A woman who has undergone extensive skin removal surgery on her legs after losing 350kg has shared a picture of herself wrapped in bandages on Instagram to shed light on the most painful aspects of her weight loss.
Jacqueline Adan30, a Montessori teacher from the San Francisco Bay Area, has been overweight her entire life, tipping the scales at 510 pounds by her 25th birthday in 2012.
In 2011, while on a trip to Disneyland with her now-fiancé Kevin and her sister, she got stuck in a turnstile at the amusement because of her size, and that’s when she realized she needed to make a change.
Transformation: Jacqueline Adan, 30, from the San Francisco Bay Area weighed 510kg in 2012 but has since lost 350kg and had leg skin removal surgery
Motivation: The Montessori teacher was inspired to lose weight after getting stuck in a turnstile at Disneyland in 2011, pictured in January 2017 before her leg skin removal surgery
Changes: Jacqueline started the Jenny Craig diet in February 2012 and had lost 150kg by May 2013, pictured left in 2013 and right in November 2017
Under the knife: Losing too much weight left Jacqueline with very loose skin and she has since had five procedures to remove it, most recently on her legs, pictured in December 2017
“I was sad! Once I got out, I laughed, but in that moment, I had never felt so guilty, ashamed, and embarrassed, and I couldn’t believe that I had allowed myself to get so big,” she wrote in the post. appears on Heidi Powell’s Extreme Weight Loss trainer Website.
This sparked a new determination in Jacqueline to change not only her weight but also her life, and through healthy eating and exercise, she managed to lose over 350kg in five years.
A fan of the Jenny Craig diet plan, in her first year Jacqueline lost 100 pounds and by May 2013 she was halfway to her goal weight.
Then on Christmas Eve 2013, Kevin brought her back to Disneyland and proposed in front of the Disney Castle.
Jacqueline revealed that the prospect of wedding dress shopping and not getting married in a plus-size dress renewed her motivation.
After a period of losing weight, she started Fit For Life Solutions starter classes in January 2015 while still following the Jenny Craig plan and saw her weight drop even more.
However, with the extreme weight loss came her extremely loose skin and in July 2016, Jacqueline had her first skin removal procedure – a circumferential lower body lift with a ‘fleur de lis’.
In November 2016 she had her second skin removal surgery – a circumferential upper body lift as well as an arm lift.
And although she credits the “unconditional support of my family and friends and amazing fiancé Kevin,” she says she still has “struggles, struggles and days where I just don’t feel good enough.”
Her latest operation – a leg lift – was successfully carried out on January 22 and Jacqueline shared her pre-surgery anxiety blog.
“I wish I could sit here and tell you I wasn’t nervous or scared, but the truth is, I am. I am very emotional and scared. But I choose not to let fear control me or overwhelm me,” she wrote.
Extensive: Jacqueline, pictured in January 2017 before her leg surgery, has also had a tummy tuck, upper body lift and loose skin removed from her arms
New beginnings: Her first skin removal surgery was in 2016, pictured left and right in 2016 before this surgery
Committed: Jacqueline shared that her weight loss journey isn’t about getting the ‘perfect body’ as she’s focusing on becoming mentally and physically stronger, pictured in January 2017
Helping hand: Jacqueline turned to Jenny Craig to help her lose weight initially and now works out bootcamp style with a trainer, pictured left in 2012 and right in December 2017
“I choose to make the best of the situation and now, no matter how scary or nervous I am, I make the best decision for myself.”
Her Instagram page, which has more than 79,000 followers, is filled with candid, unedited photos of Jacqueline, and although she’s been waiting to have skin removed from her legs for “so long,” she’s learned to embrace her body and stand up for herself. how far it has come.
“My legs are strong. My legs have been through a lot and they are about to go through something huge! My legs carried me on my journey for my whole life. Why should I cover them?
“I may be going for skin removal on my legs, but it’s not because I don’t love my legs,” she wrote.
“I love myself, which includes my feet, and I just do what’s best for me. So why cover them? I’m going to really hug those legs, especially these next few days, and thank them for being so strong and carrying me when I was 500 pounds, and now that I have all that loose skin.”
She concluded that her journey is not about “being perfect” or having the “perfect body.”
“When you never allow yourself to give up or give up, and you never stop believing in yourself, that’s when you’ve truly transformed – both physically and mentally!
