13 May 15-21, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Words Cut Deep “T he surgery doesn’t make you lose weight, the surgery pre- vents you from operating as a responsible human being,” Paige says. Paige, who has type 2 diabetes, dropped from about 300 to 230 pounds after her 2019 surgery. She now struggles to consume enough nutrient-dense calories and experi- ences hair loss, dull skin and has forcefully given up carbonated drinks, even a celebra- tory glass of Champagne. She relies on 12 vi- tamins a day, drinkable protein and wigs. Eating often triggers a runny nose, a telltale sign among sleeve patients. Since gastric sleeve surgery, she’s had emergency gall- bladder removal, skin removal and breast lift, all of which she attributes to the proce- dure. Even with her life-altering surgical expe- rience, Paige opposes GLP-1s. “The fat is on the outside, but there’s a whole system inside of us that we’re chang- ing with a substance that we’re forgetting about because the focus is, ‘I want to lose fat,’” she says. Paige believes it’s a crisis in the making. Many people around her have lost weight on GLP-1s, yet remain unhappy. “One of the big things that I had to deal with was that I am not my weight,” Paige says. “I had a personality built on being fat. It was amazing. You love me, and it’s mostly because I was fat, the best fat person you ever knew your whole life. I opened doors for heavier people.” At 300 pounds, Paige was a top-rated ballroom dancer in Texas, a feat she says was extraordinary because of her size. Her weight became a defining part of her iden- tity. “They reduce your value because now you’re skinny. So yay, skinny. When I’m fat, they also can tell you how smart I am, how funny I am, how fun I am, how great I dance, because they don’t accept fat,” Paige says. Therapy and nutritional counseling helped Paige untangle her identity from her weight. “It’s [GLP-1s and surgical weight loss] just a cheap way of not having a nutritionist and a therapist,” Paige says. It’s a permanent decision with no back- pedaling. “There is no off switch, there is no pause,” Pinn says. “And that’s great, because it means that you get the results that you need for your health. It can be unfortunate, because sometimes you just want to go and eat a whole bunch of nonsense.” Like Ellis’ experience with GLP-1, Pinn endured extreme fatigue. A month after Pinn’s surgery, a half-mile walk at a Vegas hotel felt impossible. “Every step was like, ‘All right, you’re al- most there. You can make it. Don’t sit down. You sit down, you’re gonna fall asleep. You’re almost there,” Pinn recalls. “I would hit the wall on an energy basis very, very like, very suddenly, where I don’t have the energy to function.” Introducing Sadi-S I nfluencer Remi Bader, who built her following based on her size, has since lost more than 100 pounds through GLP-1s and surgery. “I tried Ozempic before it was even a thing,” she told Khloé Kardashian on a pod- cast in March. “My doctor was just like, ‘Oh, you’re pre-diabetic, you should try this.’ I lost probably, like 10 pounds, but I was really sick and threw up a lot from it.” In December 2023, Bader underwent single anastomosis duodenal-ileal bypass, or Sadi-S. “Sadi-S is more of a malabsorptive proce- dure, so it’s designed to be even more dra- matic than a gastric bypass,” Sadler says. The newer-to-the-market surgery, of- fered by Total Wellness & Bariatrics, is a hy- brid of gastric bypass and the sleeve. It is comparable to a duodenal switch, a complex bariatric surgery that reduces stomach size and reroutes the small intestine. Sadler says Sadi-S significantly limits the body’s ability to absorb nutrients, making a strict, lifelong vitamin regimen critical. Bader described the surgery recovery as “brutal” to SELF Magazine. For six weeks, she couldn’t eat or drink and vomited con- stantly. According to SELF, her experience is an outlier. “It’s designed to bypass a large amount of intestine so that you’re not absorbing the calories and sugar, nutrients and things like that, so that’s how people lose such an ex- treme amount of weight with that proce- dure,” Sadler says. The procedure is ideal for those around 300 pounds with a body mass index of at least 35 to 40. “We still see those same kinds of weight loss goals and achievement with just the sleeve or mini gastric bypass as well,” she adds. The Trifecta A fter losing weight on GLP-1s, Ellis began a self-administered case study. He intentionally regained weight, then introduced a targeted plan combining GLP-1 microdosing, resistance training, increased protein and a balanced calorie deficit. The results were drastically better. He reached his goal weight again, but this time he maintained muscle mass, improved energy levels and avoided debilitating side effects. The approach became his basis for Voafit. “My practice is to evangelize this method of taking these incredibly useful and power- ful tools, but in a way that actually is helpful, avoids the side effects, doesn’t sacrifice all your muscle mass, and you don’t end up nu- tritionally depleted,” he says. Ellis partnered with Recess Fitness Club, owned by fitness specialists and trainers Taylor Metzger and Evan Duncan, to launch Recess Rx. This program combines Voafit’s comprehensive GLP-1 management with a state-of-the-art fitness program. Carter-Williams’ doctor managed dosage carefully, resulting in a slow, steady loss that prevented sagging skin. Her self-disciplined regime focused on protein and vegetables, walking, Pilates and low-impact weight training. Paige’s trifecta is therapy, nutritional guidance and exercise regimen. For Pinn, it’s protein, family support and mental rewiring. His comorbidities are gone. Ellis says only one Voafit patient needs the full GLP-1 dose. His patients are seeing results they’ve never seen before. He checks in weekly to oversee their journey. Carter-Williams ended her three-year GLP-1 journey on March 14, the latest GLP-1 being Mounjaro. She lost 160 pounds. “I’m excited, but I’m also nervous because I want to be able to live without the medication, and I want to see how far I truly have come,” she told the Observer shortly after. On May 9, the content creator posted an update on Instagram. Despite her appetite returning “with a vengeance,” she has not gained a pound. She credits her discipline and mindset. “Remember the medicine helps you, it aids you, but it’s not a magic wand. You have got to do the work,” she said online. Kathy Tran Courtney Paige had bariatric surgery in 2019, but now opposes GLP-1s and surgery. I had a personality built on being fat. It was amazing. You love me, and it’s mostly because I was fat, the best fat person you ever knew your whole life. I opened doors for heavier people. –Courtney Paige “ “
