A mother-of-two who managed to lose 90 pounds in just one year, has revealed how invasive surgery to remove excess sagging skin from her stomach has brought her weight loss journey full circle.
Rachel Graham, 26, from Nova Scotia in Canada officially started her weight loss journey in June 2015 at ‘229ish’ pounds, following the birth of her second son.
Suffering from an eating disorder throughout school, when Rachel found out she was pregnant with her first child, she allowed herself to eat whatever she wanted and her weight spiraled out of control.
Before and after: Rachel Graham, 26, from Nova Scotia, Canada, has revealed how a tummy tuck and breast lift has transformed her body and her confidence
Transformation: The mother of two managed to lose 90 pounds in just one year and started her weight loss journey in June 2015
Big changes: Rachel suffered from an eating disorder as a teen but rapidly gained weight during her first pregnancy (pictured left in 2008 and right in 2014)
Breaking point: Rachel finally decided to lose weight when she found herself ‘depressed’ and ‘out of breath’ doing ‘simple tasks (pictured left in 2015 and right in March 2018)
She would go from eating hardly anything to binging, and although she tried different diets, wraps, and weight loss pills, she would always gain back whatever she lost.
Prior to getting pregnant with her second son, Rachel weighed 235.8 pounds.
However, she gained an additional 10 pounds while pregnant and got up to 245 by the end of the pregnancy.
On her blog, Rachel explained that she finally decided to lose weight when she found herself ‘depressed’ and ‘out of breath doing what should have been simple tasks’.
‘I was tired of crying. I was tired of being lonely,’ she wrote. ‘I never wanted to make plans with friends, I had become antisocial. I wanted to be a better mom. A happier mom.’
Rachel also admitted that her grandmother suffered from, and eventually died from complications relating to obesity.
Documenting her weight loss on her Instagram, Rachel has amassed over 226,000 followers thanks to her searingly honest posts and pictures where she shows off the realities of losing so much weight in such a rapid amount of time.
And while she hasn’t been ashamed to show off the sagging skin left behind by her weight loss, on March 23rd she underwent an extended tummy tuck with muscle repair ‘for a variety of reasons’.
‘These include rapid weight gain during my first pregnancy after battling with an eating disorder, having huge babies, and ultimately from losing 90 pounds,’ she wrote on a post showing off the results of her surgery.
She also had a breast augmentation and periareolar lift to restore the volume she lose post weight loss and breastfeeding.
Surgery: On March 23, Rachel underwent an extended tummy tuck with muscle repair to remove excess skin and a breast augmentation and lift to restore lost volume
Excess baggage: She shared on Instagram that getting rid of her lose skin was like seeing all her ‘hard work brought to the surface’
Honest: Rachel has been documenting her progress post surgery on her Instagram page (pictured left five days post op and right, three weeks post op)
Perkier: Rachel also shared that she is loving her new breasts as they are ‘no longer deflated tube socks’ (pictured left before surgery and right, eight days post op)
‘I remember feeling so anxious about originally posting the photo on the left here on my Instagram 6 weeks pre op… still soaking in that surgery is over and this is my bod,’ she shared on a before and after shot on Instagram.
‘It’s so many details… like how weird does it feel to lean over and not have loose skin hanging from my abdomen?! SO AMAZINGLY WEIRD. Emphasis on amazing. Also, the other day I went to scratch an itch… somewhere I used to have to lift up my loose skin up to reach.. YEAH NO SKIN TO LIFT UP.. SUCH A “WTF?” MOMENT,’ she added.
And while her scars have yet to full heal, Rachel has been enthusiastically sharing her newfound confidence in her body with her followers.
‘I’m doing well and am LOVING not having the excess skin anymore. Plus yes I haven’t said much because I don’t want to sound weird but I LOVE MY BREASTS.
‘They look super natural, just perkier and more round than before/no longer deflated tube socks,’ she explained.
And she is now looking forward to continuing her happy and healthy life, without having to carry around the constant reminder of her weight gain.
‘Although the loose skin never held me back like the weight used to, I can’t be happier with my results and really seeing my hard work brought to the surface is the BEST FEELING’.