38 Year Old Mother of Three Boys - Bradenton, FL

I have three beautiful boys. They are 6, 8 and 13. Although I am more than grateful for these three wonderful children, they sure did a number on my body, especially my oldest. He was ten pounds. I have stretch marks all over my tummy, boobs and butt to prove it. For thirteen years I have hated my body. I am ashamed to be in pictures. I don't like to be seen in public and in any kind of swimsuit. I live in Florida....beaches are all around me and I don't enjoy them the way I could because of my insecurities. I don’t even like my husband to see me naked. My insecurities make intimacy almost non-existent. It is time for a change.

I have begun to take my health very seriously. I have started by losing weight. I am off to a good start, but I want to lose much more. I now have the best incentive to do it. I am going in for my first plastic surgery consultation. It is on September 21st. I am so excited. I am hoping to have the procedure in the first part of January 2017. I will be continuing to work my butt, literally and figuratively, until that time to lose as much weight as possible. Every time I am even tempted to eat unhealthy, I think of the new me. It drives me to power through the hard times.

I have been so appreciative of all the brave ladies I have seen in this community. A week before my consultation, I will begin to post my before pictures and journey to the day of surgery. And then all through the good, the bad and the ugly of the healing process. I want to inspire other ladies the way I have been inspired.

God Bless!

Today is exactly one week before I go in for my first and hopefully only consultation with a plastic surgeon. I'm hopeful this one will be a perfect fit. Fingers crossed. I've seen so many brave ladies on here. And now its my turn to be brave! LOL! So here are the first pictures of my journey to getting my body back. A bit of a recent background so far........Today I weighed in at 173. Down from 189. My goal is to get down to around 125. I am 5'4". Also, I have been just recently diagnosed with diabetes. My doctor believes I can reverse it....that its pre-diabetes. I'll find out more Friday when I go in for an appointment to start treatment. I'm hoping to have my surgery around the first of the year. Ok....here we go!!

I have my mommy makeover consultation tomorrow. I'm down another few pounds from my last post, so I'm happy about that. However, during a routine physical I had blood work done only to find out that I'm pre-diabetic. I'm a little discouraged, but will continue focusing on the weight loss. Not only for my makeover, but to make sure I'm at optimum health for the surgery. I was put on medication to help control blood sugar. On a plus side to that, my doctor added it might also help me lose more weight. I have a bunch of questions for my doctor tomorrow. Hopefully I get all the answers I need to make a decision. I'll update y'all tomorrow with results from my appointment. Until then, God bless!