I Lost 120lbs To Become A Better Mom | BRAND NEW ME
AT her heaviest, Amanda Conti from Rhode Island weighed 256lbs, before going on to lose 120lbs. Growing up she always struggled with her weight, and accounts her love of comfort food as being her achilles heel. She had lost a significant amount of weight in her twenties, but after getting married at 24, she slowly started to add the weight back on. Amanda gave birth to a healthy first daughter with husband John, but after losing a second trimester pregnancy her weight spiralled out of control. It wasn’t until the birth of her second daughter that she knew she needed to take action. Amanda told Truly: “When I had my second daughter and she was healthy, that was definitely the kickstart to me losing weight and becoming a better parent." She started with walking and implementing small lifestyle changes, and never looked back. Amanda now works out seven days a week, often with her father, who jokes that she outlifts him now. Despite her lifestyle changes and impressive weight loss, Amanda was left with excess skin that she had removed via an abdominoplasty. Things didn’t quite go to plan with some complications as a result of the anaesthesia, which left Amanda in hospital for 10 days recovering. Now fully healthy and recovered, Amanda wants to acknowledge the journey she has been on with a celebratory photoshoot as she shows off her new look.
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00:00Anything with carbs, breads, pastas, real homemade comfort food is probably my
00:06biggest problem. I lost a second trimester pregnancy and I attribute a
00:12lot of my weight gain to this event. When I had my second daughter and she was
00:17healthy, she was definitely the kickstart of me trying to start losing the weight
00:23and just to become a better parent.
00:27At my heaviest I weighed 256 pounds and I lost 120 pounds. I have
00:34abdominoplasty scheduled. It's been about seven months since you guys have been
00:40here. I had my tummy tuck but I did have a lot of complications. I cried a lot about
00:45it and I don't want to. You want banana in yours? I've always struggled with my weight.
00:51Growing up I was heavy. When I was in my early 20s I lost a significant amount of
00:57weight about 70 to 80 pounds and I thought I had it under control until I
01:01got married. I was 24 and I slowly started to put on weight again. Okay go
01:08ahead mix it up. My husband and I both have a blood disorder called beta
01:12thalassemia. It's pretty rare. Our first daughter we had tested in utero and she
01:17was healthy and we got really lucky and blessed and when we went into our second
01:20pregnancy I think we just sort of assumed that things would follow along
01:24the same path and unfortunately didn't. We ended up losing that pregnancy in the
01:31second trimester and my weight spiraled out of control. I probably put on between
01:3830 to 60 pounds over the course of six months to a year. I think my entire life
01:46I've been an emotional eater. If I had a bad day I would justify coming home and
01:51getting fast food or ordering a pizza or giving myself a snack at night because I
01:56felt like I deserved it and it's just one giant cycle because you make a
02:01decision to order fast food every night and then the next day you feel even
02:05worse. When I had my second daughter and she was healthy she was definitely the
02:11kickstart of me trying to start losing the weight and just to become a better
02:15parent. I have two kids. I have a six-year-old daughter named Annabelle
02:20and I have a three-year-old daughter named Vivian. I had her in May of 2018
02:29and I was fortunate enough that I had four months of maternity leave. I said
02:34I'm never gonna have this opportunity again so I started implementing walking
02:39and small lifestyle changes to be able to get the kids outside and myself
02:43outside and I just never looked back.
02:54At my heaviest I weighed 256 pounds and I've lost 120 pounds. I work out seven
03:02days a week. I do cardio 65 minutes a day every day and then five days a week I do
03:08heavy weight training.
03:09Hi Dad!
03:10Hey muscles!
03:12So I'm at after gym every day and she knew it and I slowly encouraged her to
03:18join me and it wasn't long before she went way past me. But you can edit that
03:24part out.
03:26I lost count how many.
03:28When you look at your child and you see that they're unhappy it's um you feel it a
03:34hundred times that I'm proud of everything she's done.
03:38A father couldn't ask for more. Really. I'm blessed.
03:41As my weight has yo-yoed over the years.
03:43As we sit here today I have loose skin on my lower stomach.
03:47My loose skin is the area of my body that I tried to hide at all times.
03:51Showing the world and showing you what my skin looks like is sort of a big
03:55moment for me so I'm just gonna go ahead and do it.
03:59I just have to have all this
04:02excess skin removed, my belly button restructured so I can finally have a
04:06flat stomach.
04:08Hey welcome back! It's been about seven months since you guys
04:12have been here. I had my tummy tuck done back in May but I did have a lot of
04:18complications after the fact with some of the general anesthesia so it was a
04:23really tough recovery. I cried a lot about it and I don't want to.
04:27Right after the surgery was done I had a lot of regret. I fell very ill from some
04:33complications. I was in the hospital for ten days right after and now that I feel
04:37physically healthy again I am glad that I did something for myself to improve
04:42my self-esteem and improve my self-worth but it has definitely changed my opinion
04:47on plastic surgery in general and I probably would never have another
04:50procedure again. And now that we're seven months past my surgery I am having a
04:55celebratory photo shoot. So let's go!
04:57Hello!
04:59I'm so excited!
05:01Same!
05:03Come on in!
05:05Feel free to grab a donut.
05:19So like I have this little scar right here. See this?
05:21And I couldn't figure out what it was
05:24because my scar is right here.
05:26From my old belly button.
05:28Are you serious?
05:30So that's how much skin they took. It was here.
05:32All the way down there. So that's how much skin they took off.
05:34I actually will never forget when she came for her second daughter's
05:37and we talked about starting a weight loss journey and there she is now.
05:43She looks amazing.
05:45I feel 100% like myself and confident in the skin that I'm in.
05:49I think that the biggest piece of advice that I can give people
05:53is to use your weight loss as your own motivator.