KristieAtkinson

I'm not going to be all self righteous & tell you my mother died of lung cancer when I was barely 18, nor that I had sleeve surgery so that my weight wouldn't be what took me from my children. I will tell you that cigarettes can cause ulcers & healing problems. My friend had WLS & because of her excessive smoking, her stomach developed a leak & her stomach basically exploded. She is lucky she survived. I hope the best for all of you. We all struggle with our addictions. If you cannot quit, I recommend the VaporStix cigarette, I have no less than 30 friends & Family members who have quit using it.

It's delicious! You should try it! 1 small avocado , 1/2 cup cottage cheese & 4 T of Dijon mustard. Whirl it in your blender.

The one I like the best is the Flexees by Maideform Wear Your Own Bra Romper. I have a huge flabby apron & this holds that up & in while not rolling down because of the shoulder straps. It fastens at the crotch like a onesie (I can't do pee holes!!). I have tried the shorts, the panties, the Spanx & the high waisted pantyhose & they all rolled down or did not hold everything in. I bought mine from Kohls, you can usually get 20% off & catch them on sale. A couple weeks ago they were $37 instead of $57 & worth every penny!! I wear mine 24/7, I have 4, 2 in the black $ 2 in flesh colored. I wore a 2x from 260 down to 210, they were out of XL so I tried on a large & it fit! (I'm 5'7). Now at 193, i can wear either my larges or my mediums. Hope this helps, Kristie

That sounds great! I've been thinking about trying it with pizza sauce & toppings.

That's great! I like the onion ones with French onion laughing cow cheese. The strawberry & cinnamon ones are good too. I've never had the honey wheat.

And the rest of y'all need to put some spandex on or grab a bikini & rock those new bodies!! You deserve to feel sexy in PUBLIC!

That's super cute on you!!

Lol! You are so silly! I bet you look fab!

Just wanted to post a bathing suit suggestion for all of us that are battling loose skin. The Miracle Suit is very flattering, has lots of choices & a massive amount of spandex (it's seriously like a girdle!). I bought one last year at a yard sale for $1 in a 14 hoping to wear it this summer, I've been wearing it to the Y since November., so I need a new one for the summer. I found Miracle Suits at Marshall's for $35, retail price is $110-$150. I also spotted Spanx Assets bathing suits at Target, & they seriously got the spandex going on! Many of them have underwire bras to help support the girls as well! Attaching a picture of my $1 yard sale special! (Not me in the picture! Lol) Kristie

Thank you! I am loving that I can wear heels now, before I wore old lady shoes!! I'm still about 40 pounds from goal, but still hoping to get there!

Before & current. And anyone that thinks you don't need the surgery, ignore! If I could have gotten it when I was 70 pounds overweight, I would have (my insurance wouldn't cover it!) and then I would never have gained, lost, gained, lost until I got to 358 pounds (at 5'7!). You are going to look fab, be healthier & probably not need skin removal like those of us with higher bmi's!

The lower body lift was not going to get the excess skin on my upper & middle part of my stomach. Believe me,I asked my surgeon as well. He also feels that even though the incisions are larger, this is a less invasive surgery, that's why only one drain. Because I started so big I have a large amount of skin on my belly.

I'm down 144 pounds & my sex drive has increased dramatically! I would have sex 2-3 times a day! And my fiancé is more than happy to oblige. I am more comfortable naked & will try more positions & don't get out of breath when in doing the work! And I'm so much more flexible than I was before.

Lol. Don't forget Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton totally look like plastic.

To give you an idea, I'm between 5'7 & 5'8, I'm at 195 pounds. (Im attaching oictures as it always helps me to see what someone means) I started at 338 (highest was 358!). I'm 11 months post op, I lost 50 of that pre surgery. My doctor has not set a goal for me. I've lost 80% of my excess weight. I originally wanted to be 145, then I found out my friend who is similar height & looks crackhead skinny, is 145. I changed my goal to 160. I sent from a size 30/32 to a size 12 & size md/lg. my plastic surgeon estimates that after my corset trunkplasty I will be an 8 (or even a 6!). He will be taking 15-18pounds of skin & fat off my stomach. I've been bouncing between 195 & 204 for going on 4 months. I don't know if I will make it to 160. It makes me sad but I think you need to own your goal & what you think is attainable! I think you will know when you get there, your body will tell you! When you feel healthy & happy, you will know you are there. Just make sure that you get to a point that if you put on 5-10 pounds later that you will still be content, cause that can happen.

Great job!! I was sleeved May 18 2012! Hey there sleeve buddy.

I say have the baby first. If you thought you were going to have a natural childbirth, I'd be on the fence. However, I've had 2 c sections myself. The first one was bad on my stomach, the second was devastation. I love my children very much. I would live with this flappy apron forever before I'd give either up. I'm now scheduled for a corset trunkplasty to remove my excess stomach skin. I tell people, my sleeve surgery was my fault, the skin removal is on my kids. Lol. Best of luck to you on the new baby & the skin removal!