I have 21 pounds to lose before I hit goal and I am very excited to see what I look like. I still have a belly and a 40 inch waist so those are still areas of concern. The one thing I know is that if I could selectively take 20 pounds off my frame I would be looking and feeling great but it doesn't work that way.I want to take 20 pounds off the belly and chest and not lose anything else on the arms and legs. Well full speed ahead.

you should be very proud of yourself, I am just starting my journey now. I hope to have as much success as you have.

I have 21 pounds to lose before I hit goal and I am very excited to see what I look like. I still have a belly and a 40 inch waist so those are still areas of concern. The one thing I know is that if I could selectively take 20 pounds off my frame I would be looking and feeling great but it doesn't work that way.I want to take 20 pounds off the belly and chest and not lose anything else on the arms and legs. Well full speed ahead.

I know the feeling...unfortunately for me the only way this belly is coming off is with the talented hands of a surgeon. I patiently waited and waited and waited for it to go away so that I could see my belly button (it is tucked neatly away in between my rolls ) but after consulting with my lap band doc he informed me that since I was so close to goal it wasn't going away.

Here is to wishing away your belly!!!

salsa - have you already set a date for your tummy tuck? I haven't been to the cosmetic surgery threads in a few days so I'm not up on who's next :smile: GOOD LUCK!!!

I've got 20 pounds to go as well. I really would be happy with just 10 pounds if I could have a tummy tuck and chop off this tummy. I'm getting really happy with where I'm at - except for the squishy droopy tummy.

I took my measurements this morning 41 - 33 - 40. My tummy has always been out of proportion

And - now the weight loss has slowed down dramatically!!!!!! It's much harder to lose a pound. But, I can walk into the bath room and notice a change and see it on the scale. So each pound packs a bigger punch.

salsa - have you already set a date for your tummy tuck? I haven't been to the cosmetic surgery threads in a few days so I'm not up on who's next GOOD LUCK!!!

My consult is on Friday and I am hoping to have surgery the first week in July. I am a teacher so I need to do it during the summer so that I can have a stress free recovery! I don't have a post on the cosmetic surgery thread yet. I figured I will wait until I hear from the PS.

Bearing in mind my avatar is a deceptively good pic, and very small, lol, I really wish I could shave another 10 or 15 off my rear end and thighs. If I try to lose that, I'll get severely bony around the chest and arms - you can already see my rib bones in my chest - and what's left of my boobs will disappear.

I know I dont have a pannus like others end up with, but I'd really have to consider PS to achieve my ultimate figure goals - I'd need a lower body lift because most of my sag is on my backside and i'd need to put some boobs back to balance out top with bottom!

All of us look just SO much better and I think it helps to look around you and give yourself permission just to be normal and not try for supermodel!

Bearing in mind my avatar is a deceptively good pic, and very small, lol, I really wish I could shave another 10 or 15 off my rear end and thighs. If I try to lose that, I'll get severely bony around the chest and arms - you can already see my rib bones in my chest - and what's left of my boobs will disappear.

I know I dont have a pannus like others end up with, but I'd really have to consider PS to achieve my ultimate figure goals - I'd need a lower body lift because most of my sag is on my backside and i'd need to put some boobs back to balance out top with bottom!

All of us look just SO much better and I think it helps to look around you and give yourself permission just to be normal and not try for supermodel!

I agree with you and never would have considered plastic surgery if it wasn't interfering with my life. I am having terrible lower back pain, starting to get rashes and mentally I am not doing well with it. I could have handled some loose skin or some sag, but I look EXACTLY like I did before I lost the weight. But my lap band doc really encouraged me to go to a PS because of what it is doing to my back. I have feverishly worked out since right after surgery, but my belly had been stretched for the last 20 years and now that it is no longer attached to ANYTHING it is really interfering with everything. In fact I talked to my doc about why my port gets really sore when I work out and he figures it is because there is so much bounce in the stomach that is irritating it. Today's workout was BAD because it hurt so much. By the way Jacqui you do look fabulous and always give such great advice.

I was afraid that was the response I would get back. My biggest fear is that I hit goal and still have a belly. I don't think it is skin I think it is fat at this point but I only have 20 pounds left and who knows if it will come off my belly or my butt which is already pancake flat. Yiihaaa

I was afraid that was the response I would get back. My biggest fear is that I hit goal and still have a belly. I don't think it is skin I think it is fat at this point but I only have 20 pounds left and who knows if it will come off my belly or my butt which is already pancake flat. Yiihaaa

I know down the road that I will need a TT. Everyone is different. My band doc insists that people wait a year after they hit goal. I just have this feeling that I will still be hanging after that time. Until that time I try to keep in mind the response I got from my seven year old years ago. I asked him if mommy looked fat. He said "Not with your clothes on". I'm leaving my clothes on.

I was afraid that was the response I would get back. My biggest fear is that I hit goal and still have a belly. I don't think it is skin I think it is fat at this point but I only have 20 pounds left and who knows if it will come off my belly or my butt which is already pancake flat. Yiihaaa

Who knows what 20 pounds will bring. My body proportions (with the exception of my belly) really did change in the last 20 pounds. In fact I gained a butt! I have had a flat butt my entire life, but slowly I began seeing a little bit of a butt. I have nice curves and my thighs look amazing. So the belly might go away. For me it just didn't. My question is, when you are clothed can you tell that you still have a belly? For me I can't.

Here are my pictures just to illustrate. Sorry the top one is so big, it wouldn't let me just copy part of it. The belly flab pictures and my current pics were taken about 5 pounds apart, but my belly still looks the same!

Warning: Belly Flab Pictures. You may want to skip it!

Hey Salsa,

Since I am a guy I carry my weight completely different than you which is no big surprise. I wont need a tummy tuck most likely and I doubt my wife you be happy with another 10k expense. Do all tummy tucks have the scar under the belt line? The ones I have see the scar about makes me pass out considering the pain it appears it would cause.

Hey Salsa,

Since I am a guy I carry my weight completely different than you which is no big surprise. I wont need a tummy tuck most likely and I doubt my wife you be happy with another 10k expense. Do all tummy tucks have the scar under the belt line? The ones I have see the scar about makes me pass out considering the pain it appears it would cause.

Yeah most have the scar all the way across. And to make you cringe even more, mine will have the scar going horizontally from hip to hip and then a vertical incision that will extend from belt line to the chest once the skin is stretched. But it will be so worth it. It is really discouraging to lose all this weight and then look in the mirror and feel like you haven't lost a thing. The doc that I just went to see said he could easily remove 10+ pounds of just skin. :ohmy:

I just have a quick question. I was told by my doctor that since I wouldn't be losing as quickly as somebody who had Gastric, that I wouldn't have a lose skin problem. I am finding that this is not necessarily the case. I have approx 90lbs to lose (I'm down 10 since surgery). It there anybody out there who has reached goal, or near goal, having lost close to that amout of weight, who DOES NOT have a lose skin problem? Please let me know. I really don't have the $$$ for plastic surgery

Seriously, I doubt it. What a doctor calls a "loose skin problem" and what you or I might call a loose skin problem varies though - same as all my lap band literature says "we do not want to get you to some theoretical ideal weight, we just want to solve your obesity related problems. Doctors are happy with 60% of excess weight lost - many of us most definitely are NOT. I had lap band surgery determined to get to a "theoretical ideal weight" regardless of what my doctor thought.

There I am in my avatar in a bikini. Its a good photo. No, I dont have a "loose skin problem" but I do have loose skin. My body is NOT what it would have been had I never gotten obese. My stomach is loose and old looking, I've had 3 babies as well as being bigger. My bum is jiggly and saggy, and I do have teeny tiny bat wings.

If I had lots of $$$$ I would fix them for sure, despite how hard a surgery a lower body lift is. But I dont "stand out" from the crowd, I simply look a little fatter than I really am. And in my case, the problem rally doesnt justify the extensive scarring.

My boobs though, disaster. Those are being fixed. I had less than 100lb to lose as well. My fill doc thought I had already had a tummy tuck, and when I said I hadnt (lying on the table having a fill) he actually pulled my jeans out to peer down!! If he think THAT's the result of a tummy tuck, he's nuts, I most definitely do not have a smooth, tight stomach!

So it will probably be there, but it can be mild and easy enough to live with.

i don't think losing slowly can determine whether you'll need a nip - tuck.

my surgeon swore i would need PS to get to my goal (his was 140) & i made him bite his tongue last wk while getting an unfill. so much i think comes into play - skin/genes/how long over weight/exercise.??

i'm creeping to goal of 125, and i'm a shorty - 5'1 on good posture days, but was always active *pre fluffy yrs*. as a pear shape, my upper body has no issues (no kids) - my bum is finally off the back of my thighs .. but i have thighs that could go on for days. my goal is to get them solid & am getting close, not so much the jiggly going on. i don't see PS a necessity at the moment, the double D's perked up to D's and they were my only concern of needing a "lift"...

I have 21 pounds to lose before I hit goal and I am very excited to see what I look like. I still have a belly and a 40 inch waist so those are still areas of concern. The one thing I know is that if I could selectively take 20 pounds off my frame I would be looking and feeling great but it doesn't work that way.I want to take 20 pounds off the belly and chest and not lose anything else on the arms and legs. Well full speed ahead.

Hi there! did you make it to goal weight? I have 20lbs to go and it's killing me. The weight is coming off soooooo slow. a pound or LESS a week. Sometimes I think I won't make it, so I'd love to hear from someone that did! How long did it take to drop the last 20? :eek: