In 2015, John Allaire was the happiest he has ever been in his life. He finally proposed to his high school sweetheart, Caila. Did she say yes? Of course, she did!
Even though he was still in cloud 9 at this time, this very special moment was overshadowed by the painful reality that he can no longer ignore. He was 540 pounds and he was so heavy in a way that it was already life-threatening. Yes, John was happy and in love, but he knew that if he wants a better and long future with his wife, he needs to change for the better. John knew that if he continued to be life-threateningly obese, he would not be able to enjoy his life with Caila.
John had been ‘comfort eating’ for years. His weight was also because of his sedentary lifestyle. John’s BMI was 70 and because of his weight, he couldn’t weight himself at home not at the doctor’s office. So every time he wants to check his weight, he needs to go to a local fish market. And every time he does this, the humiliating experience traumatizes him.
After he proposed to Caila, this moment changed his life. Caila loved him for what he was and she was committed to being married to him despite his weight. But he wanted to change not only for her but for himself most importantly. He needed to love himself more both for their sake for their future. To make the change, John slowly took the steps to change himself. He started to live healthier and began to lose weight. He started walking three to four times a week.
And on his wedding day with Caila in 2016, he already lost 20 pounds. And this motivated him to keep going. He shared that he remembered one time that he was looking at himself in the mirror and thought to himself that he no longer looked like a human being. Caila’s overflowing love for him motivated him to change.
All throughout his weight loss journey, Caila was very supportive of him. And her career in the Navy helped him decide to pack up his things and move with her to San Diego. He left his job and started to change his life right away. Instead of finding another job at that time, he focused more on getting himself healthy. This became his ultimate goal.
In August 216, he joined the Camp Transformation Center. In the first week, he was able to lose 12.6 pounds. Then he kept motivating himself to keep going until he lost 297 pounds. From 540 pounds, he was able to lose a total of 317 pounds!
And after losing all those weights, his next problem was to get rid of all of those excess skin which will take a couple of surgeries to remove. His story was shared by The Doctors. And after his appeal to help him with his excess skin removal surgeries that will cost him tens and thousands of dollars, Dr. Michael Zarrabi from The Doctors surprised him with an offer that he could not refuse – free plastic surgery!
His weight loss success came from hard training and undying support and love from his wife. Thanks to the help of the staff at the Camp Transformation Center.
