(image courtesy Simone Anderson/Instagram)
A year ago, Simone Anderson, 24, found herself struggling to do everyday things like walking up the stairs. Only after she worked up the courage to weigh herself did she see that she weighed 373 pounds. She embarked on a lifestyle change, using social media to share her journey. On Wednesday, after dropping nearly 200 pounds, Anderson underwent skin surgery, People.com reported.
The freelance makeup artist has been open about sharing the side effects of weight loss, showing images of the loose skin all over her torso to her over 68,000 Instagram followers and over 93,000 Facebook fans.
"I promised from day one that what I was sharing with people would be the honest journey, and it would be the ups, the downs, the goods and the bads," she told People. "I needed to show that yes, I do have loose skin, and it's actually a side effect of something I am proud of. Obviously, I can't wait for it to be gone, but it's not something I'm ashamed of or embarrassed of."
Anderson, who lives in New Zealand, had her surgery done by Dr. Remus Repta in Scottsdale, Arizona. She underwent a breast lift to remove loose breast skin, breast augmentation to replenish lost volume, a full tummy tuck and a bra-line back lift, which Retpa described to People as “a tummy tuck for the back.”
"The plastic surgery is just taking care of some things that she won't be able to take care of on her own," Repta told People. "No amount of diet or exercise is going to get rid of that loose skin. It's going to be a challenging surgery, but I think it's going to turn out great."
The procedure took eight hours and Anderson has six months or more ahead of her to heal, but she wasn’t nervous, she said.
"Obviously I know I'm never going to have a perfect stomach, but [I'm looking forward to] the fact that when I'm exercising I won't need to tuck my loose skin into my pants, and know that I can put on a top like everyone else and not stress out about loose skin coming out,” she told People. “I will definitely feel more confident when it's gone."
To lose the weight, Anderson changed her takeout- and fast food-heavy to one with whole foods like meat, nuts, vegetables and fruit. She started exercising and now does 1 to 2 hours a day, including personal training sessions and basketball. Anderson is also training for a half marathon.
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