On January 1, 2024, I decided that this would be the year I would lose weight. I know it sounds like a cliché, and everyone does it on New Year’s Day, but I was tired of being Obese. (Yes) That’s right, I said it, and that was my first step to taking control of my life. See, I was an overweight guy in my fifties, but never let weight stop me. I could still do yard work until I was ready to pass out, I played golf once a month, but I wasn’t healthy. I was 318 pounds, and I hid how miserable I felt from everyone.

I started searching for a doctor to put me on this wonder drug called Ozimpic because my primary wouldn’t do it. I gave up soda and told everyone around me that I no longer wanted their leftovers at dinner because I was the guy who would eat my meal. Whatever they didn’t finish, I would eat too. I was taught you don’t waste food. In a few short months, I began to lose weight. I met Dr. Mia Loan sometime in February or March; I couldn’t remember the exact date, but we started regular visits. We discussed Ozimpic, Gastric bypass, and then Gastric sleeve. I read the materials and decided that a gastric sleeve was what I wanted to do. So we set a plan and I started working towards losing more weight. By July 2024, I had lost 296 pounds and was going on a cruise, so I knew I had to control myself due to the abundance of delicious food for 7 days. (LOL)

Here is where my story takes a twist, or, rather, a significant hurdle. While on the cruise, my 83-year-old mother passed away. It was traumatizing, to say the least. I am at sea, thousands of miles away, and couldn’t get back for her final moments. I became stressed, and what do Obese people do? We eat. The sadness brought me to the table, where all the bad eating habits felt so familiar.

After I got home and walked into my mom’s house, I felt the silence along with all the familiar smells of home. I said to myself, ‘Don’t slip down this path; you can do this.’ So I bottled up the stress and the emotions, and I put them to work. I followed my diet, continued working in the yard, and playing golf, but it just wasn’t coming off. So we scheduled the surgery for September 6. I was going to do this, and that was it. I set a goal: I wanted to lose 100 pounds as a short-term goal, and my end goal is to be 150 pounds.

Gastric sleeve surgery has changed my life. I currently weigh 196. I no longer shop in the big boy section. I eat 4 oz of protein and vegetables at each meal. I go to the gym every morning at 4 AM to start my day with a 2-mile run and 1 hour of weight training. By the end of the day, I have run and walked over 4 miles. I am not Obese anymore, I am healthy for the first time in 40 years. People who know me and see me don’t even know who I am. If I could give you one piece of advice, it would be to learn to say the word (Obese) and recognise all the effort it took to get there.

Now take that same effort and apply it to getting healthy, because you deserve it. To say the word ‘I am not obese’ is the most satisfying phrase I say every day.

Quitters never win, and winners never quit. Come join my team. I am a winner for the first time in a long time.
Jim Francis