--- title: Woman Loses 100 Pounds For Soldier Husband's Return Home description: When Larry Shaffer left for Afghanistan, his high school sweetheart Misty weighed about 260 pounds. When he returned after a year, she was less than 155 pounds canonical: https://time.com/29143/woman-loses-100-pounds-for-soldier-husbands-return-home/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-18T18:29:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:47:55.520Z og:title: Woman Loses 100 Pounds For Soldier Husband's Return Home og:description: When Larry Shaffer left for Afghanistan, his high school sweetheart Misty weighed about 260 pounds. When he returned after a year, she was less than 155 pounds og:url: https://time.com/29143/woman-loses-100-pounds-for-soldier-husbands-return-home/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ad3ee500898be35/69868603810bbb8ed0c908b6/surprise-1280x720.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: Weight Loss Story By Soldier’s Wife Makes Headlines og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Woman Loses 100 Pounds For Soldier Husband's Return Home twitter:description: When Larry Shaffer left for Afghanistan, his high school sweetheart Misty weighed about 260 pounds. When he returned after a year, she was less than 155 pounds twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0ad3ee500898be35/69868603810bbb8ed0c908b6/surprise-1280x720.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Woman Loses 100 Pounds For Soldier Husband's Return Home > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=053e5c6a-de60-4e38-9c0e-cd9d8fa724be&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Woman Loses 100 Pounds For Soldier Husband's Return Home [Watch (HLS stream): Woman Loses 100 Pounds For Soldier Husband's Return Home](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Fu82DvWa.m3u8) (1:15)  _Published 2014-03-18. A U.S. soldier’s surprise is still making headlines nearly a year after he came home from Afghanistan to a completely changed wife. In a series detailing inspiring weight loss stories, CNN reports the Shaffers had a very memorable reunion._ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Mar 18, 2014 6:29 PM UTC by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Mar 18, 2014 6:29 PM UTC When Larry Shaffer returned from Afghanistan, he had no idea of the surprise awaiting him at home. When Shaffer left, his high school sweetheart weighed about 260 pounds. When he returned after a year, she was less than 155 pounds. At the airport, Misty Shaffer, 25, just ran and jumped into her Army specialist husband’s arms. It was the first time he’d been able to lift her. He said just one word: “Wow.” Misty Shaffer said that she decided to lose weight because she wanted to surprise her husband and have a better life. “I just sat in bed one night and was like, ‘I can do this,'” she [told CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/health/weight-loss-shaffer-surprise/). “‘I need to do this.'” Watch the video above for the details. ## Transcript A US soldier's surprise is still making headlines nearly a year after he came home from Afghanistan to a completely changed wife. Misty and her husband, army specialist Larry Schaeffer have been a couple since high school, in a series detailing inspiring weight loss stories. CNN reports the pair got married in October 2008. Larry was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and that's when Misty decided to take action. When he was gone I was like hey, I'm gonna try this, and I can do this. Fox News reports Misty lost more than 100 pounds while her husband was gone. How did she keep her weight loss a secret? She told WECT she just had to be careful when taking photos. I just kept pictures off Facebook, off the internet, when I did send him pictures it was from, like, shoulders up and that was it. And WAVE says the surprise didn't stop there. Missy also surprised Larry with a house for their family. Gotta love that. A new house. She said her husband always wanted to buy a house. KSTU reports the surprise, which happened last May, is now getting a lot of attention on social media. We have more than 9000 likes. That's a lot. 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