Leah Hope

Leah Hope ⬇️ 215lbs lost naturally!
💜 Not chasing a smaller body, but a bigger life!
✨ leahhopehealth.com/shop

04/27/2026

I took my first official post surgery walk yesterday and had the best company for it! 🤗 was visiting town so we finally got to meet in person! 🎉

I’ve been taking small walks, barefoot (for grounding purposes) in my backyard since my surgery. I’ve been moving slowly, being mindful of my incisions. I knew that I had the energy for a mile walk, but wasn’t sure how my legs would feel after. 😬

Thankfully, they felt pretty good! The incisions on the side of my knees were feeling pretty sore by the end of it, but incisions on the joints are always the hardest to heal. When I got home, I did feel the need to lay down with my feet up immediately. Not because of lack of energy, but because of soreness in my legs.

But honestly, even just having the energy to walk for nearly 30 minutes straight at 2.5 weeks post op is a win! I’m grateful for how my recovery has been going! 🤗

04/27/2026

You can’t hate yourself into a body you love. What actually changed me was learning how to show up for myself from a place of care instead of criticism, guilt or comparison.

Not because I loved my body yet. but because I decided it was worth taking care of anyway. Because I wanted to celebrate and lean into how it has carried me through life and what it is capable of doing.

And somewhere along the way, I didn’t just lose weight… I started falling in love with my life. I think, for the first time ever.

Not because having a smaller body means I suddenly have a life worth loving. But because I invested time, energy and effort into making sure that body was capable of freely living the life I wanted to live! 🥰

04/26/2026

I don’t believe in luck. I never really have. I believe you create your own luck… like Cal Hockley says in Titanic. 😉

But I didn’t always think this way. I used to look at other people’s before and afters and tell myself, “it must be easier for them.” I’d come up with every reason why it worked for them and not for me. Genetics. Money. Support. Time. Motivation. Natural ability.

Anything that made their success make sense… and my lack of change feel justified. Because if I could explain it, I didn’t have to face it.

But it’s not luck.

I’m not saying outside factors don’t matter, they do. They just don’t tell the whole story.

What actually makes the difference is consistency. Showing up again and again,
long after the motivation fades.

And I don’t say that to be harsh, I say it because it’s empowering. Because it means you’re not stuck. It means you have more control than you think.

You can start. And you can keep going. Because you’re worth that kind of effort. 💜

04/24/2026

I opened a notebook and saw a page of calligraphy I practiced once and never went back to. And it hit me…

I’ve started a lot of things in my life. Ideas. Habits. Versions of myself. I tried every sport I could think of as a child. I’ve been really good at starting.

But I haven’t always been someone who finishes. I haven’t been someone who follows through.

And that made me emotional to think of all the things I didn’t follow through on and then to take a look at where I am right now. Recovering from surgery… because I did follow through.

I haven’t followed through on everything. But I did follow through on the thing that mattered most to me. And that changed everything. 🥹

I didn’t follow through because I forced myself to. I didn’t do it out of punishment or pressure. I followed through because I started caring about myself enough to stay. To keep showing up. To keep choosing the version of me I wanted to become.

You don’t have to be someone who finishes everything. But what if you became someone who follows through on the things that matter?

And it doesn’t come from being harder on yourself… it comes from loving yourself enough not to give up on you. 💜

04/23/2026

There was a time I couldn’t even imagine this version of my life. Not the weight loss. Not the confidence. Not the freedom I feel now. It felt too far away… like something meant for other people, not me.

But change doesn’t start when you see the whole path. It starts when you let yourself believe that something more is possible for you too.

I didn’t have it all figured out. I just had hope that maybe my life could look different… and I chose to take one small step toward that, over and over again.

And slowly, what once felt impossible became my reality. 🥹

That’s the part I want you to hold onto! The life you’re dreaming about isn’t random. It’s not out of reach. It’s not reserved for someone “better” or more disciplined.

It’s built the same way mine was: with small choices, consistency, and a willingness to believe before you have proof.

Don’t talk yourself out of your own potential. Don’t shrink your dreams to match your current reality. Let yourself want more. Let yourself believe it’s possible. Because it is. 💜

04/23/2026

And you don’t have to either 📣 (unless you want to for some reason 😂)

So many people delay starting because they think it requires extreme discipline, all-or-nothing effort, and a complete life overhaul overnight. Of course we avoid that… who actually wants to live like that?

But what if real change came from doing simple things consistently instead?

Here’s what starting actually looked like for me:
• Moving my body daily and aiming for 8k steps (a lot of walking + even marching in place — broken up throughout the day)
• Writing down what I ate to build awareness, then eventually tracking to stay in a calorie deficit
• Working on my mindset every day through journaling, repeating new beliefs, and learning how to think differently so I could live differently

I expanded on all of those as time went on and as it felt doable for me!

Nothing extreme. Just consistency.

And that’s what made it sustainable… and what made it work!

04/21/2026

My legs are still swollen and they’ll be swollen for a while longer too. So, these aren’t my “final” results but they are my initial results and I’m already LOVING them! 😍

I also didn’t think I’d be more impressed by the side view than the front view. That change is crazy! 🤯

And look at that texture change! My legs are so much smoother and they actually have some shape now without the loose skin hanging down.

Recovery has been a little easier than I expected. Not easy. But I was preparing for this to be my worst recovery so far and I’m so grateful it hasn’t been!

And if it looks like I’m not standing straight, I’m not. I still can’t extend my knees fully (without discomfort) so they have a slight bend.

I would love to shout out my whole team that has been a part of my leg transformation!
👉 removed my loose skin and did liposuction on my thighs and calves.
👉 preformed lipedema liposuction surgery for my calves and thighs last summer.
👉 program at has been the surgical and recovery team making all of this possible!

04/21/2026

There was a version of me who kept saying “someday.”
Someday I’ll lose the weight.
Someday I’ll feel confident.
Someday I’ll feel free.
Someday I’ll be proud of myself.
Someday I’ll be living the life I’m dreaming of.

I thought someday would come all at once. But it didn’t.

It came in small choices. In showing up when I didn’t feel like it. In choosing growth over comfort. In doing the things that didn’t feel exciting… but changed everything.

I’m not living a perfect life. But I am living a life I once prayed for. And that means more than anything.

If you’re in your “not yet” season… keep going. Your someday is being built right now. 💜

04/20/2026

These surgeries aren’t about being physically healthy and that’s something I’ve had to learn to accept. My weight loss journey was rooted in health from the very beginning. I wanted to feel better, move better, and live more fully. I wanted more energy, more capability, more life. It was never about having a smaller body just for the sake of it, it was about expanding my life in every way.

My loose skin didn’t make me unhealthy, which is part of why insurance didn’t cover these procedures. But it did feel uncomfortable. It felt inconvenient, sometimes even burdensome. And in a way that’s hard to fully explain, it didn’t feel like it belonged to me. It felt like something that should have been released along with the weight, but stuck around anyway.

So no, these surgeries haven’t made my body healthier. But they have made me more comfortable in my body. And I don’t just mean in how I look, although that’s part of it. I mean physically, in the way I exist and move through the world. They’ve helped my body feel like home. They’ve given me a deeper sense of ease and freedom in my own skin.

It has always felt right for me. I’ve never doubted this decision. Even in the hardest moments of recovery, I’ve known it was worth it. Even choosing to go into debt to afford these surgeries, I’ve never felt regret.

This is a personal decision. Not everyone will understand it, and they don’t have to. With each surgery, I’ve felt more at home in my body. And even though there have been moments in recovery where I’ve felt disconnected from it, on the other side of healing, I feel more connected than ever.

That’s why I choose this. 💜

04/19/2026

I asked you what the number one question you’d want me to ask would be… and somehow over 50% of the questions submitted were non-surgical. 🫣

Y’all are funny. 😂

So… I skipped past the curious (off-topic) questions 🙈 and asked him the most requested surgical one, which was about scars.

A lot of you wanted to know how to minimize scarring, so in this video he shares some tips and education around that. And how genetics play the biggest part. 🫠

But honestly… I didn’t overthink the scars when I chose to have my loose skin removed. Just like I didn’t overthink the loose skin when I started losing weight.

My priority has never been about a perfect appearance, it’s been about feeling healthy in my body and free within it. 🥰

04/18/2026

For the first 4 days or so, I didn’t get the chance to see my legs while standing and looking in the mirror until this moment with . I had my emotional reaction when I saw them on the table for the first time. This was a different kind of reaction.

It’s such a strange feeling… to feel disconnected from your body because it looks and feels different than what you’re used to, while at the same time thinking, “this makes sense.”

That’s how I’ve felt with all of my surgeries. There’s this mix of unfamiliarity, like the body attached to me doesn’t quite feel like mine yet… but also a deep sense of alignment, like “this is how it was always supposed to be.”

Not in the sense that our bodies are supposed to look a certain way… I don’t think they are. But I do think they’re supposed to feel a certain way to us. Like home. Like relief. Like connection.

I’m so grateful I got to experience this moment Dr. Moshrefi. I truly couldn’t have imagined having a surgeon who cares for me the way he does.

04/16/2026

Day 4 post-op (Part 2) from full leg loose skin removal! — If you missed Part 1, go watch that first!

I almost never nap… like ever. I took one nap across my last four recoveries combined. But I was so sleepy this time. Partly from the Benadryl, but I think also because I was under anesthesia for so long for this surgery. 🙈

This was my first day without any appointments, so I made it a priority to get outside for a short walk. It definitely took some energy and left me a little short of breath, but I’m glad I did it!

I also took my first post-op shower, which is usually very humbling. I normally have to lay down right after, but this time I surprised myself. I didn’t need to sit during it and didn’t feel completely fatigued after like normal.

Right now my routine is adding gauze (and some pads over some sensitive areas) over my incisions (even though they’re covered with surgical tape) before putting my compression back on.

I typically fixate on a sweet treat during recovery. 😂 I decided months ago it would be Girl Scout Cookies this time, ordered them early and didn’t open them until day 1 post-op. Proud of myself for that! 😂🙌🏻

Also very grateful to have my mom here with me during recovery! 🤗

Here’s what I had/took throughout this video:
• Tuna with potato chips + grapes
• Protein shake (milk + Clean Simple Eats protein powder)
• Soup (bone broth, chicken breast, beans, zucchini, celery, potatoes) + sourdough with butter
• Girl Scout Cookies
• Bromelain (for swelling + healing)
• Sleepmag (magnesium + melatonin for sleep)
• Poopdoc (ozonated magnesium — digestion can be tough post-op)
• Arnica (for swelling + healing)
• Prescribed hydrocodone (for pain)
• Prescribed antibiotic (to prevent infections)
• G2G bar (small bites when taking meds overnight)

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75 Skyterra Way
Pisgah Forest, NC
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