Tattoo

How a 270lb Weight Loss Impacts Your Tattoos – Tattoo Ideas, Artists and Models

For the past five years, UK native Amy Murphy (@splattard) has worked tirelessly to transform her body and mind. Just a few years ago, Murphy weighed more than 430 pounds. Today, she has lost more than 270 pounds, thanks to weight loss surgery, diet, and exercise. We caught up with Murphy to learn her inspiring story and understand how this physical change affected her considerable collection of tattoos.

what inspired you to start losing weight and what was life like when you were at your peak?

I was married for a while and all my friends around me were getting married and having kids. having children just didn’t seem like an option because it would have been unfair to them and also dangerous at that weight. he was perfectly healthy, had great blood pressure and heart rate, no risk of diabetes. I was very big. Besides, I was bullied almost every day. every time I left the house, there was a comment, a look or a laugh in my direction. It made me pretty isolated. only my online friends or those closest to me would really see what my personality was like, because I hated being conspicuous in public, as it was one more reason to get upset about my weight.

how did you manage to lose weight?

After years of yo-yo dieting, a big kid, an obese teenager, and a morbidly obese 20-something, I decided I needed long-term help. I lost weight, 6 stone/84 pounds, for my wedding, but it was from starving myself on chicken salads every day. he was always climbing the walls hungry. when my wedding happened, i relaxed on the strict diet, but still kept going to the gym. but i just ate everything i made and the weight soon piled on. It wasn’t that I ate bad things, I just ate too much.

so, after a very strong attack of intimidation, I decided that enough was enough and that it would be the last time it would be like this. i had weight loss surgery (vertical sleeve gastrectomy aka vsg) that cuts out 70-80% of your stomach and leaves you with a bag of bananas. I learned again to eat to nourish myself and not just to fill an endless space.

I was walking again three weeks post-op and was cleared to go to the gym eight weeks post-op, and haven’t stopped since. I make chinese, malaysian, indonesian and indian food from scratch. I learned to cook all my meals to nourish and savor myself as fuel for my workouts. I went to the gym four or five days a week, did 15 to 25 minutes on the elliptical, and then lifted weights for up to an hour. I started running after losing around 150lbs (I was around 280lbs at the time), used the couchto5k app and fell in love with running. I started playing badminton last year and now I keep my week busy with three or four gym sessions, two or three two-hour badminton sessions and two or three runs a week.

what was the biggest challenge along the way?

My biggest challenge was juggling a 9-5 job, going to college at night, and finding time to go to the gym and cook food. Half the days of the week, it started at 6 in the morning and didn’t finish until 11 at night. however, I managed it, but it was very difficult.

how did your weight loss and subsequent surgeries affect your tattoos?

Honestly, I think it was a combination of luck and great planning. I didn’t get the inside of my upper arms tattooed, just the outside and forearms. Since those areas were the least “wobbly,” along with weightlifting at the gym and a great tattoo artist (@scott_owen_tattoo), I think I managed to dodge a bullet. I also think it helped that my pieces were all monsters or animals so it didn’t look so lopsided.

After my arm skin removal surgery, I was really worried about losing a bit of my kitsune tail on my upper arm as my surgeon initially marked a bit. but in the end he managed to keep 99% of my tattoos intact. he just cut a bit of the tail off my koi karp and managed to attach it so it didn’t look like anything was missing.

how do you plan to continue your tattoo collection now that you’ve had surgeries?

I already filled out the lower part of my legs. I won’t get tattoos on my thighs as there is too much skin there and I don’t want to get it fixed as it is a difficult skin removal surgery to recover from. however, once my arm lift scars get the go-ahead (I have to wait nine months to a year after surgery), I’ll color the rest of my sleeve and get inked. I have some jellyfish planned for my right arm, it looks a bit bare.

what is your diet like today and how is it different from before you lost weight?

has not changed too much. I definitely eat more for pleasure than just to put something in my mouth. I’m pretty picky about food now. If something doesn’t taste good, I won’t eat it for eating. I also can’t stand foods that are too fatty or too sweet as they actually make me quite sick. I still eat a lot of Asian cuisine, however I usually can’t eat much rice because it fills me up too quickly. I also went vegan last year and never thought that would happen as I loved meat and cheese so much. but after my weight loss surgery, I gradually became unable to digest meat as comfortably as I could and eventually only ate chicken and fish. and I became pretty lactose intolerant with less cheese, so I decided to try vegan. he got along with my body and my needs, so I stayed.

what do you like to do now that you couldn’t do five years ago?

I love being able to get up and go. I go running, hiking and I love to travel. I go out with friends and I am no longer afraid to show my personality. I am very outgoing and love to show the geeky, silly and fun sides. I rarely say no to any activity because I love to celebrate what I can do with my body. trampoline park? hell yeah.

what advice would you give your old self?

People’s true colors will show once you no longer hide to please them. don’t cling to friendships that are toxic just because you have a past. don’t let the scale determine how much effort you’ve put in that week, you know what you’ve eaten and how much effort you’ve put in. don’t be angry because you haven’t lost what you wanted, most likely you are retaining water or haven’t pooped. stay consistent, keep pushing and have fun.

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