WishMeSmaller

Maintenance…???‍♀️ I reached goal about 4 months ago. I have continued to lose since then. I have been trying to stop/slow weight loss for over two months now, but my body does not want to stop. I am very fortunate that my pain was minimal and manageable. I walked 3 miles over the course of a day about 3 days post-op. I was very uncomfortable due to sitting on the loose skin on my butt prior to surgery. So glad it is gone. The rest was cosmetic only. ?

So I had plastic surgery 3 weeks ago tomorrow. My surgery included belt lipectomy/360 tummy tuck, and breast lift with augmentation. Recovery has been tougher than I expected due to fatigue. I went back to work (RN in a large clinic) last Monday. The fatigue was unreal. On Tuesday, one of the doctors I work with decided I should be checked for anemia. I popped over to our lab and had a quick blood draw. I had finished lunch about 45 prior to getting the blood drawn. The next day when I received my lab results, I was surprised to see my blood glucose was 59. ? I do not dump, so I have been eating more simple carbs and sugars to try to keep from losing more weight. I had been eating some candy on Tuesday prior to lunch. Apparently, I have reactive hypoglycemia. No more simple carbs and sugars for me, except small amounts with meals. The bummer part of this, (aside from feeling extra crappy with low blood sugars), is that I am really anxious about not losing any more weight and don’t know how I am going to keep the weight on without the extra calories. I guess I need to increase healthy fats to make sure I keep my calories up. With that said, I have lost about 3 pounds since my plastic surgery. I never thought I would be stressed about losing weight. ??‍♀️ I have an appointment with my surgeon’s office in a week and I am looking forward to discussing this with them. My labs also show some iron deficient anemia. I was not iron deficient nor anemic prior to plastics, so this is directly related to blood loss in surgery, and fairly simple to correct with diet and iron supplements (I don’t normally take any iron supplements). Over all, I am doing very well post-plastics. My pain has really been minimal since about day 3 post-plastics. I have had a bit of trouble with my incisions separating (dehiscence) in a few small spots. My husband is a wound nurse, so we have been managing the wound care with pretty good results. I am thrilled to have breasts again after going from a 40 DD to a 34 A. ??? Anyhow, here are bikini pics to show off my post-plastics body…swelling included. ?

My pale skin means sun screen and sun avoidance. I have had chronically low D for 10+ years and taken the 50,000 IU twice a week periodically. I now maintain with daily 2000 IU. If OP is taking 10,000 IU daily and still running low, it would suggest some absorption issue. Definitely worth a talk with the doc as D is super important for immune health.

I live in northern Nevada. We are considered high desert, so cold in the winter and hot in the summer. With that said, we have had snow on the Fourth of July. Right now, it is hot though. And yes, brilliant me in a faja ?? @ms.sss welcome back! ? I will post more swimsuit pics one of these days. Promise! Jealous of your run ?‍♀️ ?

Thank you, @Arabesque! ? We pulled the drain out a couple of days later. I am now 16 days post op, and I go back to work today. Hopefully not going to be too much of a mess with fatigue. I am so swollen and still fatigued with some discomfort. It is going to be 100 degrees F here this week. Super fun with compression garments 24/7. Did I really choose to do this? ??

Thanks! ? I was 10 days post-op in this photo. Recovery has been more challenging than I expected. The fatigue has really been getting me down. I am missing my normal energy levels so much. ?

Trying on a bikini post-plastic surgery. The swelling is unreal (and I still had a drain ?), but I am hopeful my final results will be what I wanted. ??

I like Rao’s marinara. Kind of expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

I’d pay $6 for that ??

I am doing well, thank you! Per the docs and nurses in Mexico I was the best plastics patient they ever had. ? I walked independently, multiple times a day starting the day after surgery and getting up to 3 miles total, per day, by day 4 post-op. Recovery has been both easier and harder than I expected. My pain has been pretty low and my boobs have hurt worse than the 360 tummy tuck ?‍♀️ The fatigue is making me crazy, as is the insane amount of swelling. I have been struggling to get some more fajas. The one from the hospital is too tight with my swelling, and is too small at the top around my rib cage...yay for inverted triangle shapes??‍♀️? I have ordered other ones and they fit worse than the one I have. I currently have 6 more on order with hopes I will find something that works. I had two drains, one on the front of my abdomen and one at lower back. Yesterday Husband and I removed the one at the back. It was leaking out around the drain and causing skin issues at the drain site. I cannot wait to get the other one out! Since my one ill fitting faja is in the wash I took some pics to share. Excuse my drain and understand, for those of you who have not had plastic surgery before, I am incredibly swollen. My natural waist is a full two inches bigger than my pre-surgery measurements and my lower abdomen is about 3-4 inches bigger than pre-surgery. Overall, I am loving my results and can’t wait to see what everything looks like in a few weeks and then a few months. ?

So many times I did this, except I would vomit food and sometimes it would take hours to get it all out. I would eat too much and/or too fast. Thankfully, the tummy is much more forgiving at 11 months post-op, as I am clearly a slow learner. ? Eggs are still one of those things I have to be very careful with. I can only eat one at time (or two over an hour), and I have to take it slow or risk a belly ache. Hopefully you learn more quickly than I did! ?

Might be “spotting” due to hormonal shifts post-op. Check in with your PCP.

Not super weird, but totally made my day. A very attractive male stranger commented that I was “ripped” and asked if I do CrossFit. ?? FYI, I do not CrossFit, but I do a variety of exercise frequently.

That is similar to what I started doing around 2 months post-op. Idk that it helped with loose skin, but it definitely seemed to help with weight loss. Also, I look toned and fit. I actually had a stranger on a plane the other day say I was “ripped” and asked if I do cross fit. The stranger also happened to be a very attractive man in my age group. Lol! Best NSV yet! ?

Not super tall, but reached my personal goal weight at about 7.5 months. Will be 11 months post-surgery tomorrow and weight is pretty stable 18 pounds below my goal weight. 100% agree with @catwoman7 though. Everyone is different. Follow your plan and you will lose weight. Good luck!

I occasionally have what I call a “hungry day.” I eat all day on those days. Typically they happen a day or two after a big exercise day, but they very well may be related to hormonal shifts. I have had a partial hysterectomy (no uterus, kept ovaries), so I have no idea where I am at in my “cycle” at any time. As long as this is just happening infrequently to you, and you don’t get sick/have pain from overeating, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Sometimes our bodies just need extra. I still lost all my excess weight. I would be concerned unless it becomes a regular/frequent occurrence. ?

Absolutely spectacular results! So much congratulations! ?

Look up functional strength training videos on YouTube. There will be some exercises you can’t do yet, but they are great for ideas. ?

Keep pushing. Every. Single. Day. You clearly need urgent help and it makes me very sad you are not getting help quickly. A feeding tube (J-tube) might be needed to get you some nutrition and I am truly surprised no one seems to have discussed this with you. If you are not getting help, keep going to the ER. Follow up with the bariatric specialist, but you might need a GI specialist for the feeding tube. They are temporary and “easy” to put in/take out. Hope you feel better soon! ?

I had my plastic surgery on May 29 in Mexico. The first couple of days were pretty rough, but this morning I moved to a hotel. Feeling very good today considering my surgery was so recent. Walking lots. I did not end up having and lipo or fat transfer to buttocks as there really wasn’t enough fat available to make it worthwhile. I will post some pics when I get home in a couple of days. ?

You might be allergic to the surgical glue they used. Cortisone cream will help, and oral Benadryl at night is good too. I am very allergic to chlorhexidine, which is the typical cleanser they use to clean your skin in the operating room. I had a bad rash from groin to neck that lasted for almost a month after my bypass surgery. It was extremely itchy and miserable. I now have it listed as an allergy, but my vascular surgeon used it on my leg for a procedure at the beginning of this month. The rash is finally just gone. I am having plastic surgery tomorrow and will remind them repeatedly to not use chlorhexidine. Talk to your surgeon to find out what they used so it does not get used on you again.

Love all of your outfits! That sun dress was perfection on you and this is adorable!

Low potassium can cause heart arrhythmias, so that might have been your main problem. Kind of puzzling about your low potassium though. Glad you are out and on the mend! ?

Sounds like you need more protein (at least 60 g per day) and more water/liquid (at least 64 oz per day). If you can, talk to your nutritionist to come up with good parameters that are personalized to suit you. Also, 22 pounds is pretty good weight loss so far, so do not stress too much about that. Focus on nutrition and following your surgeon’s plan/guidelines. Good luck! ?

My absolute favorite during puréed was retried beans with cheese melted on top. After that, probably ricotta bake. There are quite a few recipes online for it, if you google ricotta bake.