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‘It Took 34 Years For This Body To Be Discovered’: Maltese Woman’s Personal Journey To Self-Fulfilment

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On the first day of January, 2021, Tiffany started her pre-op diet before a major moment in her life – losing the weight covering the body she’s always wanted.

“I had a perfectly shaped hour glass figure under all that fat! Who knew!! That was the biggest surprise of what I’ve discovered about my body this week I think,” Tiffany Abela Wadge said, sharing photos of her body transformation.

Beaming widely as she recovers, the change in Tiffany’s body before and after the surgery is nearly indescribable.

“The picture was taken less than 12 hours after surgery, yet the work already looks so neat, and so flat despite being super swollen all over,” she said proudly, before sharing her hopes and vision for her near future.

“It only took 34 years for this body to be discovered, but I can already see the amount of new sequins, glitter dresses and bikinis my wardrobe is about to be invaded by!”

Tiffany in the past

Tiffany in the past

Both Tiffany and her husband Alan have been open about everything from weight-loss surgeries to body dysmorphia and even the ins and outs of gastric bypass surgeries. 

“Mentally, I had previously spoken about suffering severely from Body Dysmorphia,” Tiffany had said on the couple’s personal blog.

“This is basically when you do not recognise yourself. It hit me hard that I would look in the mirror and see someone who’s not me – despite the weight-loss being over a period of a year, so it wasn’t overnight,” she opened up.

“My biggest struggle now was that I thought I would get worse… I go to sleep in one body, and wake up in a completely different one. I looked at my new body and was in awe… I finally recognised myself and not sure how or why cause I was never thin (I weighed more than I do now when I was six-years-old).”

“However I realised something this week – that I actually fit my skin now, and that’s what made me recognise myself.”

Tiffany and Alan heading to the long-awaited appointment this week

Speaking to Lovin Malta, Tiffany explained that after a quick, direct flight from Malta to Istanbul, Turkey, they were picked up (along with four other Maltese others on the same flight) by a driver, and driven to the hospital.

“Sunday I underwent an array of pre-operation tests, before the surgeon arrived around midnight to draw me up and mark all points that needed to be opened/cut as normally done for plastic surgeries,” she recounted.

“Monday, 9am, I had my surgery.”

Her operation took nine hours. She underwent a 360FDL, which is “when the belt area is cut around 360 degrees, and up the middle of your stomach to just at the top of the rib cage”.

“The stomach area is pulled towards the middle and down and a Monsplasty (pubic lift) is performed and excess skin from there is pulled up and all excess skin is removed and you’re stitched back up,” she explained. “The same thing happens around the back where excess skin from your back is pulled down whilst your bottom and its excess skin is pulled up. That also came alongside a muscle repair for the abdominal muscles.”

She also underwent a Brachioplasty (arm lift) to remove excess skin from her arms.

In total, 5.3kg of excess skin was removed.

“The excess skin was a result of my significant weight loss, where I went from 139.3kg to 81kg in a year. My body then settled at a steady weight for nine months.”

 

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Answering questions about how she felt during the process, Tiffany is clear.

“I felt absolutely secure throughout the whole process,” she smiled. “I knew the hospital I was coming to was safe and clean and if anything were to happen they’re equipped for emergencies. There’s also a ward full of Maltese people here so the sense of belonging is also real despite being away from home.”

Tiffany is recovering well and in great spirits, taking action on parts of her body she wanted to address.

At the beginning of a whole new chapter, Tiffany now looks towards returning to Malta with Alan – and taking on the rest of her life, on her terms.

Have you gone through a major body transformation yourself? Contact Lovin Malta in confidence at [email protected] or [email protected] 

READ NEXT: After Losing Weight And Turning Her Life Around, This Maltese Woman Isn't Going Back

Johnathan is an award-winning Maltese journalist interested in social justice, politics, minority issues, music and food. Follow him at @supreofficialmt on Instagram, and send him news, food and music stories at [email protected]

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