Before and After Plastic Surgery After WLS with Andrea
May 14, 2019My Weight Loss Journey
I started to gain a lot of weight in my twenties. After having two children and reaching the age of 49, I weighed in at 246.5 pounds. I was considered morbidly obese at 5”3”. I had been on every diet imaginable throughout the years: Weight Watchers, Atkins, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, etc. They all worked at first. I would lose up to 35 pounds and then gain it all back with extra pounds. I even tried to accept myself the way I was and tried to embrace my obesity. Nothing helped and I was miserable. I was approaching my 50th birthday as a very unhealthy and unhappy person. I was wearing a size 20 and it was exhausting trying to get dressed to “hide” myself. I hated shopping. In January 2016, of course, I made a New Year’s resolution to lose the weight for good. The truth is that I had no idea how I was going to do it. I had faith that the answer would come to me and it did.
One Saturday morning in February 2016, I sat straight up in bed and decided to have bariatric surgery. I had no idea where that thought came from except that I had seen commercials on TV for it and the commercials said to lose the weight for good and never make another new year’s resolution again and that stuck with me. I knew that it was my turn to permanently lose weight. I thought, “Why not me?”
Dr. Shawn Garber at New York Bariatric Group was recommended to me so I made an appointment and never looked back. I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy in 6/16 and lost 112 pounds in 1.5 years. After losing that amount of weight, I had a lot of excess skin so Dr. Garber referred me to Dr. Kevin Small who is the head of Plastics at New York Bariatric Group.
Before and After Plastic Surgery After WLS with Andrea
Total Weight Loss: 112 pounds
Bariatric Surgery Type: VSG
Bariatric Surgeon: Dr. Shawn Garber
Plastic Surgery Types: Body Lift, Upper Arms, Breasts
Plastic Surgeon: Dr. Kevin Small
My Plastic Surgery Journey
Dr. Small changed my life. He is a gifted surgeon and a beautiful person. I am truly blessed to have met him and his amazing staff. He is the most honest and ethical doctor I have ever met.
I asked Dr. Small to make a list of what he thought I should have done and list them in order of priorities. He put three things on the list. In December 2017, I had a 360-degree complete body lift. The results are incredible. It was a painful recovery, but, well worth it. I would do it again in a heartbeat. In March 2018, I had the excess skin removed from my upper arms and breasts, and I had my breasts lifted. The recovery was fairly easy and almost pain-free.
Last month I went to Dr. Small to schedule my final surgery which was supposed to be removing the excess skin on my legs. He refused to do it because he said I have been working out so much that it wasn't necessary. He is so honest and ethical.
Non-Scale Victories & Milestones After Plastic Surgery
- I am 52 years old and have kept my weight off for 2 years.
- I now wear a size 2-4 and I weigh 134 pounds.
- I only wear bikinis now and I look great in them.
- I am no longer considered overweight and I no longer have any health risks associated with obesity.
- I am extremely active and I have a tremendous amount of energy. I work out 4-5 days per week because I love it, not because I am punishing myself for eating too much or for being overweight like I did in the past. I do Zumba, Spin, swim, take exercise classes, and work out with weights and TRX.
- I wake up every day happy, healthy and fit.
- I now love shopping and living my life has become easy. The best part is that I walk around unencumbered by my weight.
I look fantastic and I feel like I am now truly living my best life. I wish I could bottle up this feeling and give it to everyone I know!
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