Part of the reason I didn’t lose weight sooner is because I didn’t want to know about my skin. \u00a0I knew I had done irreparable damage to my skin by carrying so much extra weight. \u00a0I also carried most of my weight in my stomach in a way that I knew would never shrink back. \u00a0Here we are, three years later, more than 150 pounds lost, and the skin……….it ain’t coming back.<\/p>\n
There are lots of places that no one would ever know. \u00a0My arms and my legs are rarely noticed in regular clothes. \u00a0Every once in a while a student or small child will look at my aged stretch marks and think I’ve been burned at some point in my life. \u00a0I’m also thankful my face looks mostly normal. \u00a0Although the entire shape of my face changed, the skin seemed to have enough elasticity left to snap back. \u00a0Not all areas did this. 98% of the people I know or meet in the average day would never guess that I lost nearly 60% of my body weight. \u00a0There are very few people left in my life that have known me for my whole journey. \u00a0So most people don’t know.<\/p>\n
Just the other day someone was talking to me about my weight loss and how good I look. \u00a0I made the usual comment: “Well it’s great to wear small clothes but you’d never want to see me naked.” Her response was the typical, “Who cares! \u00a0You look great!”<\/p>\n
Answer: I DO. \u00a0I care.<\/p>\n
Maybe no one else on the planet cares what I look like naked. \u00a0 The husband has never once complained even though I think it’s gross. \u00a0 Only a handful of people ever see me without clothes on, like at the gym when I weigh in, \u00a0but even there I’m in my bra and underwear which is a different story. \u00a0I feel confident down to my underoos around most people. \u00a0So that’s why I’m posting this photo. \u00a0I know that some weight loss stories post naked pics but this is the best I can do. \u00a0It still covers a lot of my biggest problem areas but gives you an idea:<\/p>\n
![\"_MG_0004\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/yogapantsdiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/MG_0004-e1459378897421.jpg?resize=525%2C350\")
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My Reasons<\/strong><\/p>\n I always planned on having skin surgery when my weight loss was complete. \u00a0There was a period of time when I thought I could just live with it. \u00a0In the past 6-12 months I’ve realized, 100% I want it off. \u00a0I still worry that it’s vain and that it’s selfish to have such an expensive surgery. \u00a0So again, I’ve made my reasons into a convenient\u00a0list!<\/p>\n Weight Class<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I recently had my first sanctioned fight in the ring as a boxer. Read about it here.<\/a>\u00a0I had to weigh in in my bra and underwear, which I’m pretty used to. \u00a0Read about that…. here!\u00a0<\/a>My weight class was 141. \u00a0I really struggled to get there but then during the stress and training the week before, I dropped too much weight. \u00a0I weight in at 136 on weigh in day. \u00a0\u00a0This is not good. \u00a0You want to weigh in as close to the top of your class as you can. \u00a0When I stepped into the ring, I was down to 134 from the stress of the day. \u00a0So I fought against someone weighing at minimum 7 pounds more that me. \u00a0Plus I’m not accounting for my extra skin. \u00a0If my extra skin weighs, I don’t know, 8 pounds, my muscle mass and body composition is really that of someone who weighs in the 120s. \u00a0To box someone that is 141 when you’re more like 125? \u00a0That’s a huge difference and I could feel it in her punches. \u00a0So I have to go to the doctor and find out what is an appropriate weight for me to compete at and if it’s even really safe for me with all my extra skin. \u00a0If he says I have 10+ pounds of extra skin (seems unlikely) it might not be safe for me to box at all.<\/p>\n Too Much Work<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I have put in so much work over the last three years. \u00a0I’ve trained for half marathons, boxing, obstacle racing and rock climbing. \u00a0I can do 100s of situps without thinking about it but…….it still looks like I have a belly. \u00a0My extra skin creates the illusion of fat to the public. \u00a0I know I have a 6 pack under all that flab and it’s so sad that I can’t see it. \u00a0It also makes it really difficult to calculate my body fat so I’ve stopped trying. It’s like taking an action figure and covering it in marshmallow fluff. \u00a0I’ve got a rocking body in there somewhere……. While I realize this point is quite vain, I’m ok with that. \u00a0I’ve put in too much work to still look……like this.<\/p>\n Old Age\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n I have a friend at work who is also looking into some skin surgery so we have been comparing notes. \u00a0We have discussed the guilt that comes along with a surgery like this. \u00a0They aren’t cheap. \u00a0It feels really selfish to spend all that money on the gym and then want to spend even more on a surgery. \u00a0So I had a heart to heart\/devil’s advocate discussion with my husband. \u00a0I had him try to convince me it was the right decision. \u00a0One of his biggest selling points that I had never thought of is, What happens when I get old?<\/p>\n ALERT: Mention of lady parts coming. \u00a0Men should stop reading here! Lol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As of right now, the extra skin from my belly hangs past my hip bones and even to (if not past) my lady region. I’ve been lucky to avoid a lot of the irritation and infections I’ve heard of some people getting. \u00a0I have loose skin EVERYWHERE. \u00a0Everywhere. \u00a0But what happens when I get old? \u00a0My entire body points down now and I just turned 31. \u00a0There’s no hope going forward really! \u00a0Old lady boobs? Check! \u00a0Hanging belly skin? Check! Saggy butt? Check! \u00a0Saggy thighs? Check! These problems are just going to get worse and worse as I age and could result in actual medical issues going forward.<\/p>\n MEN MAY BEGIN READING AGAIN HERE!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I feel really awkward about this post. \u00a0Some people will never understand what it’s like. \u00a0I feel vain and selfish for even discussing it, knowing there’s so many out there that are just struggling to loose the weight. \u00a0But the unknown of my skin was something that stalled me in the past. \u00a0Hopefully someone reads this and realizes it’s still worth it no matter what. \u00a0I hate my skin. \u00a0I love my body. \u00a0I’ll never forget what it was like to be obese because I still carry the sack of who I used to be around with me everyday. \u00a0But I’d never go back. \u00a0I’ll take this gross old lady body every single day for the rest of my LONG life than live one more day like I did before.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Well the time has finally come. \u00a0I can’t wait any longer to find out about my loose skin and possibly having surgery. \u00a0So yesterday, I made my skin surgery consultation. \u00a0On April 14th, some doctor is going to look at me naked and he gets to judge in a 20 minute meeting whether I’ve done … <\/p>\n![\"_MG_0006\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/yogapantsdiary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/MG_0006.jpg?resize=525%2C350\")
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