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/ Source: TODAY & # 39; HUI
By Meghan Holohan
On New Year's Day 2016, Lexi Reed and her husband, Danny, made the resolution to lose weight. At the time, Lexi weighed 485 pounds and her size held her back. More than two years later, Lexi lost 312 pounds with his diet and exercises – and completely transformed his life.
Although she is in a much happier place today, she began experiencing another problem after reaching her weight goal: disabling pain in her neck and jaw.
"I tried to explain to the doctors that something was wrong with me, but they could not give me an answer," Reed TODAY told HEM by e-mail. "I stayed silent for a long time, hoping the pain would go away, but it never happened."
One day, while she and Danny were looking at each other in the mirror, he lifted the excess skin that hung over his body. Suddenly, the pain decreased.
"I did not understand why I felt good in the morning … not realizing that my skin was hanging all day and that I was working (it hurt me even more)," she said. "I discovered that the skin was causing a lot of problems and I was not alone."
Although Reed feels better with restrictive sports bras and daily massages, she knew it was not a long-term solution.
She contacted Dr. Joseph Michaels, a Washington-based plastic surgeon specializing in skin removal. After several exams, he recommended three to four skin removal procedures. The first Reed operation took place on Halloween.
"I'm just trying to get through this first issue," she said. "I am terrified of needles, I have never been operated on or even stayed in the hospital … However, I am more worried about the damage I do to my body every day by wearing this skin in addition."
Reed said that her insurance did not cover the removal of the skin, so she had to pay for her own surgeries.
"It's expensive, but I refuse to go on living like this," she said.
Reed shared the process on social media, including appointments with his doctor and videos of his excess skin.
"It's hard to be so open on the internet, especially when you've never shared this part of you with anyone before." However, once again, I knew it was worth it, even if everyone did not want to see the raw part of the weight loss, even if everyone wanted it.
Since his surgery, Reed has documented his recovery on Instagram while continuing to educate people about skin removal surgery. She had what plastic surgeons call a "360-degree body lift," an incision around her entire body to remove the skin from her hips, buttocks, and belly, making it difficult to walk. She is still swollen and has drains removing fluid from her incision.
"I've been hurting these last few days – more than in all my life," she wrote on Instagram. "I can slowly use the bathroom all by myself and I can walk better each day."
Reed hopes that her experience will help others understand weight loss and inspire them to consider healthy lifestyle choices.
"It's not about the weight you lose, but about the life you earn," she said. "I may have a lot of loose skin and my body is not perfect, but I weighed 485 pounds and I was on my deathbed. I would much rather have a skin more loose than to return to the life I lived before. "
For more inspiration for losing weight, check out our My Weight Loss Journey page. Interested in changing your habits? Sign up for our Start TODAY newsletter for additional support.
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