UPS & DOWNS

Woman Gets Life-Changing Surgery for Common GLP-1 Side Effect

Diane went from 264 to 135 pounds, giving her a new lease on life. But the change came with another problem.

Weight-loss transformations from positive lifestyle changes can dramatically improve a person’s day-to-day experience. But dropping pounds can also create difficulties when you look in the mirror.

After Diane, a New Jersey-based 62-year-old who works in education, lost over 100 pounds, she felt better in myriad ways. Still, she worried that the sudden slimdown made her look 10 years older.

“About eight years ago, I got very, very sick,” Diane told The Looker. “I lost the vision in my left eye from it. And I went into this, like, depression and pity party, and ate my way up to 264 pounds.”

After realizing her situation was “bad” and telling herself to “wake up,” Diane began her weight loss journey with exercise and diet changes.

After a year, she started GLP-1 drug Wegovy, and later switched to Mounjaro.

Soon, she had lost over 120 pounds. But she was left with a different kind of problem.

“I’m down to 135 pounds, and I love it,” she recalled thinking. “But I was aging very fast, too, as the weight started coming off. So I had this hang-up, like, ‘OK, I’m getting healthier, but I’m looking older.’”

“There’s no question that any weight loss accelerates aging,” board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Berlet told The Looker.

One feature that ages a face and is common after GLP-1 weight loss is hollowing, especially around the temples.

Often, patients who visit Dr. Berlet cannot point to exactly what makes their appearance look older. They just know that something has changed.

Dr. Berlet explained that youthful appearance is often associated with softer, fuller temples, and hollowing in that area ages a person’s appearance.

In 2025, Diane visited Dr. Berlet for the first time to address her sagging skin, a common side effect of rapid weight loss.

The two decided on a comprehensive body transformation that included lifting the skin on her arms, hips, thighs, and buttocks.

Diane also wanted to address her face, the area she felt had changed the most.

So, in September, Diane underwent a comprehensive facial procedure that involved a facelift, a neck lift, a lip lift, and lifting her upper and lower eyelids.

Diane loved the initial results, but once her facelift settled in and the puffiness was gone, she felt her face still looked hollow. That is why Dr. Berlet had also planned for her to undergo fat grafting.

“I usually don’t do fat grafting at the same time as a facelift, because I think it limits where you can put the fat,” Dr. Berlet said.

In January 2026, Dr. Berlet suctioned fat out of Diane’s inner thighs, purified it, and injected it around her face to create a fuller, plumper, and more youthful look.

The short procedure, which takes between half an hour and 45 minutes, is something Dr. Berlet often recommends to his clients who have lost a significant amount of weight or are showing signs of aging.

“Nothing like adding volume after any kind of weight loss,” he said.

Diane loved her body transformation: “I’m so happy. I can wear normal clothes this summer instead of hiding in my clothes.”

But her face meant the most to her.

Looking in the mirror first thing in the morning prior to her surgery used to upset her. “I was looking like I was almost 70,” Diane recalled.

Now, she feels “revitalized and refreshed.”

“People I run into, or if they see some pictures on social media, they’re like, ‘Wow, I haven’t seen you in years, and you look fantastic.’ And they say, ‘You haven’t aged,’ or, ‘You could pass for 42,’” Diane said. “And I’m like, ‘Well, that feels great.‘”


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Roosa RahkonenReporter, The Looker

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