Leaderboard

my 2 (or 5) cents about plastics: - first, as mentioned above, there is no absolute timeline in regards to losing (or gaining) weight post wls. i am 7 yrs post op this year. i lost what i wanted to (110 lbs) in 7 months. then had a net loss of another 10 lbs over the next 5 years. THEN i lost ANOTHER 15 lbs in the past year alone. for those keeping track that 25 lbs since calling goal back in 2019. lesson here is that it's not the surgery that dictates your weight, is your lifestyle and genetics. - second, i had plastics 1 year after wls surgery. i would have had it earlier, but my surgeon of choice was booked. from the time i booked plastics to when i eventually had it done i was 15-ish lbs lighter. so there was no "stable weight for six months" requirement for me. - third, my plastics removed a total of 400g off my body weight (it was basically just skin and little to no fat), so depending on what your body composition is like before plastics, it may not make a difference on the scale afterwards. - fourth, i weighed about 115 lbs at plastics time, and today i weigh about 100 lbs (dont be alarmed, i'm like 5'2" tall, probably shorter as i'm shrinking in my old age, lol, i also eat lots and admittedly, badly, but i exercise like a crazy person, so it all evens out, ha) my plastics results did not suffer in any way, in my opinion. if anything, the places where i DIDNT get plastics look so much worse at my lighter weight (i'm looking at you inner thighs and butt). my arms (lift), boobs (lift) and stomach (tummy tuck), where i did get plastics, still look fabulous. - fifth. for me, i didn't get plastics for anyone else, or to impress them, or to snag a husband/wife. i still never really understand why others think i do all my shopping and dressing and med-spa-ing for THEM. i do it cuz *i* want to. i want to look in the mirror and think, daammmmmnnnn. my confidence was re-instated after the weight loss (i can do anything! AND i look hawt!) , with the plastics and the exercise, my confidence level is thru the roof (i can do anything! AND i look SUPER hawt!). aint nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel great. i mean, who WANTS to NOT like how they look or not like how they feel about themselves?? and if liking how you look/feel means you get rid of some extra skin, or pump up your boobs, or lift your ass, so be it. you wont find any judgment here. be awesome. good luck! ❤️

A couple small wins yesterday. Small, but I take note of them and small wins encourage the behaviors that lead to bigger wins, right ? So...this 'un is a two parter. Several months ago, a few weeks before I had taken action to burn off the regains and dig my way back.... I was goofing around on the web... looking through a certain company's website. They make gear that is hobby related. I happened to notice that they also had some logo T-shirts that looked cool. So I ordered two....but ordered them for two sizes smaller than I was wearing then. They arrived and were stashed away with some other clothing, all smaller sizes, that I'd been ordering. The stash had made it's way upstairs to be put away. Soon afterwards... I started putting in the work....burning off the regain and get in better overall health. Kitchen discipline being the first step. Fast forward to yesterday.....laundry day at the hacienda. Grabbed a shower and started getting dressed so I could go knock out some errands. Almost dressed but remembered my normal day off work stuff was on the drying rack. Damn. I spied the stack of smaller sized stuff still in shopping bags....sitting there. Hmmm. Screw it...let's find out, dude...either it'll fit or it won't. Grabbed one of the new cool guy t-shirts and some new flat fronted cargo pants. Cut off tags & peeled off stickers and began to.....WTH !!! This shyt if fitting. Bamsucka. Got dressed and strutted around the room like a bantam rooster....chest poked out....big grin. Small Win Numba One Achieved. While running errands I wheeled into a parking space in front of one of the local gyms I'd been considering. Took my bantam rooster arse up in there and looked around. It was clean, plenty of open treadmills and recumbent bikes...just what I need for pre-habbing my knees. Gonna build up the muscle tissue before getting those suckers replaced over the next couple years. I joined. Small Win Numba Two Achieved. I plan on never having to eat an elephant (although I used to look like I could)......but....but if I did....I'd eat that thang one bite at a time. Thankfully getting healthy may prove to be easier than elephant eating. 🤣

💪Huge congrats on your results. Looks like you'll be in the driver's seat and have the options available within your desired timeline I'm ignorant to the intricacies of the skin surgery but do have experience with your other question...in getting below the "obese" BMI labeling. It was a major rush...almost surreal. It was especially noted when I would go shopping for clothes. Being 6'4" and obese my normal stores were simply big & tall stores. Upon hitting closer to the normal height-weight range my options opened up exponentially. Felt pretty damn good to roll outa a dressing room and hand stuff back because it was too large. Too Large...wow. Life was a pile of fun living at that weight. A family health crisis occurred and it completely changed every aspect of life as I knew it. My health was such a distant concern as to have been off the radar for a few years. Getting back on the road towards normal height-weight range has been like riding a bike. All the tools, principles and prior methods are familiar and fairly easy to resume. The hardest part was getting my head wrapped around it. One thing I had to get firmly set in my mind was this: It is not selfish to focus on your own health, it is selfish not to. That is now hardwired in my noggin. . Keep on hitting those home runs. Winning always feels GREAT . 👍

My win for the week is that I’m finally getting back to the fitness level I was at before my 7-week break. I’m almost lifting as heavy as I was, my endurance is better, and overall I’m feeling really good about my progress. I’m trying not to focus too much on the number on the scale (still being mindful) but paying more attention to how my clothes fit, how I look, and how I feel health-wise.

I actually got below my goal weight around 7–8 months post-op—down to about 161–163 lbs—and stayed there until I got my boobs done (lol). I had the surgery just before hitting my 1-year post-op mark, and honestly, I wouldn’t change that decision for anything. I know people often say to wait until your weight stabilizes, but my plastic surgeon only required that I’d maintained my weight for at least 6 months, which I had at that point. Right now, I’m sitting on the higher end of my weight, around 170–173 lbs, but I’m also lifting a lot more, so some of that is definitely muscle (and the implants, of course). I still fit into size 4 pants and S-M tops, so I’m trying not to stress about that number. (Easier said than done) I work out consistently, with a mix of heavy lifting and cardio. Eventually, I’d love to get a 360 body lift, but one thing at a time, plastics are pricey! Even if I could afford it right now, I’d still want to wait at least another year. I had to take seven weeks off lifting weight after my surgery, so I’m focused on rebuilding and seeing how much I can tighten up on my own before committing to the next step. You're doing amazing! keep it up!

I don't have experience with that personally, but I'd suggest talking to your dietitian about it. Coming up with meal plans for diverse patients is literally a big part of what they do. As I think through possible issues, a couple of things come to mind that you should discuss with them: What can you eat to meet your nutritional needs that don't require a lot of meal prep? Obviously there are protein shakes and meal replacement shakes, but as much as possible, it would be good to eat more real food. Are your caloric or macronutrient needs different due to the long work hours? The kind of work you do will probably dictate this to a large extent, as a physically demanding job like construction would be really different than what you'd need to power through long hours in front of a computer where mental acuity is important. Best of luck.

I have aetna, getting plastics is not in my policy. I'm also not ready for skin removal but, wow, if they pay you must have an expensive plan. I don't with Aetna, and getting the surgery was hard enough.

First of all, great job so far. You're doing fantastic! My understanding is the same as @catwoman7 regarding insurance companies. They typically don't want to pay for anything they don't absolutely have to and that definitely includes anything they consider purely cosmetic. Aetna may be different, but I doubt it. Up front, I wanted to mention that not everyone actually even needs plastic surgery. The younger you are and the less weight you had to lose, the more likely it is that eventually your body will adjust to the weight loss. Yes, it can take a few years, but you may find in the long run you're better off not going down that route. I also wanted to comment on your timeline. I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding that we somehow stop losing at 1 year, 2 years, or some other defined date. That's rarely true, so I would suggest not thinking that your weight will stabilize at 12 months. You may get to 12 months and decide you'd like to go lower. Heck, I'm 2.5 years out and still losing (albeit really slowly). I'd suggest waiting until you you feel like you want to start maintaining, rather than just going by an arbitrary date. If your weight stays stable for a while (I personally would go longer than 6 months, but that's me), then looking to plastics may be appropriate. I mention this because I think it would be awful to have plastic surgery, especially if self-pay, then lose even more weight and still end up with sagging skin that you dislike.

Great job, keep up the good work you are doing for you!!!

6 week update: Down to 252. So officially 10 pounds down. I feel good. Clothing is fitting better. Snacking habit broken. More energy from eating better foods.