Wendy: My beginning weight was 430 pounds,
my weight has always been a constant battle.
I got heavier and heavier
and just never stopped.
and I was like, "That's it."
I've lost 188 pounds currently weigh 244
Having lost 188 pounds has left me with
a large amount of excess skin.
Having all of this excess skin
really affects my entire day to day life.
I don't feel as good as I should
about myself. So
I'm hoping
with this upcoming surgery
it'll help me realize
and believe in myself what I've done.
Female speaker: How are you feeling?
Wendy: Feeling awesome, excited and ready.
Female speaker: So we will see you after her surgery.
My weight has always been a constant battle. I got heavier and heavier
and it just never stopped.
When I started my journey back in January of 2015,
I weighed 430 pounds.
Hardly moved. I have twin girls who at the time were
four and a half, twin girls,
I'm 430 pounds, and I can't keep up.
And I attempted trying to lose weight many times
and failed every time and then would gain it all back.
plus a little more.
And so that's how I kept continuing to rise.
I mean, there's times where I mean,
I didn't feel like I'm going to be alive.
I was almost back to 300 pounds last year,
and I was not going to have it. So
towards the end of 2018,
and I was like, that's it.
I had to make a change.
I've lost 188 pounds,
and currently weigh 244.
To lose the weight,
I had to really get in the mindset
to do that. And that really took
a while and a lot of work,
but also took a village of people to help me get there
and they are still helping me get there.
And I'm so grateful.
Chase: It's been amazing.
She's awesome to work with
inappropriate sometimes there's been times where she's,
you know, lost a whole bunch of weight
been really excited and then sometimes where
there's been a little bit of gain back
and she's been super upset
and you know just having to go in and talk to her and break her out of that,
you know, her mindset.
You can definitely see the big change
from like, where she started to where she is now.
Wendy: Through the course of my adult life
of being heavy, I tried many diets.
And then I met my coach,
Tina.
A few of the things Tina suggested to me I didn't like
and so I didn't do them.
And so,
and it just didn't work for me. So,
and then she tried to modify it and change it up
Tina: And that's how we really learned.
Tina: I used to be 540 pounds,
I've lost 330 pounds naturally,
they featured me on the news.
And then this beautiful lady walked in
to meet me. And we have been
friends ever since 2012.
And I've been her mentor and coach.
And she's gone through a lot.
And it's just real remarkable to see how
courageous she is and how she doesn't quit.
And she cries, Lord, does she cry
a lot.
Wendy: Having all of this excess skin really affects
your entire, my entire day to day life.
It gets in the way, it slaps,
You can't bend as well
doing gym workouts.
And when I look in the mirror, I just
think disgusting.
I'm trying to be proud of myself through this journey.
But when I see that hanging off my body
I'm thinking, that's so gross and so ugly, and
I don't
feel as good as I should about myself.
Tina: So when you wear this,
We're going to get this whole bottom part removed.
So your pant size is going to go down
just from that alone.
Wendy: From here from this?
this, this and all of this?
Tina: That's going to be life changing.
Wendy: Coming up next week
I will be having my first skin removal surgery.
I'll be having a panniculectomy done
it will remove all the lower portions of the skin that hangs
the lowest on my body.
What? What?
Tina: You want to come back to this?
Wendy: No. Tina: You want this?
Wendy: Never.
Tina: There's an item floating I'm hoping you'll wear.
Wendy: Actually there is
Wendy: I'm like I'm not talking about that on camera.
Tina: For real as women we lost all this weight,
there's no reason that we can't be sexy.
I think you should do one of those boudoir shoots
you can wear valentine's gear
Wendy: Yeah. Tina: Yeah?
Wendy: About the upcoming surgery, I am
extremely nervous.
I'm excited.
I have no idea what I'm going to look like when I come out of there.
So it's really weird.
Wendy: Freedom.
Tina: So today isa Wendy's first
skin removal surgery of many
and now which piece is going to be gone when we come back today?
Wendy: All of this,
Tina: Oh my God,
let's do a celebration dance with that skin.
Shake. Shake it.
Tina: Here we go.
Are you excited?
Wendy: Super excited.
Tina: How are you feeling?
Wendy: Feeling awesome, excited and ready
Female speaker: We will see you
after her surgery and
and she probably won't be this happy.
Wendy: Almost every time I come to the gym,
we do another exercise where it just
blows my mind
and literally brings me to tears
when I do an exercise
that I wouldn't have been able to do before.
It's extremely emotional.
I used to not be able to hold a plank for a minute,
because of the extra weight pulling down on me But now,
I can do almost four and a half minutes plank
and that was just one of those
"small victory"
things that are huge.
That's a big deal.
All that pain was worth it.
for just that moment.
Standing in front of the mirror,
seeing what I looked like for the first time
it was just mind blowing.
I really can't describe it.
Because
before I was 450 pounds and saw nothing and now 215 pounds,
You can see everything.
It's life changing.
The willpower to be able to do this.
You've got to want it in your heart.
It is not going to happen if you don't.