bariatric surgery. I used to wear a size 56 pant and a size 62 suit coat. Today I wear a size 38 pant and a size 48 suit coat.”