After dramatically losing more than half her body weight following life-changing gastric sleeve surgery, Simone Anderson was left with loose excess skin.
The 27-year-old, from New Zealand, had tipped the scales at 169kg at her heaviest after falling into the grip of a food addiction.
As her weight spiraled out of control, the young woman said she was so heavy she had to be weighed on an industrial scale.
Despite losing 92 pounds and undergoing an 11-hour, $20,000 surgery to perform a tummy tuck, bra line lift, breast lift and augmentation, Simone still suffered excruciating pain from the excess skin.
Now, nearly three years later, she recently underwent further surgery in America to finally remove the remaining loose skin on the lower half of her body.
Simone Anderson, who lost 92kg, underwent further surgery to remove her excess skin
The 27-year-old dramatically lost more than half her body weight after gastric sleeve surgery
Taking to YouTube, she filmed herself undergoing a 10-hour surgery where she had a Brazilian butt lift, a buttectomy and a thigh lift.
“Not a single person has walked in my shoes, experienced what I’ve been through, and knows what every step along the way has been like,” she said.
“I am covered in ‘flaws’ and I love and always have loved myself and that is the most important thing of all.
“Lots of love, me and my perky new bottom are happy as Larry.”
Simone also shared her anxiety about living with loose skin before the procedure.
She recently underwent a 10-hour surgery to remove loose skin on the lower half of her body
New Zealand woman Brazilian butt lift, butt lift and thigh lift
Despite life-changing surgery, Simone admits she’s covered in ‘flaws’ but still loves herself
“Carrying around handfuls of damaged skin from losing 92kg is hard to live with… it’s heavy and painful, it gets in the way of exercise and everyday tasks,” she said.
“I have not undergone surgery to ‘fit society’s vision.’ I had to make myself more comfortable.
“I am so far from ‘perfect’ and that is and will never be my dream or vision. It’s me, flawed, covered head to toe in stretch marks, loose skin and so many bumps and lumps.
“The younger Simone used to wonder and dream about what it would be like to look in the mirror and feel comfortable and at ease with the way I look and be in love with myself. In time I decided to make this miracle a reality.
“I thought these thoughts and became a woman obsessed with being comfortable in my own skin. You don’t need to be accepted by others in society, you just need to accept yourself. This is me, completely imperfect, loving myself.’
Taking to YouTube, she filmed herself undergoing a 10-hour surgery where she had a Brazilian butt lift, a buttectomy and a thigh lift
Simone looked unrecognizable after dramatically losing more than half her body weight following life-changing gastric sleeve surgery
The young woman documents her incredible body transformation on social media
The then 23-year-old began her journey in August 2014 after she was determined to regain her weight once and for all.
“A journey that began on August 29, 2014. A 23-year-old girl who decided she no longer wanted to live half a life, no longer wanted to deny herself simple activities with her friends, like walks on the beach,” he said.
So I found a commercial scale (because no home scale would go high enough) – staring back at me was 169kg.
“I knew this was it, I knew I had to make a change, I couldn’t lie to myself or my friends or my family anymore.
“I had a food addiction and it had to change or I would be bedridden until I was 30 and have no life at all. How was I going to hold myself accountable this time, how was I going to make this a lifelong change?
“I’m creating a Facebook and Instagram page exclusively for my friends and family to follow so I can be accountable and on track. I started with simple changes like cutting out processed foods and adding an hour of walking or swimming every day.
The then 23-year-old began her journey in August 2014 after she was determined to regain her weight once and for all
After losing a staggering 92kg, she was left with excess skin that caused her pain
The then 23-year-old began her journey in August 2014 after she was determined to regain her weight once and for all
“Then for a few months I did my best but hunger still controlled my world so I researched weight loss surgery options and decided to have gastric sleeve surgery.
“Fast forward a year and I had lost half my body weight, then the next year even more from 169-77kg.”
In recording her story, Simone said she wanted to inspire people struggling to lose weight to draw hope from her experiences.
“My message is that regardless of size, age, body shape (even at 169kg it was true) it’s important to try to turn our negative thoughts about ourselves into positive ones,” she said.
“Whether you’ve had improvements to your appearance or more permanent changes like a postpartum belly, weight loss, or any other reason, you still have every right to love yourself and try to show others who may struggle with the very same problems that it is possible to love ourselves and our “flaws”.
“Being comfortable in a body that doesn’t fit society’s expectations of beauty makes other people uncomfortable because they can’t imagine how you can be happy in your body if they’re not happy in theirs.”
Simone revealed how her weight spiraled out of control after developing a food addiction
But in 2014, she was determined to get over her weight once and for all by having surgery
Her latest posts come just months after she revealed she was returning to the US to have her surgery by the same surgeon Dr. Remus Rapta.
“It’s a dream come true. Two years ago I did my upper body with it. I had a tummy tuck, a breast augmentation and a breast lift and a bra line lift,” a visibly emotional Ms Anderson said earlier this year.
“It was the best thing ever and I couldn’t even believe the results. It’s not perfect as I still have loose skin on my stomach and breasts, but it’s 1,000 times better than it was.
“I’m going back to have the skin removed on the bottom of my thighs and bum. It’s something I’ve honestly dreamed of for so long and I never thought I’d be able to do it again or do it again so quickly.’
Ms Anderson confirmed the latest surgery would be the ‘final stage’ of her weight loss journey.
“My body will always be a work in progress, but I’ll get rid of the excess skin I’ve put on clothes for so long,” she said.
“I didn’t like my excess skin when I first saw it starting to show. I had to teach myself every day.
“I’m at a point now where I can say I love it and what it reminds me of is positive. But in the same sense you want to be able to see improvement and I’m looking forward to seeing muscle growth for once in my legs like I can in my arms.”
