i am struggling with when i am going to get my tummy tuck. my plan was no tummy tuck until i was at goal. but now i am kinda waivering on that. i THINK i would be happy at where i am now, if the nasty tummy was gone. but if not i am just screwed because i wont be able to afford another tummy tuck if i decide to lose more weight. how did you know if you were ready for the tummy tuck? did you just know? were you back and forth any like i am?

I think it would be good for you to contact a PS and go in for a consult. This will give you a professional assessment of where you are now and where they can take you. I have an appt next week for the same kind of assessment even though I am nowhere near goal. It will be money well spent to ease my mind and have a realistic plan of care. Good luck.

Mimi

mimi- i went the beginning of march for my consult and quote. the doctor was very excited that he could really help me with it and make me look "incredible". he loves to work with weight loss patients. he told me if losing more weight was my 100% mission and i wouldnt be happy until that certain number was on the scale then i should wait until i was there and stable. he said if i was going to be happy where i am and didnt plan on losing a big bunch of more weight, then i should go ahead because he could really help me. so that just didnt help me at all. probably made my choice even harder!

Since you are having self image issues (as am I) I would be tempted to get the surgery sooner rarher than later. I hate my belly, it is holding me back from wearing smaller clothes.

Mimi

mimi- same here. not one pant size have i been able to change. just because of the shape of my belly. i know what i want to do, why is it so hard? lol, stupid me!

I went through this. I really wanted a tummy tuck about halfway through my weight loss - about November last year. I too thought that if I just lost my tummy, I would be happy with how I looked at that stage. I was convinced that it was the best idea.

It was actually Dr Schulman who reminded me that if I lost more weight after the tummy tuck, that I'd likely need even more surgery later because the 'effect' of it wouldn't be as good as if I waited until I was closer to goal.

So I waited. I figured at about 7-10 pounds a month weight loss, I'd only have to wait another three months before seeing a PS. So I rescheduled my PS appointment for Jan 09. When I saw him I was 8lbs from goal, instead of 25lbs.

He scheduled me for body lift surgery (it's today actually, in about 6 hours!!) and as of today I'm below goal.

So I would say that it may be an idea to wait. Even if it's only for 2-3 months. You only have 25lbs left to lose according to your ticker. What's 2-3 months in the scheme of your whole life? And the results will be much better if you wait just a little bit longer.

Lellow, great and thoughtful post. Thank you and best wishes on a wonderful surgical outcome.

Mimi