Lexi Reed is embracing her body this summer, loose skin and all.
The weight loss influencer, 29, shared a photo on Instagram of herself in a bathing suit, which she says is a personal “non-scale victory" — meaning a weight loss milestone that doesn't have to do with the numbers on the scale.
“#NSV of not being embarrassed in a bathing suit and rocking my loose skin on my legs even if it's one of my biggest insecurities,” she posted on Monday.
Reed started her weight loss journey in 2016 and has dropped over 300 lbs. through diet and exercise. Prior to her weight loss, Reed wrote Monday, she would avoid swimming and wearing bathing suits.
“I never felt comfortable in a suit and always hated swim class or skipped any type of pool party,” she said, adding that now, she’s “happy to not miss out on my life.”
“Loose skin or not, I'm just happy to not be covered in clothes or stuck inside my home during the summer as I previously hated always being sweaty in front of people due to my size.”
Reed said she wore the bathing suit to get in some exercise outside of the gym and do “some laps in the pool” with her husband Danny. The couple lost weight together, dropping a combined 395 lbs., and told PEOPLE in 2018 that they pushed each other through the process.
“We had a buddy system, so every step of the way, every pound, we were there to motivate each other," she said. "We kept each other accountable.”
Reed underwent skin removal surgery later that year to remove 7 lbs. of loose skin from her stomach, and plans to have more removed in the future. But she emphasized on Monday that her loose skin isn’t going to keep her from enjoying life right now.
“Loose skin is just skin and not an excuse to not love the body you're in,” she said. “Celebrate your victories and speak kindly to yourself because you're always listening!”
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