Eli Alexander

Hi everyone. I'm Eli and in two weeks I am going in for the gastric sleeve surgery and I'm a bit anxious, excited, nervous, hopeful, dubious and ready for the life changes ahead. I'm 40 and I've been overweight since the age of ten. Of course back then it was an extra 10lbs, an extra 30lbs in high school, 60lbs in college and since then I've worked myself up to 308lbs, or about 130+ lbs overweight. I'm trying to work on myself from all angles to become a better me. Two years ago I quit smoking, I started cycling and exercising on a regular basis. I just applied to go back to school and get a degree in enology (wine sciences) to start a new career that I actually want to do on a daily basis. And of course, one of the biggest changes, I'm getting the surgery and setting my sights on losing 109lbs to get under the 200lbs mark. So far, leading up to the surgery I've lost 22lbs via caloric restriction. Being overweight has been a tremendous burden on me not only physically, but mentally. I stopped dating a decade ago and resigned myself to a life of loneliness because I just couldn't comprehend that anyone could find me attractive. Perhaps the biggest thing I hope to get from the upcoming weight loss is a renewed sense of pride in myself. To be able to look at myself and think I'm a catch. To gain self confidence that comes with the hard work and time consuming nature of self improvement. So that's it. I Live in Portland Oregon and love it here. I'm looking forward to backpacking trips and long bike rids, to kayaking and just becoming a busier more life-loving version of myself.