I have done everything right. And I mean everything.
Marine collagen every morning — the expensive kind, grass-fed, third-party tested. Vitamin C alongside it because that's what actually makes it absorb. Bone broth three times a week. High protein every single day because my GLP-1 prescriber told me to, and I follow instructions. I track. I research. I build protocols and I stick to them.
I lost 58 pounds over nine months. My doctor called me a success story at my last appointment. My bloodwork was better than it had been in a decade.
And yet. I was standing in front of the mirror one evening about six months in, lifting my shirt, staring at the same loose wrinkled skin I'd been staring at since I first hit goal weight. The same fold over my waistband. The same crinkled texture when I sat down. The same stomach that looked like it hadn't heard a single word of what I'd been doing.
My nails had never looked better in my life. My hair was thicker than it had been in years. My face was genuinely more lifted. The collagen was clearly working. Just not there.
I remember thinking — I am the most disciplined person I know. I have done every single thing correctly. Why does my stomach still look like this?
I'm a person who reads the research. I don't buy things without understanding why they work. I had built what I thought was a comprehensive protocol. I was doing everything the forums said. Everything the nutritionists said. Everything my prescriber said.
And my belly skin was doing absolutely nothing.