Hi Everyone! Hope everyone is sticking to their pre-op diets and mentally preparing for this amazing change! : )

I start my pre-op diet on Thursday... I am now worrying post-op if I'll have saggy skin, whether ppl will think and wonder if I'm sick and unhealthy. Anyone else with these worries? Has anyone asked their doc when they can begin toning?

Lots of us have these worries. However, you're worried about things that may or may not happen & that you can't control. I'm nearly three years post surgery & I don't have saggy skin. As for other people's perceptions, I've only had one negative reaction & that person is now gone from my life. I go out of my way to tell others I had weight-loss surgery & I've had overwhelmingly positive reactions. Good luck!

I gave it some thought. 1st will go through surgery on 20th, then questions about saggy skin.

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1 hour ago, Old2NewMe said:

worrying if I'll have saggy skin

@Old2NewMe

hey youngun

don't know your weight or age

they are both important factors

to the answer you are looking for

younger you are (20's etc) skin

usually has more elasticity

and skin isn't that much of an

issue - but you'll probably have some

excess skin .. it's hard, but don't worry about

what OP think (easier said than done)

I had breast cancer 18 years ago, so

OP automatically thought i was sick

again luckily they were all wwwwrong!

there's a saying here that says something like

"i'd rather be thin with excess skin,

than be fat"

enjoy pre-op

good luck with WLS

speedy recovery - kathy

14 hours ago, Old2NewMe said:

whether ppl will think and wonder if I'm sick and unhealthy.

Being obese is, by default, sick and unhealthy. Obesity is a chronic disease. Heavyset bodies typically don't look like bastions of healthiness.

It's amazing how peoples' perceptions are distorted by the obesity epidemic. A generation ago, a person who was 100+ pounds overweight would have been the subject of morbid curiosity. Nowadays, normal-weight people with loose skin are the subject of stares.

Loose skin is a hard-earned badge of honor and a sign you're fighting the good fight. Forget about what people think.

Of course, you will have sagging skin. That is a good thing because it means you are in compliance with all the tools you were given and taught to use. By that I mean not only your bariatric surgery but also you are exercising, drinking water, eating the right foods.

Start documenting your saggy skin problems - excoriated skin, yeast infections, trouble moving. Do so in your own diary but discuss it each time you talk with your doctor. I would even go so far as to request that they put that in your chart. By doing this, the insurance company can see that it is hindering a healthy lifestyle and creates discomfort for you. They might just decide to pay for it in part or in whole. Start saving your pennies, nickels and dimes for the surgery.

My research showed that most doctors will not do the skin/fat reduction surgeries until 18 months after the surgery. I am looking forward to mine because I am going to have them tuck, suck, clip, nip and do whatever else can be done to my body so that I can have the body I have always wanted.

Saggy skin comes with the territory. Depending on how long you have been overweight will influence the amount of excess skin that you have. I have excess skin all over and have chosen to not remove it. I'm not interested in painful surgeries/recoveries. Instead I use it as a reminder of where I was and where I never want to return.

As for people thinking I might be unhealthy, this has occurred once. This past winter I was pretty sick and dropped 10 pounds in about a week. I was under loads of stress at work, I was physically sick, not sleeping, and overall in a bad spot. I dropped lower than I ever wanted to go weight wise and it started to show. My face looked bad (sinking cheekbones, sunken eyes, off colored skin), my collar bones protruded more, and I felt weak. It took three weeks to get back to where I felt healthy, and I never want to return to that place. Now if I had been healthy at that time things might have been different, but I never want to go back there. I do however appreciate that I had friends and family who were concerned about it.

On the other hand, there may very well be people who are jealous of your weight loss who comment that you look too thin and unhealthy. Those you have to take with a grain of salt. I have family members (in laws) who gossiped about my weight loss and claimed that I was unhealthy when in fact I was doing great, They just didn't want to see me succeed.

I worry about the skin. It I'm hopeful that with toning it won't be so bad. My surgery is Friday and I follow up in 10 days. Hopefully at
That time he will let me know when I can start working on toning. I think it's really a hit or miss genetically. My sister lost about 120 lbs a few years ago and had a lot of excess skin and surgery. I am praying that I have better skin but if not, I know what I'm in store for. My concern is that I'm self-paying for my surgery so I worry that insurance might not cover the ski. Surgery.
Good luck and positive vibes coming your way!!