Ali Lee lives her best life after weight loss journey

Ali Lee said she remembers a time in her life when it was difficult to walk up a flight of stairs, and finding the motivation to wake up and face the day was a struggle.

The wife and mother of three once weighed more than 300 pounds. It was the realization that she could no longer keep up with her family that spurred her decision to make a change.

“I had gotten to the point where I didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. I suffered with depression; I suffered with anxiety,” Lee said. “When I got to the point where I didn’t even want to go into my kids’ school, you know, it was hard. It was a struggle to walk up the stairs to pick up my kids from the PALS program.

“When I was making excuses to not go and do things with my family … that’s when I knew,” Lee added. “That’s when I said to myself, ‘If I don’t do something now, I might not be alive to see my kids grow up or my future grandkids,’ and that scared me. It wasn’t a life, and it’s not a life for my kids.”

Lee said her weight and self-esteem issues have spanned her entire life – and finally deciding to change was the best decision she’s made. “I struggled with my weight since I was in the third grade. I’ve always been the big girl, so I’ve never had that experience of getting to shop like a normal person, and I’ve always been the person picked on,” Lee said.

It was during fall 2016 that Lee found people on social media who had similar struggles and was inspired by them to make a lifestyle change. She underwent weight reduction surgery the next February and has since lost nearly 150 pounds.

“It’s definitely been worth it. There’s so much that I’ve sacrificed, but at the same time there’s so much that I have gained, too, because now I’m able to keep up with my family,” she said. “It was about being able to keep up with life and live a life worth living, and now I can do that. It was the best decision.”

Lee said from the beginning she viewed the surgery as a tool to help her change her life. “It’s not a cure-all by any means,” she said. “It’s not a silver bullet. This kind of journey demands a lifestyle change.

“This surgery isn’t just a cure for obesity; it’s a cure for thyroid issues and diabetes,” she added. “It’s not an easy fix either – there’s a lot of trial and error. That’s something that a lot of people don’t realize with this surgery, and that’s one reason I kind of kept it a secret.”

Lee isn’t living a life of secrecy anymore, though. She won’t be hiding behind baggy clothes or shying away from attention. After her immense success, Lee said she wants to share her journey with the world and will talk to anyone who will listen about the benefits of weight loss and her surgery.

Lee now shares her story on Facebook and Instagram in hopes of inspiring others to find their happiness and take control of their lives.

“In order to be as open and honest and raw as I want to be, I just put everything out there,” she said. “I try to be as honest as I can and not fake about it. What you see is what you get with me, and it’s the only way I know how to let people know that I’m a genuine person who struggles with things just like everybody else. That’s my goal – to let other people know they’re not alone. No matter if you want to have weight loss surgery or you just want to be a better person in general, it starts with focusing on yourself and loving yourself and your life.”

An advocate for healthy and happy living, Lee said she still works every day toward getting better and better. “What makes me keep going is knowing that if I stopped, I would get back to where I was,” she said. “This is not a forever fix; this is a lifestyle change. If you only change temporarily, you won’t have lasting results. If you don’t treat your body the way it needs to be treated, you will not have a healthy life, you will not feel good, and your body will not function right.”

Lee said while she has bad days, she leads a happy life now that she has learned to love herself.

“I’m happy now, and I feel like happy people live happy lives. There are a lot of things I’m able to do and a lot of hats I’m able to wear now, and I wouldn’t have been able to do this before at all,” she said. “It’s all because of this surgery.”

Lee and her husband Caleb live in Hartselle and have three children: Lexi, 7, Hampton, 4, and Everett, 2.