00:00Anything with carbs, breads, pastas, real homemade comfort food is probably my
00:06biggest problem. I lost a second trimester pregnancy and I attribute a
00:12lot of my weight gain to this event. When I had my second daughter and she was
00:17healthy, she was definitely the kickstart of me trying to start losing the weight
00:23and just to become a better parent.
00:27At my heaviest I weighed 256 pounds and I lost 120 pounds. I have
00:34abdominoplasty scheduled. It's been about seven months since you guys have been
00:40here. I had my tummy tuck but I did have a lot of complications. I cried a lot about
00:45it and I don't want to. You want banana in yours? I've always struggled with my weight.
00:51Growing up I was heavy. When I was in my early 20s I lost a significant amount of
00:57weight about 70 to 80 pounds and I thought I had it under control until I
01:01got married. I was 24 and I slowly started to put on weight again. Okay go
01:08ahead mix it up. My husband and I both have a blood disorder called beta
01:12thalassemia. It's pretty rare. Our first daughter we had tested in utero and she
01:17was healthy and we got really lucky and blessed and when we went into our second
01:20pregnancy I think we just sort of assumed that things would follow along
01:24the same path and unfortunately didn't. We ended up losing that pregnancy in the
01:31second trimester and my weight spiraled out of control. I probably put on between
01:3830 to 60 pounds over the course of six months to a year. I think my entire life
01:46I've been an emotional eater. If I had a bad day I would justify coming home and
01:51getting fast food or ordering a pizza or giving myself a snack at night because I
01:56felt like I deserved it and it's just one giant cycle because you make a
02:01decision to order fast food every night and then the next day you feel even
02:05worse. When I had my second daughter and she was healthy she was definitely the
02:11kickstart of me trying to start losing the weight and just to become a better
02:15parent. I have two kids. I have a six-year-old daughter named Annabelle
02:20and I have a three-year-old daughter named Vivian. I had her in May of 2018
02:29and I was fortunate enough that I had four months of maternity leave. I said
02:34I'm never gonna have this opportunity again so I started implementing walking
02:39and small lifestyle changes to be able to get the kids outside and myself
02:43outside and I just never looked back.
02:54At my heaviest I weighed 256 pounds and I've lost 120 pounds. I work out seven
03:02days a week. I do cardio 65 minutes a day every day and then five days a week I do
03:08heavy weight training.
03:09Hi Dad!
03:10Hey muscles!
03:12So I'm at after gym every day and she knew it and I slowly encouraged her to
03:18join me and it wasn't long before she went way past me. But you can edit that
03:24part out.
03:26I lost count how many.
03:28When you look at your child and you see that they're unhappy it's um you feel it a
03:34hundred times that I'm proud of everything she's done.
03:38A father couldn't ask for more. Really. I'm blessed.
03:41As my weight has yo-yoed over the years.
03:43As we sit here today I have loose skin on my lower stomach.
03:47My loose skin is the area of my body that I tried to hide at all times.
03:51Showing the world and showing you what my skin looks like is sort of a big
03:55moment for me so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it.
03:59I just have to have all this
04:02excess skin removed, my belly button restructured so I can finally have a
04:06flat stomach.
04:08Hey welcome back! It's been about seven months since you guys
04:12have been here. I had my tummy tuck done back in May but I did have a lot of
04:18complications after the fact with some of the general anesthesia so it was a
04:23really tough recovery. I cried a lot about it and I don't want to.
04:27Right after the surgery was done I had a lot of regret. I fell very ill from some
04:33complications. I was in the hospital for ten days right after and now that I feel
04:37physically healthy again I am glad that I did something for myself to improve
04:42my self-esteem and improve my self-worth but it has definitely changed my opinion
04:47on plastic surgery in general and I probably would never have another
04:50procedure again. And now that we're seven months past my surgery I am having a
04:55celebratory photo shoot. So let's go!
04:57Hello!
04:59I'm so excited!
05:01Same!
05:03Come on in!
05:05Feel free to grab a donut.
05:19So like I have this little scar right here. See this?
05:21And I couldn't figure out what it was
05:24because my scar is right here.
05:26From my old belly button.
05:28Are you serious?
05:30So that's how much skin they took. It was here.
05:32All the way down there. So that's how much skin they took off.
05:34I actually will never forget when she came for her second daughter's
05:37and we talked about starting a weight loss journey and there she is now.
05:43She looks amazing.
05:45I feel 100% like myself and confident in the skin that I'm in.
05:49I think that the biggest piece of advice that I can give people
05:53is to use your weight loss as your own motivator.
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