Qyral Founder Hanieh Sigari’s Weight Loss Story
I still remember the day I finally climbed on the pallet jack in the warehouse at work and weighed myself for the first time in years. My heart pounded as the scale crept up, and a profound sense of disbelief washed over me. How had I let myself get to that point?
Like many of you, I've battled my weight my whole life. But my story doesn't begin with numbers on a scale. It starts with my arrival in America from war-torn Iran as a child, feeling lost and struggling to connect with those my age. Instead, the first friends I made were the elderly residents of my building. These sweet people, with cupboards filled with cookies, became my world.
The connection with the elderly wasn't just a childhood friendship; it forged my future. Losing so many friends to old age, working in a nursing home as a teenager, studying biochemistry and gerontology at college — these experiences ignited a passion in me. A passion for understanding aging and a yearning to make it more comfortable and dignified for others.
My weight struggles were a contradiction. While building businesses around helping people age well and live longer lives, I neglected my own health. The long hours, poor eating habits, and lack of self-care gnawed at me, but fear kept me from facing it. I hid from mirrors and photos, shrank from social gatherings, and retreated into myself.
When the pallet-jack scale in our warehouse stopped at 235 pounds, something in me snapped. I was tired of missing out. I was tired of being trapped by my body.
The decision to have lap band surgery felt right at the moment. My insurance wouldn’t cover the cost, so I flew to Mexico where the procedure was cheaper and paid out of pocket. The surgery turned into ten months of pain, anguish, infection, medical bills, and ultimately, no weight loss. It was a dark period, filled with shame and regret.
But failure is a powerful teacher.
With renewed determination, I turned to the slow carb diet, losing 70 pounds and learning much about my own body and nutrition. Those first 20 pounds were the hardest, every ounce a reminder of the fragility of progress. It's in these early stages that I've seen so many others become disheartened and abandon their dreams of a healthier life. As I struggled with my own journey, I wished there was more support to make the challenging process a little less daunting.
With Qyral, I saw an opportunity to offer an affordable solution, a new tool to help others in their weight loss journey. Throughout my research, I learned about the potential of GLP-1 and GIP agonists, and instantly felt inspired. Had these medications been available to me years ago, I would never have booked that flight to Mexico.
Reading more, I realized that the branded prescription medications were far too expensive for most people to afford, and few insurance companies covered them for off-label use. However, compounding pharmacies offered a solution that enabled Qyral to provide the same medication at a much more affordable price. I’m proud to offer Qyral customers a new tool to help support healthy weight loss and reinforce their journey toward living and aging well.
I founded Qyral with my heart and soul, driven by personal experiences and a genuine desire to help others live longer, richer lives. I've walked the difficult path of weight loss, and I've felt the pain of losing those dear to age. I know the value of years added to life and the quality of life added to years.
Skincare and weight management is just the beginning of Qyral's mission. We're continuously exploring avenues to make aging a choice and give people the option to live fuller lives. Together, we'll redefine what it means to age, to live, and to inspire, and we'll make the dream of living longer, healthier lives a reality for all.
With gratitude,
Hanieh Sigari
