juliegeraci

You look great woman!

Hi Jachut, I am fine being overweight on the BMI scale. I have struggled to maintain 165 before and am perfect fine with a 14/16 frame at 5'8". More power to you! My surgeon is fine with my goal weight too. Julie

Amy, how are you doing? I have my surgery scheduled for 2 weeks from today. I am a bit nervous. I bought a size 16 tankini yesterday that is totally cute. I might be as low as a size 14 with my thigh lift but for today I am fine with a size 16. Julie

Karey, I need an update. How are you doing? How are the walks coming along? My surgery is 2 weeks away. I'm excited but nervous putting on too many lbs. I had an unfilll the other day and my calories are definitley up. Any words of encouragement?

Just to compare my PS was $11,500 for extended tummy tuck. $10k for breast augmentation and lift and $86000 for thigh lift. Very important that you shop around. Good luck.

You order it at the sushi restraunt. I order Maguro (tuna) and Hamachi (yellow tail). Its raw fish. Very high in protein and soft for the band. I typically order it with a side of rice. So when I take a bite of it with the rice it is just like sushi but goes down easier. That is how I eat at Japanese restraunts.

I do much better on sashimi.

The best advice I can tell you is to verify with your insurance company. My fills cost me $3500 over the last 18 months and just recently they were covered because my surgeon's office pushed for a gap exception since there were no in network providers.

You have to be realistic when it comes to the lapband. 1-2 lbs a week is the norm. That being said if you keep your calories low and exercise you can lose more quickly. Good luck in your journey.

Tonya, I am currently a size 16/18 at 5'8". While most say 165 is a good weight me and my surgeon agreed that size 14/16 would be good for me. I may be 200 lbs and not the standard 165 to get there. He agreed to write me a note to Weight Watchers so I could become a lifetime member. Its all about size as far as I'm concerned. Julie

Funny, I'm 5'8 and not even 5'10 like her and I weigh almost 200 lbs and in a size 16. My goal is a size 14 which my doctor supports. I am still overweight and on the obese side but I look fabulous. I would kill to be a US size 12. More power to her.

Definitely Dress Barn for Woman. They always have a nice selection. Good luck.

Where do you live?

How much fat did they remove from your abdomen?

Hi Kat! Any luck on your surgery date yet? I bought a tankini. So it is like a bikini but covers your stomach. You should check them out. They are really flattering. Can't wait to get the bikini though. Julie

Hi there. I am having an inner thigh lift with out lipo. I don't have too much hanging skin so he isn't having to make the incision down the entire thigh to the knee. Instead he is doing the lipo and bring the skin up and suturing it up into my upper thigh. He has to cut me 1/2 way around my thigh to do it that way. JulieNYC has her thighs lifted and had the incision down the inner thigh. He said that it doesn't look too bad 6 months out. Julie

Thanks everyone for the post. I bought a bathing suit in a size 16 this weekend. Its snug in all the right places that will be taken care of with my surgery. He does carry bikinis in size 14 and 16 so after I mend I am going to go back and have him hook me up with a bikini for my trip to Hawaii in June. I can't wait! Julie

You look awesome. I am having my TT on 4/21 and our preop pics look similar. Julie

Thanks everyone! Molly, my estimate was $11,500 for the extended tummy tuck with lipo and $8,600 for the thigh lift. $20,100 total. I'm in CA and from what I understand others have gotten the same thing for a lot less $13k in other states. Julie

Hi Steph, Attached are my before and after pictures. I was either 285 or 320 in the before pictures. The 2nd picture is a size 18. I am now down another 15-20 lbs from that and in a size 16. I don't have any tummy pics yet but I plan on doing that. I've lost 74 lbs since being banded and I'm down 108 from my high. Julie

I really like Suzanne's idea. I would sit at your desk drinking your shake and reading LBT for a few more weeks. Once you are mushies you should be okay to rejoin them. Good luck.

I am 25 lbs from goal and going in for an extended tummy tuck and thigh lift 4/21.

My surgeon is general as well and works a few days a month to remove appendix and things like that. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I take it you are banded? If so just surround yourself with supportive people. Do you have a doctor's support group you can attend?

There are many good doctors that support WLS. Good luck finding one.