I was just thinking about this. So looked it up on a bmi calculator. I will at least know my health is better and I have a greater chance of living longer if I get to the 160s. Yes, less than that will be great also. And had a follow up today. Went well. I speak with the plastic surgeon about skin removal on my stomach in 7 more months (at year mark) and have to have weighed about the same for 6 months, so at 18 months is when they'll consider surgery. Excited about that as well. Would love to hear your experiences with getting under being obese and also about plastic surgery. I heard Aetna will cover it. But no telling until we get to that point. Not going to worry much about it right now. Happy to be in the 180s after being in the 220-250 range most of my life. ??

I'm not sure about Aetna, but a lot of policies won't cover skin removal unless it's causing health-related issues (e.g., chronic rashes that don't respond to conventional treatments). If you have something like that, be sure to see a doctor about it so it's documented in your medical file, since the insurance company will want documentation that it's causing health issues.

as far as experience with plastic surgery, I had lot of it (lower body lift, breast lift, arm lift, face lift, neck lift). Lower body lift (LBL) is pretty painful since they do both liposuction and muscle tightening with that (if you just get a pannelectomy (sp?) rather than a full LBL, it's probably not as painful - but the LBL has more extreme and natural-looking results). The rest - arms, breast, face, neck - weren't too bad. Arms were kind of a pain, though, since you can't reach up for a while - which is really hard to remember to do! Plastic surgery can be painful and expensive, but I'm glad I had it done.

First of all, great job so far. You're doing fantastic!

My understanding is the same as @catwoman7 regarding insurance companies. They typically don't want to pay for anything they don't absolutely have to and that definitely includes anything they consider purely cosmetic. Aetna may be different, but I doubt it.

Up front, I wanted to mention that not everyone actually even needs plastic surgery. The younger you are and the less weight you had to lose, the more likely it is that eventually your body will adjust to the weight loss. Yes, it can take a few years, but you may find in the long run you're better off not going down that route.

I also wanted to comment on your timeline. I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding that we somehow stop losing at 1 year, 2 years, or some other defined date. That's rarely true, so I would suggest not thinking that your weight will stabilize at 12 months. You may get to 12 months and decide you'd like to go lower. Heck, I'm 2.5 years out and still losing (albeit really slowly). I'd suggest waiting until you you feel like you want to start maintaining, rather than just going by an arbitrary date. If your weight stays stable for a while (I personally would go longer than 6 months, but that's me), then looking to plastics may be appropriate.

I mention this because I think it would be awful to have plastic surgery, especially if self-pay, then lose even more weight and still end up with sagging skin that you dislike.

I have aetna, getting plastics is not in my policy. I'm also not ready for skin removal but, wow, if they pay you must have an expensive plan. I don't with Aetna, and getting the surgery was hard enough.

7 hours ago, SpartanMaker said:

I also wanted to comment on your timeline. I think there's a bit of a misunderstanding that we somehow stop losing at 1 year, 2 years, or some other defined date. That's rarely true, so I would suggest not thinking that your weight will stabilize at 12 months

I took 2 years to get to my weight of 180, then 12 months to master maintenance. I had some issues and needed surgery and my weight then dropped to 165. I thought at my age I looked shocking and so much skin. I decided to increase my weight back to 180. Just some extra cals a day did the job in 3 months. I feel better at this weight.

I am living with my skin, I dont really have a choice, as I could only afford one round and I feel I would look stupid half fixed. In the UK, we wear lots of clothes most of the year and I look ok in clothes. Its just now when on holiday, I wish I could.

I actually got below my goal weight around 7–8 months post-op—down to about 161–163 lbs—and stayed there until I got my boobs done (lol). I had the surgery just before hitting my 1-year post-op mark, and honestly, I wouldn’t change that decision for anything. I know people often say to wait until your weight stabilizes, but my plastic surgeon only required that I’d maintained my weight for at least 6 months, which I had at that point.

Right now, I’m sitting on the higher end of my weight, around 170–173 lbs, but I’m also lifting a lot more, so some of that is definitely muscle (and the implants, of course). I still fit into size 4 pants and S-M tops, so I’m trying not to stress about that number. (Easier said than done) I work out consistently, with a mix of heavy lifting and cardio.

Eventually, I’d love to get a 360 body lift, but one thing at a time, plastics are pricey! Even if I could afford it right now, I’d still want to wait at least another year. I had to take seven weeks off lifting weight after my surgery, so I’m focused on rebuilding and seeing how much I can tighten up on my own before committing to the next step.

You're doing amazing! keep it up!

?Huge congrats on your results. Looks like you'll be in the driver's seat and have the options available within your desired timeline

I'm ignorant to the intricacies of the skin surgery but do have experience with your other question...in getting below the "obese" BMI labeling. It was a major rush...almost surreal. It was especially noted when I would go shopping for clothes. Being 6'4" and obese my normal stores were simply big & tall stores. Upon hitting closer to the normal height-weight range my options opened up exponentially. Felt pretty damn good to roll outa a dressing room and hand stuff back because it was too large. Too Large...wow.

Life was a pile of fun living at that weight.

A family health crisis occurred and it completely changed every aspect of life as I knew it. My health was such a distant concern as to have been off the radar for a few years.

Getting back on the road towards normal height-weight range has been like riding a bike. All the tools, principles and prior methods are familiar and fairly easy to resume. The hardest part was getting my head wrapped around it.

One thing I had to get firmly set in my mind was this:

It is not selfish to focus on your own health, it is selfish not to.

That is now hardwired in my noggin.

. Keep on hitting those home runs. Winning always feels GREAT . ?

39 minutes ago, Dub said:

Felt pretty damn good to roll outa a dressing room and hand stuff back because it was too large. Too Large...wow.

So true.

Sometimes I'm still not used to it though and it's weird. I now buy jeans in a 30in waist and medium shirts, whereas at my heaviest I was wearing a 44in waist and xxl or even xxxl shirts. Sometimes l will pull something out of my closet and think there's no way I can fit in that, yet I do.

Edited to add that sometimes I even buy a small in some things! That's just unreal to me.

Body image distortion is real.

Edited May 28, 20251 yr by SpartanMaker

Thank y'all for all the great info and advice! Love hearing your stories and thoughts. I am not freaked out about not having surgery or having it. If I REALLY need it and insurance doesn't cover then I'll save up and get anything really bad fixed. But I'm ok either way! I look ok in clothes and never will look like a model naked no matter what. LOL! I'm 51 and happily married and he loved me at 244 so I'm good! LOL! Not trying to impress people. But would just be nice for at least my belly to be corrected one day, if possible.

I also have body image distortion as well. Had it last time I lost a lot too. And right now I'm wearing XL and was in a 3x and some 4x at the end of last year. I am in 0 and 1 for most things at Torrid and I've been shopping there for 30 years. Have to learn other stores soon I guess. Torrid does have 00 so I may always be able to shop there. Will see. I feel the same size as last year still. And have to keep reminding myself to look at smaller clothes in the store. My mind hasn't caught up with my body yet. LOL.

Again, THANK YOU. ?

my 2 (or 5) cents about plastics:

- first, as mentioned above, there is no absolute timeline in regards to losing (or gaining) weight post wls. i am 7 yrs post op this year. i lost what i wanted to (110 lbs) in 7 months. then had a net loss of another 10 lbs over the next 5 years. THEN i lost ANOTHER 15 lbs in the past year alone. for those keeping track that 25 lbs since calling goal back in 2019. lesson here is that it's not the surgery that dictates your weight, is your lifestyle and genetics.

- second, i had plastics 1 year after wls surgery. i would have had it earlier, but my surgeon of choice was booked. from the time i booked plastics to when i eventually had it done i was 15-ish lbs lighter. so there was no "stable weight for six months" requirement for me.

- third, my plastics removed a total of 400g off my body weight (it was basically just skin and little to no fat), so depending on what your body composition is like before plastics, it may not make a difference on the scale afterwards.

- fourth, i weighed about 115 lbs at plastics time, and today i weigh about 100 lbs (dont be alarmed, i'm like 5'2" tall, probably shorter as i'm shrinking in my old age, lol, i also eat lots and admittedly, badly, but i exercise like a crazy person, so it all evens out, ha) my plastics results did not suffer in any way, in my opinion. if anything, the places where i DIDNT get plastics look so much worse at my lighter weight (i'm looking at you inner thighs and butt). my arms (lift), boobs (lift) and stomach (tummy tuck), where i did get plastics, still look fabulous.

- fifth. for me, i didn't get plastics for anyone else, or to impress them, or to snag a husband/wife. i still never really understand why others think i do all my shopping and dressing and med-spa-ing for THEM. i do it cuz *i* want to. i want to look in the mirror and think, daammmmmnnnn. my confidence was re-instated after the weight loss (i can do anything! AND i look hawt!) , with the plastics and the exercise, my confidence level is thru the roof (i can do anything! AND i look SUPER hawt!). aint nothing wrong with wanting to look and feel great. i mean, who WANTS to NOT like how they look or not like how they feel about themselves?? and if liking how you look/feel means you get rid of some extra skin, or pump up your boobs, or lift your ass, so be it. you wont find any judgment here.

be awesome. good luck! ❤️

On 5/27/2025 at 4:37 PM, Selina333 said:

I was just thinking about this. So looked it up on a bmi calculator. I will at least know my health is better and I have a greater chance of living longer if I get to the 160s. Yes, less than that will be great also. And had a follow up today. Went well. I speak with the plastic surgeon about skin removal on my stomach in 7 more months (at year mark) and have to have weighed about the same for 6 months, so at 18 months is when they'll consider surgery. Excited about that as well. Would love to hear your experiences with getting under being obese and also about plastic surgery. I heard Aetna will cover it. But no telling until we get to that point. Not going to worry much about it right now. Happy to be in the 180s after being in the 220-250 range most of my life. ??

Well done! Not being obese anymore is my goal too. I just being regular obese instead of morbidly, category 2 feels really good too as I never in my life thought I could do that!

@Selena333 I wish you well on your journey!!

Congratulations on your progress and being in the 180s! That's a huge achievement.

I've been on a similar journey myself. I went from being significantly overweight to losing a substantial amount of weight, and let me tell you, getting under that obesity threshold is such a mental and physical victory. It's not just about the numbers, but about feeling healthier and more confident.

Regarding the skin removal surgery, it's awesome that you're planning ahead and working with a surgeon. Getting to a stable weight for 6 months before the procedure is a smart approach. I've heard mixed experiences about insurance coverage, so definitely keep checking with Aetna about potential coverage.

Keep up the incredible work! Every pound lost is a step towards better health, and you're clearly committed to your wellness journey. Wishing you all the best in reaching that 169 goal! 💪

Thank you so much! I'm 181 now or maybe less. So on my way! Their goal for me at my year appointment is 166 and my goal is 154, which will be the lowest I've EVER been as an adult or teen. So it will be nice to get to! I appreciate your kind words. 💗