A mom-of-four who has lost over 100 pounds is documenting her excess skin removal surgery in a series of searingly honest social media posts.
Sara Rosemeyer, a 31-year-old military wife who is currently based in Nebraska with her husband, lost 119 pounds after taking up running, going from 225 pounds to 166 pounds in just over 12 months.
However, her weight loss journey hasn’t been an easy one.
Biggest loser: Sara Rosemeyer, a 31-year-old military wife and mom-of-four, living in Nebraska, underwent a lower body lift to removed excess skin she experienced after losing over 100lbs
Insight: Sara has been documenting her recovery from surgery on social media
Changes: Sara attempted suicide nearly two years ago (pictured in 2016) and with the help of her family doctor, a therapist and a nutritionist was able to turn her life around
Nearly two years ago as she approached her 30th birthday, Sara also attempted suicide due to the stresses in her marriage, caring for her two boys who have autism, and a cycle of ‘arguments and binge eating’.
But thanks to help from a family doctor, a nutritionist and a therapist, Sara was able to overcome her demons and set herself on a road to recovery.
On October 31, she underwent extensive surgery, removing loose skin around her stomach area via a lower body lift. She combined this with a breast lift and augmentation, taking her from an A/B cup to a C.
Documenting the process on Instagram, she wrote immediately after her surgery that the process was ‘hands down the worst thing I’ve signed myself up for.’
But since then, Sara has been positively sharing her recovery story with her followers, offering frank insights into the healing process and how it has affected not just her body, but her self esteem.
After her first check up, Sara posted pictures of her bandaged stomach with several drains attached, writing, ‘the doctor said I’m healing very well. It certainly doesn’t feel it though.’
She added that although she liked what she saw, she was ‘overwhelmed’ when she saw the incisions in her skin.
Not losing her sense of humor, a couple of days after that, she joked that although she was struggling with the pain, her ultimate goal was to be able to wash her hair.
And not one to shy away from the camera, the avid social media fan took the opportunity to post pictures of her compression garments which were fitted with drains.
Captioning a shot four days after her surgery, she wrote: ‘Today I was uncomfortable, like these drains are such a pain in the ass but no where near to what I felt a few days ago. Thankfully I have not sneezed but I did attempt to cough and I thought my insides were going to explode. No joke.’
After 30 days, the two of the four drains in Sara’s stomach were removed, however she shared that this had been a very painful process, resulting in swelling and infections.
‘Very happy with my results yet far but absolutely looking forward to wearing underwear again soon, a bra that fits well, going the bathroom and taking a shower without these pesky things hanging from me like something out of Stranger Things,’ she added.
What a drain: Sara has posted several pictures of the drains that were inserted into her stomach after surgery, sharing how painful the process has been
Under wraps: The busy mom was also forced to wear a compression garment after her surgery however she still suffered from infection and burst stitches
Bean bags: Sara detailed how her breasts were taken from a ‘deflated A to a full C’ duing her surgery
Vulnerable: Although Sara says she is more self-conscious now, she wants to post pictures that aren’t ‘fake’
She also started to enjoy the perks of her breast augmentation, revealing that she now filled out a bra that used to be too big for her.
‘My size A deflated bean bags used to slide all over in this thing. Sometimes slipping out,’ she wrote.
‘I fill this completely now and it’s so nice! I went from a deflated A to a full C with silicone implants behind the muscle. They are smaller than I imagined (we did practice putting this size in a bra before surgery and it actually looked too big to me). But my frame looks proportioned now and I’m sure once I start running again I’ll be happy that I didn’t choose bigger.’
And just four weeks after her surgery, despite a returning infection, popped stitches and severe pain, Sara took to Instagram again to share that she had started to see real progress.
‘I was asked today, would I do it all the same? Absolutely. I worked hard. Put my nose to the ground and took off hard and I gave it everything I had. Every day. Did I have bad days? You bet. But I still did it. Did it hurt? Again and again. Did I want to quit? More times then I would like to admit,’ she explained.
‘I cried. Screamed into a pillow. Struggled with the sores, the infections, injury and frustration, the desire to eat out of stress and emotion and I hit a wall more than once. But instead of quitting on ME… I thought about every reason I started. Gave myself a 100 pep talks and then some. I thought about what more I wanted to do in life. Who was waiting for ME, smiling and waving at home. Who cheered ME on at every finish line.
‘And I thought about you all. All 10,000 of you who have ever prayed, ever said hello, ever sent me a message and said because of you I ran to the end of the block. Because of you I started today. I am encouraged. I am humbled and sometimes still absolutely mystified that you see something in little old me. I find strength in all of this and I know this recovery has been a bitch. I itch to put my running shoes on and feel the sun on my face. To lift something heavier than my damn water bottle.
‘But I’ll show myself the grace, kindness and #selflove that I deserve. Patience is key. I’ll get through this and be better because of it.’