JerseyCityGal

I can sort of see their point, because where does it end? Everyone who has a baby will want a Tummy Tuck, etc.
I have United HealthCare/Oxford and have to do self-pay for all my skin removal. I really wish it was covered by insurance. UHC does not cover it under any circumstances. They don't care if your belly is dragging on the ground.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

Solaray Cal-Mag Citrate with Vitamin D 2:1 Ratio - 180 vegetarian capsules (1,000 mg calcium citrate 400IU Vitamin D) is $10.49 at allstarhealth.com, $11.33 at VitaminShoppe.com, and really cheap at Whole foods - which is where I buy it. I don't remember the exact price, just that I thought "Hey, that's not bad at all for 180 capsules".

Solaray Cal-Mag Citrate with Vitamin D 2:1 Ratio - 180 vegetarian capsules (1,000 mg calcium citrate 400IU Vitamin D) is $10.49 at allstarhealth.com, $11.33 at VitaminShoppe.com, and really cheap at Whole foods - which is where I buy it. I don't remember the exact price, just that I thought "Hey, that's not bad at all for 180 capsules".

I don't use bariatric vitamins for the same reason ... but I take a stack of vitamins twice a day, every single day. I load up my AM and PM Vitamin cases once a week.

Received this article from my surgeon and wanted to share it. I definitely need to work on drinking more Water.
http://www.bariatriceating.com/2015/03/02/top-10-bariatric-post-op-mistakes/

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

Same here.
I thought I would feel something magical but everything felt the same.
My full signal is a hiccup.

If the only thing you have or ever will love in life is "fast food", then yeah, you made the wrong choice. Is eating all you ever did? You can still eat all day long, all day, every day and get back up to your pre-surgery weight in no time at all. That way you won't have to keep telling people that your small portions won't be "forever", although I can't imagine why they would care. Eat those "normal" portions that got you up to 269 lbs! It will take you longer to consume, but you can do it!
Or you could start exercising, read a couple of good books on nutrition, take a healthy cooking class, make plans for the future, get rid of things in your life that aren't working, search the internet for recipes that fit in your surgeon's meal plan, find a new hobby to keep yourself busy, join a gym, take a walk....
Or think about life at a McDonald's with a kid's meal and pout.
Your choice.

I haven't felt any differently with my stomach. Up until I first felt restriction, I questioned if the surgeon even did anything. My stomach area feels the same, so I'm not sure what you mean. Maybe you are hyper aware of your new tummy because of knowing what the surgeon did? Which isn't at all unusual. I've had surgeries for athletic injuries and it takes awhile to get used to the fixed area again.

I was a 6 petite before my lower body lift, and am now a zero. I am petite at 5'2" and small framed. I was 121 on the day of my lower body lift and he took 7 lbs of skin off and I range between 110 and 112 now 4 months later.

I should mention the skin (and attached fat) is on my stomach and side(s) from under my chest all the way down to my groin - if that makes a difference.

Oh, I look at sites every night, lol.
I'm 54, almost 55. Nothing is snapping back, lol. Trust me. I pull it out and it just lays there like a dead cat in the road for the next 6 months.
I was looking for people who actually had it done; some before they lost all the weight, some after, for their personal opinions. If they had it done before, did it still hold up after all the weight came off, etc? Do they wish they waited, etc? Or did they wait and wish they had done it earlier?
Been there, done that and glad you did OR wish you hadn't opinions are very valuable. Nothing is better than the words of someone who has been there before you.
I work out with a personal trainer 3 times a week and on my own the rest of the week. Because I was shaped like a top before, my middle is disproportionate skin-wise. That and my arms.
I was in the bathroom at work when I took that pic so I couldn't strip down bare ass and get a real good photo, lol.

Me too!
The first time I saw myself in a mirror on all fours with my skin hanging I just about died. I looked like I was ready to whelp a litter, lol.

maybe it's a houston & louisiana thing.... one of my mentors, had surgery at the university of Louisiana and they took her skin to the LSU burn center .... this was 8 years ago, maybe things have changed
Not sure

I carried weight in my midsection too and chances of it "snapping back" are slim to none! I do consider myself one of the "lucky ones" as my skin could look much worse! It's snapped back everywhere except my gut. Standing upright, outside of a few wrinkles, I actually look pretty decent. But I can grab handfuls and handfuls of skin starting right under my breastbone all the way down to my waist. It becomes the most obvious if I'm down on all fours. It just.... Hangs. Sigh. It's an expensive surgery. $10,000 where I live. I only want to do it once. If I was experiencing any kind of discomfort, I may consider it early. At this point it's more of a vanity issue. I wear a size 8 jeans but I typically elect to wear my looser 10's because I don't have to worry as much about tucking in the muffin top skin of fat! Regardless, from the reviews I've read on real self, the more belly fat I can lose, the more the excess skin I have can be stretched down and removed. That's what is keeping me focused. Good luck. I think you need to make a decision that feels right for you and go for it!

Most... PS want a person to wait till they have been in are around the same weight for at least 6-12 months before they will do TT... but hey... not everyone's the same.
If the consults are free... what's the harm..
You have to do what you feel is right. It's a huge decision.... "weight"... hehe... the Pros and cons.

I lose weight every week. Some weeks more than others. This week was only 1/2 lb.
I'm a gym rat and love exercise. I wasn't always obese and know I can make it to my goal. I hit my surgeons goal for me months ago.

Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas. My experience with her was excellent, but my surgery was 3.5 years ago. I know she is working out of a new clinic and the recovery house has been moved to a new house (believe it's still operated by the same people). If you are considering plastics, you should definitely research her and see if you can find recent reviews about the new facilities.

It's hard for me to get a good idea of what were talking about with just the picture you posted. Lol. Hold on, let me take off my "fake" plastic surgeon's hat now and put on my "fellow Barriatric gal obsessed with her gut" hat. I would suggest going on the real self website and look at pictures of people who have body types similar to you. That is what helped me realize that I want to be as close to goal before I even consider getting a Tummy Tuck. There are people on there who are candidates for a tuck (and get it done) but I look at their after pictures and know I wouldn't be happy with the results. If I still have flab to grab, then I still know I have fat to lose in my gut. I'm 11 months out and I've been amazed how my skin transforms every month. I will lose weight and there's times my belly/thighs look horrific. Then awhile later the skin snaps back. I read somewhere every-time you have a loss, it takes your skin anywhere from 2-3 months to adjust. At 5'7" I'm currently 153. I'd like to get to 140- 145 (or whenever my belly fat is almost gone) and maintain for awhile and consider surgery summer 2016. I had two very large babies and for me, the tummy tuck would repair the torn abdominal muscles (goodbye mommy pouch) and remove the Freddy Krueger stretch marks I have on my lower abdomen below my belly button. I can't even blame this damage on being overweight as I was fit before I had kids! Don't get me wrong, there is excess skin to loose, but I actually get excited as the "fat" disappears and the skin is left because I know if I keep doing this, the surgeon will be able to remove MORE skin at surgery time and the better the results. This encourages me to keep truckin along.....