November 13, 2024 • 25 mins
Transformative journeys often start with a single, courageous decision. Three years ago, I made the choice to remove my breast implants—a decision that profoundly altered my health, self-worth, and understanding of beauty. Join me as I share personal reflections on stepping away from superficial beauty habits like Botox and acrylic nails, and embracing a more natural lifestyle. This episode is not just a celebration of living implant-free but an exploration into how redefining beauty standards and focusing on long-term well-being can lead to true confidence and happiness from within. Whether you're considering explant surgery or navigating your own path to self-healing, my experiences offer insights and encouragement to embrace your own journey of transformation.
Links and Resources:
- 5 Step Pre-Surgery Protocol: https://presurgery.empoweredexplant.com
- Empowered Explant website resources page: https://www.empoweredexplant.com/resources
- Love Lexxi Bra (use code DARNAH10 for discount): https://lovelexxi.com/?sca_ref=4859367.nhgqwk49pL
Please help us be heard and raise awareness:
- Subscribe to the show
- Rate and review
- Share with your friends
Let's connect!
Join the Empowered Explant Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/empoweredexplant
Connect with Darnah on Instagram: @darnahmercieca
Interviews and sponsorships email: podcast@empoweredexplant.com
Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/ilya-kuznetsov/anticipation
Disclaimer: This podcast does not constitute medical or mental health advice. Darnah is not a medical practitioner. She shares from personal experience, research, and conversations with other people. If you are experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery complications, or mental health concerns, please seek care from your medical provider or surgeon.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Darnah Mercieca (00:02):
Today is a really special day for me, and
not just because it's 11-11.
We all know I love a little bitof woo-woo, but it became extra
special because three years agotoday, I removed my breast
implants.
(00:22):
Or should I say Dr Dev removedmy breast implants because I
certainly needed help with that,and so it is my three-year
explant surgery anniversary, andthere are a few words for that,
there's like explantiversary,there's a whole bunch of things,
but I'm just going to say it'smy three-year explant surgery
(00:45):
anniversary and, looking back onthese three years, wow, I
realized how much that decisionto remove my breast implants has
transformed not only my healthbut my confidence, my faith and
my understanding of what trueacceptance looks like.
(01:07):
Truly, explanting can becompletely transformative.
I've witnessed it in myself, inmy mom who explanted a year
after me, and in other womenI've worked with and supported,
(01:28):
and that's why I am sopassionate about this topic, in
case you can't tell and it'sit's not just about removing
breast implants, even thoughthat's a huge and very
significant part of it, butthere is this opportunity for so
much more here.
(01:48):
If you haven't explanted yet, Iwant this for you.
I want this to betransformative and to change
your life in ways that you can'teven imagine.
Yet.
If you have explanted and youhaven't really experienced
healing or transformation andyou're struggling with it, you
(02:12):
should absolutely stay here withme for this conversation,
because you can still experiencea shift, you can still
experience a transformation.
You can still experience atransformation and if you've
explanted and you're feelinggreat, yay, that's wonderful.
Keep going, keep showing up foryourself, and I hope you really
(02:38):
resonate with what I'm sharingtoday and I think you still
might take something from this.
Every time I go live, I do alittle prayer beforehand and I
just ask God to put this in thehands, this message, in the
hands of whoever needs to hearit.
And it might not be today, itmight not be tomorrow, or it
(03:01):
might not even be next week.
It could be like in six monthsfrom now, it could be in a year
from now, that somebody watchesthis and is impacted by it.
I'm just about to dive into thefirst lesson that I learned on
my three-year explant journey.
All right, lesson number one.
All right.
Lesson number one your healthis worth prioritizing.
(03:26):
Oh, my goodness, when I was sickand I suspected that I was
suffering from breast implantillness, I had this realization
like duh.
Of course, I mean, I was ahealth coach, eating pretty
(03:47):
clean and exercising.
But there were a ton of ways Iwasn't choosing my health.
For starters, I had silicone inmy chest, you know.
I mean, let's get real on asurface level, at a common
sensical level, obviously that'snot going to be the healthiest
choice for your body, regardlessof what all the surgeons say or
(04:09):
what society says.
Implants are safe, blah, blah,blah.
Let's be really real about that.
So I was getting Botox.
I was drinking a lot of alcohol.
You know, I was getting Botox.
I was drinking a lot of alcohol.
I was using conventionalcosmetics, not paying attention
to the ingredients on myskincare products.
(04:30):
I had acrylic nails.
Gosh, they were lovely and Istill miss them.
I was definitely choosing beautyover health and I had learned
to identify with having largebreasts.
That was a part of my identity,that was a part of how I showed
up in the world, that was apart of what I considered beauty
(04:53):
.
So this whole choice to removemy breast implants was a huge
shift for me because it wasmaking me redefine everything
about beauty in my life and ithad me make some really
challenging choices and the factis, sometimes prioritizing
(05:16):
health means letting go ofthings that might feel good in
the moment, whether that's afavorite beauty habit, certain
foods or lifestyle choices.
It's about loving yourselfenough, prioritizing your health
enough, respecting your bodyenough and being connected to
(05:39):
your why?
Being connected to that future,you enough to choose what truly
supports your long-termwell-being.
And sometimes that really sucksbecause it's like well, you
know, in some cases I like myimplants.
(06:00):
I kind of got into the pointwhere I was pretty over them,
but in some cases some womenhere are like I still really
love my implants and I don'twant to get rid of them.
I like what I have aesthetically.
For me, you know, like I said,I miss my acrylic nails.
I used to love having likebeautiful nails and um and like
(06:23):
Botox, you know, to just givethat like smooth, kind of
perfect, perfect face look.
Oh, there are things I miss,but the more I kind of dove into
making those changes, Irealized there's so much
(06:45):
available to us that might takea little bit more effort.
And I think that that is one ofthe keys here is like the
there's amazing makeup available, like non-toxic makeup that now
I just love.
I wear RMS beauty now, and Ilove their makeup so much.
(07:06):
There's just there's so manygreat products out there, but it
does take research, it doestake effort, it does take energy
, it does mean reading labelsand doing your research and it
does make.
It does mean letting go of somethings that you don't want to
(07:26):
let go of for the sake of yourlongevity and your health and
being the you that you want tobe when you're insert age.
If you're in a place whereyou're struggling with similar
(07:50):
choices, just know thatprotecting your health is a
powerful form of self-love andit's actually going to help you
build trust with yourself.
So it has a really powerfuleffect and the courage it takes
to put yourself first is alwaysworth it, always All right.
My second lesson is that trueconfidence is internal, not
(08:13):
external.
My implants gave me what I liketo call band-aid confidence.
It's become a fun term that Ilike to play with here, um, but
removing them taught me thattrue confidence has nothing to
do with how you look literallynothing.
(08:34):
It's.
It's rooted in who you are, solike.
It's kind of about separatingbody image and confidence and
self-worth.
There's like a separation thatoccurs here.
I'll explain, but I used tocare so much about what other
(08:56):
people thought that I changedmyself for it.
I shifted how I showed up forit.
I shifted how I spoke for itright, and in the process I
started dimming the qualitiesthat made me special and unique.
(09:16):
And the cool part about thisjourney, this explant journey,
has been that over the past fewyears I have been getting more
and more comfortable with beingme, and I think that started
with the removal of the implantsand the learning to accept my
new look.
(09:37):
But it became so much more thanaesthetic, came so much more
than aesthetic, and I think themore we focus on the internal,
the easier the shift becomes.
(09:57):
For the aesthetic.
I've been using my voice more.
I've done some speakingengagements and stood on stage
holding a microphone again,which is something that I hadn't
done since I was a teenagerbecause I was too scared.
The breast implants did nothelp me overcome that fear.
The breast implants did nothelp me use my voice again.
(10:23):
Help me use my voice again.
I started the EmpoweredExcellence podcast Once again.
I guess that's using my voiceand showing up in that way, but
I thought that getting breastimplants was going to give me
the confidence to do all thesethings right Show up in all of
(10:47):
these ways that I was afraid to,but they didn't.
They actually kind of had theopposite effect and, funnily
enough, I ended up seeking thewrong kind of validation, the
wrong kind of attention, and so,instead of feeling confident in
(11:09):
who I was, I ended up feelingconfident in this new shell of
an identity that I became, shellof an identity that I became,
and it was actually uponremoving them.
(11:29):
Getting my health and mentalclarity back is what's given me
the confidence to go out andactually use my voice again.
Knowing my worth and value hasgiven me the confidence to put
myself out there in both workand relationships.
So if you're considering explantsurgery or maybe you've had
(11:52):
explant surgery already rememberthat confidence doesn't come
from appearance.
You're already enough andworthy exactly as you are, and
that's the truth.
Whether you've got implants,you don't have implants.
You are like it doesn't matterwhere you are on the journey.
(12:13):
You've had implants.
Now you've got scars, likewhatever it is.
You are already enough and youare worthy.
It is.
You are already enough and youare worthy.
Band-aid confidence can feelnice temporarily, but lasting
(12:34):
confidence is found within, andit's okay if you're still
working on this.
It takes time.
One trick for building thisinternal sense of value and
worth.
This is a fun trick, right?
I like this.
Imagine no one can see you.
Maybe you're behind a computer.
The people are on the otherside of the computer.
They can't see you.
There's not even video.
(12:54):
Or maybe you're in a dark roomand there's other people in the
room but no one knows what youlook like at all.
They can't see you, they can'ttouch you, they have no idea
what you look like.
You're stripped completely ofyour physical identity.
Who are you?
What impact do you have onpeople's lives?
(13:21):
What impact do you have onpeople's lives?
What are your talents and yourskills?
Recognizing the beauty andstrength in who you are, without
(13:41):
the masks or modifications, isso freeing.
So I hope that you actually sitdown and take a moment to run
that exercise.
Set aside five minutes, ifthat's all you've got.
Take five minutes.
Maybe you go into a dark room,turn out all the lights, forget
about what you look like for amoment.
Imagine no one can see you andthen get to know who you really
(14:08):
are.
And if you do that and youstill feel empty and you still
feel worthless and you stillfeel like not enough.
Then, my love, a couple ofthings are true.
One, you got to do some work.
(14:32):
You got to show up for yourself, your mental health, your
emotional health, and you gotsome work to do and I mean that
with love, but you do, and thatis so important.
And number two I would start tolook at who you have around you
(14:53):
.
What kind of messages are youhearing from the people around
you?
What do they say about you?
Are you hearing from the peoplearound you?
What do they say about you?
What are you saying aboutyourself?
Yeah, that's important as well,right, and that comes back to
(15:13):
the self-work.
I'm kind of just ad-libbinghere, freestyling on this,
because it's on my heart, right,but there's work to do.
And the other thing is, indoing that work, start to think
about like what, how do you wantto to?
Who do you want to be in theworld?
(15:33):
How do you want to show up inthe world?
What does that?
Who are you?
Who do you want to be?
So, if you're really trulyunhappy with who you are on the
inside right now, it's time toconnect with who you want to be
and figure out that piece andthen start taking the steps of
(15:54):
self-development, professionaldevelopment, whatever that looks
like.
Take start taking steps toactually strengthen yourself in
those areas, because that willbuild intrinsic confidence.
All right, that was a littlefreestyle.
My third lesson on this journeyover the last three years is
(16:18):
that you are lovable exactly asyou are.
Oh my goodness, 23 year old methought that breast implants
would solve my man problems.
It's kind of funny that I gotmy implants because my partner
at the time, being unfaithful,made me feel like I wasn't good
(16:42):
enough.
And then there was a wholecomparison journey that came
along with it and I'm like, ohmy God, breast implants, yes,
duh, of course that's what'smissing.
Of course that's what I need.
And then, nearly a decade later, as I was getting them removed,
(17:14):
I found out my then partner wasalso being unfaithful.
I laugh about it now becauseI'm like, oh my gosh, of course
I don't believe in coincidence,right?
I think it was God giving me anopportunity to heal the wounds
that I needed to heal 10 yearsearlier, but I chose to get
implants instead.
(17:35):
So I was presented with theexact same lesson to learn.
Wow, of course that's how itworked.
(17:56):
So 16 months after my explantsurgery, months after my explant
surgery, I met the man I'm withnow and being in a loving
relationship without my implantsshowed me something powerful I
don't have to be perfect to beloved.
(18:17):
My boobs didn't have to be acertain size to attract the
person who actually loves me forme.
My breasts have imperfections.
Yes, this bra makes them lookgood.
Thank you, meg.
(18:38):
Thank you, love, lexi.
This bra makes them look realgood, but they have
imperfections and that's okay,because real love sees you just
as you are.
My partner actually loves thatI've been on this journey.
He appreciates the depth of mystory and experience and
(19:00):
perspective.
He loves that I show up inservice of this community and
that I have a deep passion forpurpose work.
If we go back to that dark roomI spoke about a couple of
lessons earlier and him and Ican't see each other, but we
have a conversation We'll stillbe in love with each other's
(19:22):
hearts and minds, and that isthe coolest thing.
Sometimes we feel like we needto change ourselves to be loved
or accepted, but trust that youare lovable as you are.
True love and acceptance startswith you being authentically
(19:46):
yourself, and if this is achallenge for you, then go back
and focus on the emotionalhealing and confidence building
within yourself, because I'mtelling you, girl, the sexiest,
most attractive quality in aperson is knowing and loving who
(20:08):
you are inside and letting thatshine, being somebody who wants
to show up in the world in aspecial way, who wants to make
an impact, who is good and whois kind and who is purposeful,
(20:30):
who is floating through theworld exuding joy.
God, that's sexy.
Health is sexy.
Health is sexy.
So I think it's just a rewiring, a reframing of thought and
(20:51):
really believing, knowing thatyou are lovable as you are.
It was such a big lesson for mewas such a big lesson for me.
I never felt lovable as I wasNot growing up, not as a
teenager, not as a young adult,not with breast implants.
My fourth lesson is that faithis the key ingredient, is the
(21:27):
key ingredient.
Yeah, faith is the keyingredient.
My faith has evolved so muchsince my explant surgery, but
even then, oh my gosh, I was so.
I was so, so afraid, I was solost.
I'd gotten into such a place oflike despair in my life.
(21:52):
I was in.
I was in a really dark, scaryplace in my life and it it was
the illness, it was the symptoms, it was the the being about to
change so much about myself, andit was my broken relationship
that I was in at the time,goodness and I was practicing
(22:16):
prayer and surrender on a dailybasis.
I was asking for help andguidance.
I was trusting the path laidout in front of me, even when it
didn't look like what I hadplanned.
Surrendering to God's guidancehelped me through the hard times
(22:37):
and it still does.
In fact, I got baptized lastweek.
36-year-old me got baptizedlast week.
36 year old me got baptizedlast week.
Oh my gosh.
And I truly believe that thisentire journey has been a part
of bringing me here andelevating my faith and getting
(22:58):
me ready for what my purpose isabout to be on this earth and in
this life, and I'm so excitedfor that.
And so, if you're on a healingjourney, lean on whatever faith
or spirituality resonates withyou.
It might not be the same asmine, and that's okay.
(23:19):
Trusting in something biggerthan yourself, trusting in just
a bigger plan, can provide thestrength and the peace that you
need, and faith doesn't makechallenges go away, but it helps
you find meaning and purposewithin them and the strength to
(23:40):
be resilient.
So, yeah, that was a reallyspecial lesson on this journey.
And, yay, for three years,implant free.
I feel amazing, y'all.
I feel amazing.
I've been sitting here talkingnonstop for an hour and a half
(24:03):
Old me.
Breast implant me couldn't dothat.
She could barely spit out asentence oh, my goodness.
So, ah, this is just proof.
This alone is proof of what animpact it's had on my life.
So, thank you for celebratingwith me and I'm going to wrap up
(24:25):
now.
I'm just really hyped and I'mreally excited, and I'm just so
excited that Empowered Explantis making a difference and I
know it is because I'm seeingthe difference that it's making
and I'm hearing about thedifference that it's making.
And it's three years old nowand it's about to make even more
(24:48):
impact.
Now that I'm full-time in myown endeavors, I'm able to
really pour into empoweredexplant, and that you're here
with us for your own sake andalso for the sake of others,
(25:12):
because you're a breastie,you're an advocate in this space
and your story just you beinghere can help so many others.
So lots of love you all.
Oh my gosh, yay, happy Monday,happy 1111.
I love you.
My heart is pouring out.
(25:33):
I don't even want to get off ofhere right now, because I'm
just so excited and I'm so happyto to be here and to have you
all in my life Um, you light meup All right, that's all Bye.
And to have you all in my life,you light me up, all right,
that's all Bye.
Today is a really special day for me, and
not just because it's 11-11.
We all know I love a little bitof woo-woo, but it became extra
special because three years agotoday, I removed my breast
implants.
(00:22):
Or should I say Dr Dev removedmy breast implants because I
certainly needed help with that,and so it is my three-year
explant surgery anniversary, andthere are a few words for that,
there's like explantiversary,there's a whole bunch of things,
but I'm just going to say it'smy three-year explant surgery
(00:45):
anniversary and, looking back onthese three years, wow, I
realized how much that decisionto remove my breast implants has
transformed not only my healthbut my confidence, my faith and
my understanding of what trueacceptance looks like.
(01:07):
Truly, explanting can becompletely transformative.
I've witnessed it in myself, inmy mom who explanted a year
after me, and in other womenI've worked with and supported,
(01:28):
and that's why I am sopassionate about this topic, in
case you can't tell and it'sit's not just about removing
breast implants, even thoughthat's a huge and very
significant part of it, butthere is this opportunity for so
much more here.
(01:48):
If you haven't explanted yet, Iwant this for you.
I want this to betransformative and to change
your life in ways that you can'teven imagine.
Yet.
If you have explanted and youhaven't really experienced
healing or transformation andyou're struggling with it, you
(02:12):
should absolutely stay here withme for this conversation,
because you can still experiencea shift, you can still
experience a transformation.
You can still experience atransformation and if you've
explanted and you're feelinggreat, yay, that's wonderful.
Keep going, keep showing up foryourself, and I hope you really
(02:38):
resonate with what I'm sharingtoday and I think you still
might take something from this.
Every time I go live, I do alittle prayer beforehand and I
just ask God to put this in thehands, this message, in the
hands of whoever needs to hearit.
And it might not be today, itmight not be tomorrow, or it
(03:01):
might not even be next week.
It could be like in six monthsfrom now, it could be in a year
from now, that somebody watchesthis and is impacted by it.
I'm just about to dive into thefirst lesson that I learned on
my three-year explant journey.
All right, lesson number one.
All right.
Lesson number one your healthis worth prioritizing.
(03:26):
Oh, my goodness, when I was sickand I suspected that I was
suffering from breast implantillness, I had this realization
like duh.
Of course, I mean, I was ahealth coach, eating pretty
(03:47):
clean and exercising.
But there were a ton of ways Iwasn't choosing my health.
For starters, I had silicone inmy chest, you know.
I mean, let's get real on asurface level, at a common
sensical level, obviously that'snot going to be the healthiest
choice for your body, regardlessof what all the surgeons say or
(04:09):
what society says.
Implants are safe, blah, blah,blah.
Let's be really real about that.
So I was getting Botox.
I was drinking a lot of alcohol.
You know, I was getting Botox.
I was drinking a lot of alcohol.
I was using conventionalcosmetics, not paying attention
to the ingredients on myskincare products.
(04:30):
I had acrylic nails.
Gosh, they were lovely and Istill miss them.
I was definitely choosing beautyover health and I had learned
to identify with having largebreasts.
That was a part of my identity,that was a part of how I showed
up in the world, that was apart of what I considered beauty
(04:53):
.
So this whole choice to removemy breast implants was a huge
shift for me because it wasmaking me redefine everything
about beauty in my life and ithad me make some really
challenging choices and the factis, sometimes prioritizing
(05:16):
health means letting go ofthings that might feel good in
the moment, whether that's afavorite beauty habit, certain
foods or lifestyle choices.
It's about loving yourselfenough, prioritizing your health
enough, respecting your bodyenough and being connected to
(05:39):
your why?
Being connected to that future,you enough to choose what truly
supports your long-termwell-being.
And sometimes that really sucksbecause it's like well, you
know, in some cases I like myimplants.
(06:00):
I kind of got into the pointwhere I was pretty over them,
but in some cases some womenhere are like I still really
love my implants and I don'twant to get rid of them.
I like what I have aesthetically.
For me, you know, like I said,I miss my acrylic nails.
I used to love having likebeautiful nails and um and like
(06:23):
Botox, you know, to just givethat like smooth, kind of
perfect, perfect face look.
Oh, there are things I miss,but the more I kind of dove into
making those changes, Irealized there's so much
(06:45):
available to us that might takea little bit more effort.
And I think that that is one ofthe keys here is like the
there's amazing makeup available, like non-toxic makeup that now
I just love.
I wear RMS beauty now, and Ilove their makeup so much.
(07:06):
There's just there's so manygreat products out there, but it
does take research, it doestake effort, it does take energy
, it does mean reading labelsand doing your research and it
does make.
It does mean letting go of somethings that you don't want to
(07:26):
let go of for the sake of yourlongevity and your health and
being the you that you want tobe when you're insert age.
If you're in a place whereyou're struggling with similar
(07:50):
choices, just know thatprotecting your health is a
powerful form of self-love andit's actually going to help you
build trust with yourself.
So it has a really powerfuleffect and the courage it takes
to put yourself first is alwaysworth it, always All right.
My second lesson is that trueconfidence is internal, not
(08:13):
external.
My implants gave me what I liketo call band-aid confidence.
It's become a fun term that Ilike to play with here, um, but
removing them taught me thattrue confidence has nothing to
do with how you look literallynothing.
(08:34):
It's.
It's rooted in who you are, solike.
It's kind of about separatingbody image and confidence and
self-worth.
There's like a separation thatoccurs here.
I'll explain, but I used tocare so much about what other
(08:56):
people thought that I changedmyself for it.
I shifted how I showed up forit.
I shifted how I spoke for itright, and in the process I
started dimming the qualitiesthat made me special and unique.
(09:16):
And the cool part about thisjourney, this explant journey,
has been that over the past fewyears I have been getting more
and more comfortable with beingme, and I think that started
with the removal of the implantsand the learning to accept my
new look.
(09:37):
But it became so much more thanaesthetic, came so much more
than aesthetic, and I think themore we focus on the internal,
the easier the shift becomes.
(09:57):
For the aesthetic.
I've been using my voice more.
I've done some speakingengagements and stood on stage
holding a microphone again,which is something that I hadn't
done since I was a teenagerbecause I was too scared.
The breast implants did nothelp me overcome that fear.
The breast implants did nothelp me use my voice again.
(10:23):
Help me use my voice again.
I started the EmpoweredExcellence podcast Once again.
I guess that's using my voiceand showing up in that way, but
I thought that getting breastimplants was going to give me
the confidence to do all thesethings right Show up in all of
(10:47):
these ways that I was afraid to,but they didn't.
They actually kind of had theopposite effect and, funnily
enough, I ended up seeking thewrong kind of validation, the
wrong kind of attention, and so,instead of feeling confident in
(11:09):
who I was, I ended up feelingconfident in this new shell of
an identity that I became, shellof an identity that I became,
and it was actually uponremoving them.
(11:29):
Getting my health and mentalclarity back is what's given me
the confidence to go out andactually use my voice again.
Knowing my worth and value hasgiven me the confidence to put
myself out there in both workand relationships.
So if you're considering explantsurgery or maybe you've had
(11:52):
explant surgery already rememberthat confidence doesn't come
from appearance.
You're already enough andworthy exactly as you are, and
that's the truth.
Whether you've got implants,you don't have implants.
You are like it doesn't matterwhere you are on the journey.
(12:13):
You've had implants.
Now you've got scars, likewhatever it is.
You are already enough and youare worthy.
It is.
You are already enough and youare worthy.
Band-aid confidence can feelnice temporarily, but lasting
(12:34):
confidence is found within, andit's okay if you're still
working on this.
It takes time.
One trick for building thisinternal sense of value and
worth.
This is a fun trick, right?
I like this.
Imagine no one can see you.
Maybe you're behind a computer.
The people are on the otherside of the computer.
They can't see you.
There's not even video.
(12:54):
Or maybe you're in a dark roomand there's other people in the
room but no one knows what youlook like at all.
They can't see you, they can'ttouch you, they have no idea
what you look like.
You're stripped completely ofyour physical identity.
Who are you?
What impact do you have onpeople's lives?
(13:21):
What impact do you have onpeople's lives?
What are your talents and yourskills?
Recognizing the beauty andstrength in who you are, without
(13:41):
the masks or modifications, isso freeing.
So I hope that you actually sitdown and take a moment to run
that exercise.
Set aside five minutes, ifthat's all you've got.
Take five minutes.
Maybe you go into a dark room,turn out all the lights, forget
about what you look like for amoment.
Imagine no one can see you andthen get to know who you really
(14:08):
are.
And if you do that and youstill feel empty and you still
feel worthless and you stillfeel like not enough.
Then, my love, a couple ofthings are true.
One, you got to do some work.
(14:32):
You got to show up for yourself, your mental health, your
emotional health, and you gotsome work to do and I mean that
with love, but you do, and thatis so important.
And number two I would start tolook at who you have around you
(14:53):
.
What kind of messages are youhearing from the people around
you?
What do they say about you?
Are you hearing from the peoplearound you?
What do they say about you?
What are you saying aboutyourself?
Yeah, that's important as well,right, and that comes back to
(15:13):
the self-work.
I'm kind of just ad-libbinghere, freestyling on this,
because it's on my heart, right,but there's work to do.
And the other thing is, indoing that work, start to think
about like what, how do you wantto to?
Who do you want to be in theworld?
(15:33):
How do you want to show up inthe world?
What does that?
Who are you?
Who do you want to be?
So, if you're really trulyunhappy with who you are on the
inside right now, it's time toconnect with who you want to be
and figure out that piece andthen start taking the steps of
(15:54):
self-development, professionaldevelopment, whatever that looks
like.
Take start taking steps toactually strengthen yourself in
those areas, because that willbuild intrinsic confidence.
All right, that was a littlefreestyle.
My third lesson on this journeyover the last three years is
(16:18):
that you are lovable exactly asyou are.
Oh my goodness, 23 year old methought that breast implants
would solve my man problems.
It's kind of funny that I gotmy implants because my partner
at the time, being unfaithful,made me feel like I wasn't good
(16:42):
enough.
And then there was a wholecomparison journey that came
along with it and I'm like, ohmy God, breast implants, yes,
duh, of course that's what'smissing.
Of course that's what I need.
And then, nearly a decade later, as I was getting them removed,
(17:14):
I found out my then partner wasalso being unfaithful.
I laugh about it now becauseI'm like, oh my gosh, of course
I don't believe in coincidence,right?
I think it was God giving me anopportunity to heal the wounds
that I needed to heal 10 yearsearlier, but I chose to get
implants instead.
(17:35):
So I was presented with theexact same lesson to learn.
Wow, of course that's how itworked.
(17:56):
So 16 months after my explantsurgery, months after my explant
surgery, I met the man I'm withnow and being in a loving
relationship without my implantsshowed me something powerful I
don't have to be perfect to beloved.
(18:17):
My boobs didn't have to be acertain size to attract the
person who actually loves me forme.
My breasts have imperfections.
Yes, this bra makes them lookgood.
Thank you, meg.
(18:38):
Thank you, love, lexi.
This bra makes them look realgood, but they have
imperfections and that's okay,because real love sees you just
as you are.
My partner actually loves thatI've been on this journey.
He appreciates the depth of mystory and experience and
(19:00):
perspective.
He loves that I show up inservice of this community and
that I have a deep passion forpurpose work.
If we go back to that dark roomI spoke about a couple of
lessons earlier and him and Ican't see each other, but we
have a conversation We'll stillbe in love with each other's
(19:22):
hearts and minds, and that isthe coolest thing.
Sometimes we feel like we needto change ourselves to be loved
or accepted, but trust that youare lovable as you are.
True love and acceptance startswith you being authentically
(19:46):
yourself, and if this is achallenge for you, then go back
and focus on the emotionalhealing and confidence building
within yourself, because I'mtelling you, girl, the sexiest,
most attractive quality in aperson is knowing and loving who
(20:08):
you are inside and letting thatshine, being somebody who wants
to show up in the world in aspecial way, who wants to make
an impact, who is good and whois kind and who is purposeful,
(20:30):
who is floating through theworld exuding joy.
God, that's sexy.
Health is sexy.
Health is sexy.
So I think it's just a rewiring, a reframing of thought and
(20:51):
really believing, knowing thatyou are lovable as you are.
It was such a big lesson for mewas such a big lesson for me.
I never felt lovable as I wasNot growing up, not as a
teenager, not as a young adult,not with breast implants.
My fourth lesson is that faithis the key ingredient, is the
(21:27):
key ingredient.
Yeah, faith is the keyingredient.
My faith has evolved so muchsince my explant surgery, but
even then, oh my gosh, I was so.
I was so, so afraid, I was solost.
I'd gotten into such a place oflike despair in my life.
(21:52):
I was in.
I was in a really dark, scaryplace in my life and it it was
the illness, it was the symptoms, it was the the being about to
change so much about myself, andit was my broken relationship
that I was in at the time,goodness and I was practicing
(22:16):
prayer and surrender on a dailybasis.
I was asking for help andguidance.
I was trusting the path laidout in front of me, even when it
didn't look like what I hadplanned.
Surrendering to God's guidancehelped me through the hard times
(22:37):
and it still does.
In fact, I got baptized lastweek.
36-year-old me got baptizedlast week.
36 year old me got baptizedlast week.
Oh my gosh.
And I truly believe that thisentire journey has been a part
of bringing me here andelevating my faith and getting
(22:58):
me ready for what my purpose isabout to be on this earth and in
this life, and I'm so excitedfor that.
And so, if you're on a healingjourney, lean on whatever faith
or spirituality resonates withyou.
It might not be the same asmine, and that's okay.
(23:19):
Trusting in something biggerthan yourself, trusting in just
a bigger plan, can provide thestrength and the peace that you
need, and faith doesn't makechallenges go away, but it helps
you find meaning and purposewithin them and the strength to
(23:40):
be resilient.
So, yeah, that was a reallyspecial lesson on this journey.
And, yay, for three years,implant free.
I feel amazing, y'all.
I feel amazing.
I've been sitting here talkingnonstop for an hour and a half
(24:03):
Old me.
Breast implant me couldn't dothat.
She could barely spit out asentence oh, my goodness.
So, ah, this is just proof.
This alone is proof of what animpact it's had on my life.
So, thank you for celebratingwith me and I'm going to wrap up
(24:25):
now.
I'm just really hyped and I'mreally excited, and I'm just so
excited that Empowered Explantis making a difference and I
know it is because I'm seeingthe difference that it's making
and I'm hearing about thedifference that it's making.
And it's three years old nowand it's about to make even more
(24:48):
impact.
Now that I'm full-time in myown endeavors, I'm able to
really pour into empoweredexplant, and that you're here
with us for your own sake andalso for the sake of others,
(25:12):
because you're a breastie,you're an advocate in this space
and your story just you beinghere can help so many others.
So lots of love you all.
Oh my gosh, yay, happy Monday,happy 1111.
I love you.
My heart is pouring out.
(25:33):
I don't even want to get off ofhere right now, because I'm
just so excited and I'm so happyto to be here and to have you
all in my life Um, you light meup All right, that's all Bye.
And to have you all in my life,you light me up, all right,
that's all Bye.
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