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IN this episode of Transformed, Lesley Figueroa, from Massachusetts, is getting a ‘glow up’. The 25-year-old struggled with her weight from a young age and this affected her confidence through to adulthood. After realising she no longer wanted to rely on outside sources for validation, Lesley decided to make a real change for herself and got weight loss surgery. Lesley said: “I realised this is not the life I wanted to live for myself. I didn’t want to have to fake it to make it. I just want to feel it.” Now, since recovering from a health issue after the surgery, Lesley feels confident in her new body. She would like to step away from her ‘plain jane’ style and experiment with her look. Today, she’ll be getting her makeup done professionally for the first time ever and being dressed by a stylist who will be showing her how to elevate her look and make her feel even more confident.
Social Media Links:
Lesley - https://youtube.com/@lesleyslife9797
Hair & Makeup Artist: Emma Downs - https://www.instagram.com/emmanayun/
Stylist: Gilda Miranda - https://www.instagram.com/styledbygilda/
Director/Videographer: Lauren Musgrove
Producers: Kim Nguyen, Emika Berry
Production Assistance: Purple Magnet Productions
Sound Mixer: Mallory McAninch
Editor: Alex Saunders
IN this episode of Transformed, Lesley Figueroa, from Massachusetts, is getting a ‘glow up’. The 25-year-old struggled with her weight from a young age and this affected her confidence through to adulthood. After realising she no longer wanted to rely on outside sources for validation, Lesley decided to make a real change for herself and got weight loss surgery. Lesley said: “I realised this is not the life I wanted to live for myself. I didn’t want to have to fake it to make it. I just want to feel it.” Now, since recovering from a health issue after the surgery, Lesley feels confident in her new body. She would like to step away from her ‘plain jane’ style and experiment with her look. Today, she’ll be getting her makeup done professionally for the first time ever and being dressed by a stylist who will be showing her how to elevate her look and make her feel even more confident.
Social Media Links:
Lesley - https://youtube.com/@lesleyslife9797
Hair & Makeup Artist: Emma Downs - https://www.instagram.com/emmanayun/
Stylist: Gilda Miranda - https://www.instagram.com/styledbygilda/
Director/Videographer: Lauren Musgrove
Producers: Kim Nguyen, Emika Berry
Production Assistance: Purple Magnet Productions
Sound Mixer: Mallory McAninch
Editor: Alex Saunders
Category
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FunTranscript
00:00I felt very uncomfortable with my body.
00:03There was one guy that I was talking to on an offer.
00:06Three years, he told me he didn't want to date a fat girl.
00:10I realized this is not the life
00:12that I want to live for myself.
00:13I didn't want to have to fake it to make it.
00:15I just want to feel it.
00:19After my weight loss surgery,
00:21I'm excited to have fun with my style.
00:23Definitely not plain Jane.
00:24Definitely a glow up for sure.
00:27I hope she feels like a superstar.
00:30Oh my God.
00:40This is when I lived in Rhode Island.
00:42I felt very uncomfortable with my body.
00:44I mean, it's summertime and I'm wearing like ripped jeans,
00:47a flannel and a t-shirt walking around the city,
00:50like sweating like crazy.
00:52I just look so different.
00:53It's a little, it's kind of weird looking back
00:56at how I used to look.
00:58Hi, my name is Leslie Figueroa.
01:00I live in Massachusetts and I am 25 years old.
01:04I think at a very young age,
01:05I started struggling with my weight.
01:07Sometimes I would want to make a change
01:08and then when it was too hard to make a change,
01:10I would just go back to like,
01:11oh, like this is the body that I'm supposed to be in.
01:14After high school,
01:15that's when my mental health started declining.
01:17It was like that transition from like high school
01:19to college.
01:20I hated going on campus just because
01:23I hated the way I looked.
01:24I didn't want to be around like so many people.
01:26So I missed a lot of class during that time.
01:30There was one guy that I was talking to on and off
01:34for three years.
01:36I was always wondering like why he never wanted
01:38to make it serious with me.
01:40So finally one night I asked him
01:42and he told me it was because of my weight.
01:44He didn't want to date a fat girl.
01:47I realized like,
01:47this is not the life that I want to live for myself.
01:50I didn't want to have to fake it to make it.
01:52I just want to feel it.
01:54Sorry.
01:59I just want to feel it.
02:01That night I had the realization
02:03that I didn't want to live that way.
02:05I didn't want to feel validated through other people,
02:08whether that was like relationship or friendships
02:10or anything like that.
02:11And so I decided like,
02:12I wanted to make a change,
02:13like a real change because before I've tried like dieting
02:16and watching what I was eating,
02:17but then it would just be like an ongoing cycle.
02:19So I decided to look into weight loss surgery.
02:24Before the surgery,
02:25I weighed 275 pounds.
02:27And after the surgery,
02:29I now weigh 143 pounds.
02:32Wow.
02:33I remember this day.
02:35Like it was yesterday too.
02:37It was very emotional day.
02:40So after the surgery,
02:42you're on a liquid diet.
02:43So you have to stay very hydrated.
02:46And it was hard for me to keep liquids down.
02:50Like I would always just feel really, really nauseous.
02:52I became extremely dehydrated.
02:55There was one night where I felt really,
02:58really, really sick.
02:59I thought I was like gonna pass out.
03:00So I told my mom.
03:02So she ended up calling the ambulance.
03:04And when they came,
03:06I tried to get up.
03:07I realized I couldn't walk.
03:08So they had to carry me down the stairs.
03:10They brought me to the hospital.
03:12And from there on,
03:13it was like a blur.
03:14I guess I started hallucinating.
03:16From there,
03:17I was sent to the rehabilitation center.
03:19I was there for a month.
03:21After that,
03:23I did outpatient therapy.
03:25I continued with my recovery that way.
03:27Who was around to support you
03:29through this whole process?
03:32My mom.
03:32Well, my family in general.
03:34But I don't think I would be as well as I am now
03:37if it wasn't for her.
03:38It's crazy to see like how far I've come from then to now.
03:42I think it makes me appreciate the weight loss surgery
03:44more than I would have
03:46if I hadn't gone through everything that I went through.
03:49It keeps me motivated to keep off the weight
03:52and do what I have to do,
03:54like, you know,
03:55to make myself feel good,
03:56to make myself the healthiest version of myself.
03:59I would also want people to know
04:01it's definitely a decision that you want to make
04:02for yourself,
04:03not for anybody else,
04:04because it's a huge decision.
04:07And if you make it for someone else,
04:08I just don't think that it'll be successful
04:11in the way that you hope or wanted it to be.
04:14How are you feeling about today?
04:16I'm excited to see what I'm gonna look like.
04:21I think, I think I'm gonna like it a lot.
04:24I think I might get emotional,
04:25but you guys know I'm a very emotional person.
04:28Okay, now it's time for me to go and get my makeover.
04:30So I will see you guys when it's time to reveal it to you.
04:33Yay.
04:34So you can check us out?
04:35Yeah.
04:36I think I'm looking forward to seeing myself
04:39in a way that I've never seen myself.
04:41I thought it would be fun to dress up my new body.
04:45So today we are doing a glam look for Leslie.
04:49So first we want to prep and prime the face.
04:54That smells really good.
04:55You don't really do your makeup on a day-to-day basis?
04:58No, I don't.
04:59If anything, I'll put on like mascara
05:01and like gel from my brow just a little bit.
05:04What are you hoping to get out of today's experience?
05:07I'm hoping that this will inspire me
05:08to get out of my comfort zone
05:10when it comes to makeup and clothing
05:13and experiment a little bit more with my look.
05:18So how does it feel to have someone else do your makeup?
05:21Yeah, it feels really nice.
05:22It's relaxing.
05:23It'll probably be like unrecognizable a little bit.
05:26I want you to feel like you, but like even better.
05:31Okay, I think you're ready to meet the stylist.
05:34Hi.
05:34Hi.
05:35I'm Shilda.
05:36Nice to meet you.
05:37You look amazing.
05:39Your makeup looks great.
05:40Thank you.
05:40So here's everything I have for you.
05:42I know it's a lot of pink.
05:43You look great in actually the color that you're wearing,
05:45but we can mix and match.
05:46We can do jeans.
05:48We can do some camis and we can throw on a layer
05:50or we can just do a simple dress and a great shoe
05:52because your makeup looks amazing on its own.
05:54Okay?
05:55Sounds awesome.
05:56Yay, so let's dive right in.
05:57I can kind of show you and walk you through
05:59what I have here.
06:01Oh, I like this.
06:02This is cute.
06:04It's pretty.
06:05Yeah.
06:06It's pretty.
06:07Very figure flattering.
06:09This is kind of cool too.
06:10Yeah.
06:11Is there anything that's like kind of sticking out to you?
06:14Maybe I want to try on this.
06:15Okay, I'll hold that for you.
06:18This is cute.
06:19Is there anything else you mentioned?
06:20The pink.
06:21Maybe we'll start with this and then end the blazer
06:23and see how you feel.
06:24Okay.
06:25All right, cool.
06:26So I guess we'll go try some things on.
06:27How do you feel like your family is going to react
06:29to this pop of color and this feminine look and these heels?
06:34I think they're going to be shocked
06:35just because they've never seen me in anything
06:37but like dark clothing, pretty plain Jane type of vibe.
06:40Definitely not plain Jane.
06:41Yeah.
06:42Definitely a glow up for sure.
06:44My boyfriend has never seen me glammed up.
06:46I think he's going to love it.
06:47We have been together for a year and a half.
06:50My mom, I think she's going to be shocked.
06:53I think she's going to fall in love
06:55and want me to dress up like that all the time.
06:58All right, perfect.
06:59So your outfit looks amazing
07:00and now it's just time to do your hair.
07:05I think this is it.
07:13You have the full look and you look amazing.
07:18So are you nervous to see yourself in the mirror?
07:20Are you excited?
07:21I'm excited.
07:22I just want to see myself already.
07:24Three, two, one.
07:27Oh my God.
07:31I look so different.
07:32I love the makeup.
07:33I feel like a Barbie doll.
07:35Oh my God.
07:37I look so different, wow.
07:39Yeah, I really like the dress.
07:41I think it's really flattering.
07:42I really like it.
07:43Oh my God.
07:45I really, really, really love the lip.
07:48Wow.
07:49I look so different.
07:51I love it though, wow.
07:54I feel really pretty.
07:55You look really pretty.
07:56Yeah, you look amazing.
07:58I'm surprised I like it as much as I do.
08:00I was a little nervous about it.
08:04I'm not going to lie, but I'm honestly shocked.
08:05I think it came together beautifully.
08:07And yeah, I really, I really, really like it.
08:10I never really wear items that like reveal
08:13like this part of my chest, like my body.
08:15And I like, I like how it looks a lot.
08:17So it's very flattering.
08:20I think she's going to look amazing.
08:22Stunning.
08:23Beautiful as always.
08:24I hope she feels like a superstar.
08:29With, oh my God.
08:33You look so cute.
08:35So different.
08:38Don't cry.
08:44I didn't think you were going to cry.
08:45What's up, Hollywood?
08:46Oh my God.
08:48Yeah, just wow.
08:49Are you surprised?
08:50Just wow.
08:51Were you expecting this, or?
08:53No, I, you didn't know what to expect.
08:55Speechless.
08:56Oh, I'm just speechless.
08:59What do you think?
08:59I think it's beautiful.
09:00I think it's beautiful.
09:01I'm just speechless.
09:03What are you thinking?
09:05Are we going out to eat?
09:06I don't know.
09:09So how do you feel?
09:10I feel really good.
09:11I feel beautiful.
09:13I love how it all came together.
09:14And even though I was a little skeptical at first,
09:17like I trusted the process and then I love it.
09:23I didn't expect for my mom and Stavros to cry.
09:27Their reactions were priceless.
09:29I really, I really like how everything turned out.
09:31So I definitely feel inspired to do something new.
09:34I think from this experience,
09:35I learned that it's okay to get out of my comfort zone.
09:38I think it's good for you to grow as a person
09:40and to discover more things that you like
09:43or you might be into.
09:44And if you don't give it a chance,
09:45you might not ever find that out.