Hello! My name is Merayna and I am 20 years old. I had the gastric sleeve surgery done in Mexico at Obesity Control Center in Tijuana. I hit my highest weight a month before I had surgery done which was 238 lbs. I made it to 226 lbs for surgery and almost 4 months post-op I have gotten down to 186 lbs. I never knew how big of a difference 50 pounds could make on not only my face and my body but my confidence as well. Thankfully, I haven't experienced any bad side effects from surgery other than the expected hair loss that has recently started. (*knock on wood*) I can say that before surgery I did struggle with Type 2 Diabetes, High Triglycerides, Hypothyroidism, and PCOS. After surgery, my diabetes has gotten a lot better and my doctor is pretty confident that I won't have to take my metformin for much longer but we will see.

Something that I seem to struggle with some days is "reverse" body dysmorphia. When I look at myself in the mirror or in new pictures I still see the exact same girl I was before I started losing weight. In my eyes, my body has always looked the way it does now even when I was 50 lbs heavier. Then I compare the old photos and the new ones and it shocks me because I saw myself as way thinner than how I actually looked at the time.

This surgery has truly changed my life. I wake up with more energy, I love taking photos now and dressing up, I eat better and take care of myself better, and I honestly feel like a brand new person. I am halfway to my goal of 140 lbs and I can't wait to be the healthier version of myself that I have always wanted to become.

Congratulations on your journey so far, you are doing amazingly well and looking so good!

You look fabulous! Congrats on your loss so far.

It's great that you feel your identity is not about your size, terrific to see you are you, no matter what!

Well done hunny you look amazing!

Woop, woop good job on you all around!

Wow! So happy for you! Our journeys have been similar! I started at 244. Was 228 day of surgery I think and I'm 190.6 now. I am more flexible and feel better all over. Hopefully the weight loss continues. I am not sure I want to get down into the 120s or 130s like I'd set before. Probably 140s or 150s will be ok for me. I'm 5'3" but I'm 51 so the smaller I get the more wrinkles I see! No likey! But will see. Congrats on your weight loss. I'm happy for you that you got to do this at your age. Wish I had! Keep going!! You look fantastic!!! ?✨️?