My 6 Year Journey

Grimmerick · April 2014

You look great!!!! Tin hat pic is adorable and my fav though

monkeywizard · April 2014

Fantastic Job! many people think surgery is one and done, and don't realize that it's too easy to go back to where you started, so they end up going back and wonder what happened.

Congratulations on the lifestyle change and getting to a point where you are comfortable and happy with yourself!

Did you also have surgery to remove excess skin, do you still have it, or was it still elastic enough to shrink back as you lost the weight?

debralekicsummers · April 2014

Congratulations and keep up the fantastic work, you look amazing!:happy:

gmgrinkevich · April 2014

very well done, we're all proud of you.

soberlicious · April 2014

your story is incredibly inspirational and you are indeed a wise/old soul at only 21!!! lus i love how you incorporated pictures into the telling of your story, instead of just having them at the end. great job, m'lady!!

1donner1 · April 2014

Awsome job! I hope to inspire someone someday as I'm sure you have so many!

littlelaura · April 2014

so gorgeous, amazing job changing your lifestyle and getting healthy!

Brige2269 · April 2014

Congrats on your journey! You have a done a wonderful job. You story brought me to tears as I thought of my daughter. As of now, she is 10 years old and at 141 pounds. In the last few months she has lost weight. She was at 156 at Christmas. As I looked at your pictures, I pictured my lil' girl gaining and gaining. It's scary and I know I have to work with her. Any insights from your experience would be greatly welcomed. Good luck to you!

MyMalfunction7 · April 2014

Fantastic Job! many people think surgery is one and done, and don't realize that it's too easy to go back to where you started, so they end up going back and wonder what happened.

Congratulations on the lifestyle change and getting to a point where you are comfortable and happy with yourself!

Did you also have surgery to remove excess skin, do you still have it, or was it still elastic enough to shrink back as you lost the weight?

Interestingly, I actually just got told by my surgeons that now would be a good time for me to pursue any skin surgeries I wanted. However, I got my surgery in Cincinnati, OH and I live in Detroit, MI, so it's about a 5 hour drive. The surgeons only have recommendations for plastic surgeons in Cincinnati, but they advised me to get any surgeries in Detroit for easier recovery, so I'm still doing a little looking into who's good in the area.

I do not have a bad excess skin problem, but I do want to fix the excess skin I have. My whole family has fairly inelastic skin, and I feel like I will be able to see my progress and be happier with my body once I have.

biddy249 · April 2014

Congratulations young lady, you have just inspired many people who think they cannot make it happen. Continue to set the example and tell your story, you never know who is out there lurking that just needed this story to get them moving. Keep up the good work.

MyMalfunction7 · April 2014

Congrats on your journey! You have a done a wonderful job. You story brought me to tears as I thought of my daughter. As of now, she is 10 years old and at 141 pounds. In the last few months she has lost weight. She was at 156 at Christmas. As I looked at your pictures, I pictured my lil' girl gaining and gaining. It's scary and I know I have to work with her. Any insights from your experience would be greatly welcomed. Good luck to you!

That's a tough situation to be in! I know it was awful for my parents trying to monitor my weight. People think you have complete control over your child's intake, but your control is definitely limited to when they're within eyesight! I'm so glad she's doing well!

My main tip for raising a child who's struggling with their weight is making losing weight/having a healthy lifestyle a family activity. My family did a lot of making special food for me while the rest of them ate pizza, and it made me view my new and improved diet as a punishment. I would circumvent this 'punishment' by eating a lot of leftovers in private.

What would have worked better was if the whole family ate low-calorie meals and treated it as something fun we were doing together. Same goes for exercise!

katznkt · April 2014

You look amazing. Super happy for you.

m0ll3pprz · April 2014

Wow, what an incredible story of courage and accomplishment! You should be very proud of yourself. You look absolutely gorgeous and I hope that you feel like a million bucks! Thank you for sharing your story and inspirational photos! Congratulations :flowerforyou: and best wishes on the rest of your journey!

MissJay75 · April 2014

Incredible! You should be proud of yourself!

G__Force · April 2014

You look incredible, Get story and transformation!!

Schmiznurf · April 2014

You did really good, you look stunning.

jeansuza · April 2014

You were nice when younger but you deserve to be proud of yourself for changing your habits! Stunning story! You are a winner!

themedalist · April 2014

Simply amazing! You can clearly achieve anything you set out to do. You'll have great success in life!

Livin4me1969 · April 2014

You are an absolutely beautiful young woman and you should be very proud of what you have accomplished at such a young age. You look amazing! :drinker:

GregHelton · April 2014

Wow, I am in tears. Amazing work girl.

Similar response here. God bless you, girl.

blondageh · April 2014

Love this story! You are so beautiful. Way to go!

ShutupndMovee257 · April 2014

OH my wow! everything about your story brought a tear to my eye. Happy tears. You are so incredibly inspirational and I just wish I could give you a giant giant hug! First of all you've always been very pretty girl but I cannot believe how incredibly beautiful you look! A completely amazing transformation that I know requires a lot of hard work and dedication and I'm just very proud of you. Thank you so much for sharing this, like you have no idea! Thank you for inspiring me and the rest of us and for making my day. Absolutely stunning! Keep up the amazing work.

You're amazing! WOW! !!!!!

Kitship · April 2014

This is such an awesome story! You took it upon yourself to lose the last bit of weight, and you did AMAZING! You look fantastic. Congratulations! :flowerforyou:

Mary407 · April 2014

Congrats on your journey! You have a done a wonderful job. You story brought me to tears as I thought of my daughter. As of now, she is 10 years old and at 141 pounds. In the last few months she has lost weight. She was at 156 at Christmas. As I looked at your pictures, I pictured my lil' girl gaining and gaining. It's scary and I know I have to work with her. Any insights from your experience would be greatly welcomed. Good luck to you!

That's a tough situation to be in! I know it was awful for my parents trying to monitor my weight. People think you have complete control over your child's intake, but your control is definitely limited to when they're within eyesight! I'm so glad she's doing well!

My main tip for raising a child who's struggling with their weight is making losing weight/having a healthy lifestyle a family activity. My family did a lot of making special food for me while the rest of them ate pizza, and it made me view my new and improved diet as a punishment. I would circumvent this 'punishment' by eating a lot of leftovers in private.

What would have worked better was if the whole family ate low-calorie meals and treated it as something fun we were doing together. Same goes for exercise!

This is powerful advice! Thank you. I will think of you and your success often as I strive to be a healthy example for my two little daughters. Congratulations and best wishes to you!