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Thirteen Missouri students lost 756 pounds at the MindStream Academy in Bluffton, South Carolina.

Jason Alexander, 16, boarded a plane for the academy weighing 326 pounds, four months ago. He arrived back in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, and he was 233 pounds lighter. He is currently the biggest loser in his school district.

Debbie Alexander, Jason’s mother, said it wasn’t just the weight loss. Her son who had battled a speech impediment and been slow to smile was now grinning broadly.

“It’s crazy,” Alexander said. “Kids have always given him grief.”

Friends and family members, who greeted the 12 students who completed the program, were shocked about the amount of weight the students lost, a combined 756 pounds.

The school district is hoping for Jason and the other participants to become health ambassadors in their schools. Prior to losing the weight Jason had hopes of joining the military.

However, after the death of his father, 6 1/2 years earlier, Jason began packing on weight. This jeopardized his dreams of joining the armed forces.

“I feel amazing,” said Jason, who shed weight so quickly that he struggled to find clothes. His jeans, which he bought from another classmate, hung loose around him, cinched with a belt to keep them from falling off. “I can’t believe I got to that point. I can’t believe I got that big.”