My fear

[Tropicana 0]

Do you ever look at plastic surgery websites with before and after pics?

After massive weight loss ppl look disgusting, and the plastic surgery to remove excess skin is okay but the after photo doesn't look all that much better.

Am i trading one nightmare for another? I'm fat but at least I'm a firm kind of fat....what's the point of being slimmer if I'm still worried about exposing my flabby body because of the surgical scars?

[Padanelle 2]

I'm not going to worry about something that might not happen. I've lost 46 lbs so far, and so far, my skin is looking good. I'm hoping my skin will eventually spring back. But I'd rather have flab, than be unable to walk because of the pain caused by my weight, to be able to bend over without being winded, to no longer have to take BP meds, etc, etc.

[Tropicana 0]

I thankfully don't have any of those problems. And I look at these plastic surgery pics and think "Shoot...I'd rather stay fat"

Boobs sagging to my belly button, hanging flesh everywhere? Yuck. And then the after pic, looking al scarred up everywhere.

I dunno man. Scary. And I notice most of the before and after pics are of people very dressed up.

[elcee 3,343]

Firm fat!!!! Isn't that an oxymoron?

[laurigee 545]

I think that it all depends on how much weight you have to lose and how fast you lose it. I have lost over 100lbs, but lost it very slowly and have no problems with skin hanging anywhere. Everyone is different and you'll have to just wait and see.

[Tropicana 0]

I think that it all depends on how much weight you have to lose and how fast you lose it. I have lost over 100lbs, but lost it very slowly and have no problems with skin hanging anywhere. Everyone is different and you'll have to just wait and see.

Nice! If I get this procedure done (and it's looking like it will happen no matter what my PCP thinks) I'm going to go crazy weight lifting.

By "firm fat" I mean, I don't have dimples, rolls, cellulitis. I'm smoothly round. :thumbup:

[kiz 1]

You've got at least one thing going for you...youth. Also, if you're like many obese people, as your metabolism slows as you age, you're going to put on more weight, which will just stretch your skin more. If I had been obese in my 20s and had the chance for this surgery, knowing what I know now, I would jump all over it. Depending on how much you have to lose, your skin has spring to a point. You can only stretch a balloon so far, even if it's brand new, before it loses it's elasticity. If you watch Biggest Loser, even the younger contestants have stretchy skin problems. They're exercising like bandits, but they're also losing at an extremely fast rate. Skin's going to be saggy if it's stretched past it's breaking point, but I do believe a slower weight loss to allow cardio coupled with weight training helps build a solid foundation, which improves your overall appearance. Also, scars tend to heal better the younger you are, and doctors do a fabulous job "hiding" them. It's easier to hide a scar than a body bloated with fat.

I've had three kids and have lost over 50lbs to date, and I have to say my skin is holding up pretty darn well, even at my advanced age..lol Then again, I'm not going for bikini abs, I never grew huge boobs to droop, and I carried a lot of weight in my butt and thighs, which I've kept pretty firm carrying all my weight around, and now, by exercising my butt off...literally.

My primary goal was to live a long healthy life. I didn't have any co-morbidities either, but I wasn't kidding myself. Even though my blood pressure was still low, I had two close family members die from heart attacks, high blood pressure runs in my family, I have another close family member with diabetes, my fat ratio was above 35% (yikes), I couldn't walk three miles in under an hour (and at that, I was exhausted), and with 50 looming around the corner, I knew my bad habits (horrible food choices/sedentary lifestyle) were going to catch up with me.

I would never try to talk someone into WLS, but I would go so far as to say, do something sooner rather than later to get yourself healthy. It only gets harder, and the longer you wait, the worse the toll is on your body.