Tummy Tuck: Stories

My name is Jen and I am 34 years old. I have been married just about 11 years with a 9 year old and 4 year old boys. I have been wanting a TT for the past 3 years but really did a ton of research. I am an athlete and have competed in triathlons and different running races. For the past 2.5 years I have been an avid crossfitter and now a crossfit coach. I work out so hard and only to look in the mirror to see this stretched blah of skin that isn't going anywhere. For people that were against me getting this surgery always kept saying, "Can't u just do more sit ups." Um, hello??!! Do you see how much I already work out!! I compete in local crossfit competitions and consider myself in pretty damn good shape.. beside.. I'm a cop! I gotta be :-)

I finally found a doctor, had my surgery Augs 19th and a few days later found this site and LOVE it to death!

As of today I am 9 days post op. Feeling pretty good. But after having my first 2 sneezes yesterday, my stomach muscle seem to be a little sore or maybe it's because I'm off the pain meds that I feel it a little more. Not to mention the cat jumped on me while sleeping last night!! Yikes! Still not much of am appetite yet, although I did eat a bowl of spagetti last night. Felt so good to have that bit of energy! I also hit a little depression yesterday with thoughts of "I hate spending 12 hours out of the day on the couch" " did i do the right thing?".

I really hadn't take the binder odd just yet because I was afraid to see something I was going to like. Finally got the courage to do it. I took a deep breath and opened up the binder. My first thought "holy moly im so little!". I know I've always been pretty small being 5'1 and 120lbs but WOW!!!!!! Woohoo!! I am so happy I did this. It looks amazing this early in recovery! I am only hoping that by the time 5 amd 6 weeks post op come for me to return back to work, I will feel like my old self minus the flab.

Just had to share... I finally got out of the house today to spend with some friends.. only to relax and chill out on their couch! but Woo for getting out of my own house for a bit! :-)

Day 10 PO. Slept the best i have so far during this crazy ride. Woke up feeling pretty comfy lying in my bed. Being that I am a tummy sleeper.. i am counting down the days I can do that again. Was able to lay on my side a bit this morning, but not for too long before I started to feel a little pressure.

Got out of the house for a bit. Hubby took me to target. When we walked in, he saw those motorized carts and told me to drive it around. LOL heck no! I can walk and that is what I did. After getting what I needed and being there about 20 minutes walking around, I was ready to sit. My lower back was getting sore. Walking up and down the stairs to my house have been much easier, although still taking it pretty slow. My hubby no long has to help me up or down :-)

Excited that I am able to sit up right pretty comfortable today. Im sure it has something to do with the binder helping.

Itching is now starting to set in but only were my last drain is. My stitches are still covered up with the tape the Dr. put on. Not sure when those are removed. Have another appt on tuesday to get my last drain out! Woohoo. Think on tuesday I will start taking off the binder for a bit at a time. I have some of those target brand spanx that Im gonna try in about a week or so. But im thinking they might be a little to big now. Excited that my healing process is moving along very well.. Cant wait to get back to my crossfit gym! My poor partner at work is also already, ready for me to come back! LOL told her she's got 5 more weeks with out me! :-(

Day 11 PO.

Didn't sleep all that well, but when it was time to get up, I felt pretty darn good. Noticed that it was even easier to walk down the stairs. Was able to make breakfast for my kids, had my first cup of coffee to day.. so delicious! Not a huge coffee drinker, but I do like it here and there. Took some pictures today and I'm still so happy with the results, even with the swelling. My binder is now a pain in the ass and actually pinching my skin. Sat with my binder off for about an hour today and it actually felt so good. But was smart this time and put on a tank and then the binder! :-)

Got in the car today! Woohoo.. took it easy, drove like a grandma to get my oldest to Karate. Stood and chatted with the instructors wife about my surgery for about 40 minutes and felt totally fine... but did feel my back starting to ache and sat down when it was time. Came home and made dinner for the family! So good to be mom and wife again :-)

Im still doing pretty good as it is into the evening now. Just back on the couch relaxing. My appetite is back now too.. think thats why im feeling so much better! Energy is Key! :-) Doc appt tomorrow to take out the last drain. And then I'll be able to take a full shower! Hell yeah!! Can't wait to just stand under warm water :-)

12 days PO. Got my last drain out today! Woohoo Doc says im healing up well and can finally take a full shower! Says the tape thats on the stitches will start to fall off and the stitches will eventually dissolve. Can also start wearing compression panties instead of the binder.. but the binder sure does make it easier to get around in! I think i'll keep it on for a while when I need it :-) Happy that things are going well and I'm healing fast. Just like everyone, this damn swelling would be so nice if it just wanted to go away already!

14 days PO (officially 2 weeks). Still doing GREAT! I am able to sleep on my left side, which is super nice.. makes it easier to fall asleep. My right side is still uncomfy, a little sore in the area that my drain was at. Last night I went to visit my Crossfit box and say hello to the class I usually coach. Boy do I miss it! We have a body fat scale and the last time I weighed my self and took body fat was the day before surgery. I was 122lbs and 19.4% body fat.. which I was happy with. Well holy moly.. I finally weighed myself and I am 116.5 and 18% body fat. I haven't been that weight since before I met my husband like 12 years ago! LOL and body fat, i've gotten to 18.4% at my lowest! Can't believe that the skin I had removed weighed that much! CRAZY!

My belly button is starting to look normal and the swelling has gone done a tiny bit. Can't wait for no more swelling! I also tried on my the gun belt I had prior to my kids that no longer fit after my 1st was born.. OMG, IT FITS!!!! WOW... I was able to buckle it prior to surgery but it was tight and all the skin just folded over it... no more skin! WOOHOO!!! It's only going to fit looser as the swelling goes down!

During the first week of recovery, it was hard to imagine i'd even get to how I feel today. It gets better every day.

17 days PO. I can't believe its been over 2 weeks! Time is actually going by pretty fast. I still have another 5 weeks off of work which im thankful for. A little nervous with getting back in uniform as im still feelling super tight and the swelling! Hard to imagine that in just 4 more weeks, I can get back to the gym when walking with out my binder is a little tough.

Im still doing pretty good for the most part. I do get a little more swollen in the evening and feel as if my tummy is going to burst. Can't wait for that feeling to go away. A part of my scab on my incision came off, i think from my binder rubbing up against it, so I removed the surgical tape and cleaned the area with peroxide and put some antibacterial cream on it... covered it up and this morning it already looks better. My next appt is in 2 days.

I'm still wearing my original binder most of the day as it helps so much in just getting around. As soon as I take off the binder, I can't move as fast.. such an odd feeling. I do have to remind myself that its really only been 2 weeks since this surgery.

I am loving the flat tummy, but it sure does make my boobs look bigger! I've always been pretty busty for my petite size.. 34 full C, small D.. and holy cow.. now all i see is boobs! LOL Hubby has no complaints! Poor guy, all he wants to do is feel me up and down and I want nothing more then to NOT be touched at the moment! In due time i till him.. just let me heal a little bit more :-) He has been super great through this journey. Although I can't wait til I can fully clean my house! Its getting bad and my hubby isn't the greatest at cleaning, nor will he clean bathrooms!! Pain in my ass, but I love him! :-)

I'm also still resting a ton.. the couch and lap top have become my new best friend for the time being.. I do get out here and there, but pretty good at making sure i'm resting to keep the swelling down!

I did post a video on friday.. think im gonna do that weekly to see my improvements!

19 days PO.

I got out of bed this morning and noticed that im walking straight! I also started sleeping with out my binder on, trying to get used to not needing it as much. I did wear spanx style underwear that comes just below my boobs. Feels much better. Still not sleeping great, wish this uncomfortableness would just go away already. I can fall asleep just fine, its if I wake up in the middle of the night, I have a hard time gettting back to sleep. Can't wait to sleep on my tummy already!

Everything else is going smoothly I think. Im out and about during the day, but make sure I do come home and rest up. Swelling like everyone else is bad at night. My incision is lumpy but I know it will go down as time goes on. Have another follow up appt today. I dont really get tired during the day. Appetite is back to normal now, although I have to make sure I dont eat a huge meal as it makes my stomach feel like its gonna burst.

Being in such good shape prior to surgery has REALLY helped me throught this recovery. its gonna suck not being able to go back into my work outs at crossfit as hard as I was prior.. im getting myself prepared that i am going to have to take it really easy when I get the ok to get back! Gonna actually head to my crossfit gym tomorrow and coach my first class since the surgery... BUT having another coach demo the movements :-)

just got back from my doc appt. He said to start massaging my stomach at night and to also massage my incision. Says that it will help flatten it out. Massaging my own stomach feels just so odd right now.

21 days PO

Wow, what a world of a difference in the past 2 days. I seriously feel almost like my old self. My swelling has calmed down a bit. I started massaging my tummy which has helped so much. I coached my crossfit class last night and loved being back! I was careful and had my other coaches assist with movements and I did wear my full binder again, just to keep me safe! I also coached a class this morning. Ah, just so nice to be back in the swing of things.. well almost! I still have another 3.5 weeks off my real job.

Being out as much as I have has really not had any bad side effects on me. My swelling isn't anything more then it is when Im just relaxing at home. My belly button is healing nicely and looking almost normal! I noticed when I stuff my face, thats when I feel like im gonna pop. So I make sure I dont do that! :-) Will be posting pics a little later and another video tomorrow!

23 days PO, into week 3

As each day goes by, im loving my new tummy more then ever. It is still so odd to see me with such a tiny waste. Its' been over 10 years since i've had a tiny waist!

My stomach muscle the past few days have been pretty sore. I notice I am more sore after wearing the binder then just wearing compression underwear. It almost feels as if I have some bruising going on on the inside of my upper stomach. I also have these odd stretching spams at night that I can't stop. Its like my body just needs to stretch. I have a friend who does that as well and it wakes her up at night. Feels good for her, but with me and my newly stitched stomach muscles, its a little painful. Feels like i've done thousands of sit ups!

I coached my crossfit class this morning with another fellow coach. I actually put on my tight tank top and my work out shorts! Wow, love the look.. its only gonna look better as the weeks go on.

I'm walking pretty straight these days, although i feel my self walking a little hunched over by the end of the day. I still don't think my swelling is horribly bad. I measure myself when I get up and then at night, and its only about an inch difference, maybe just a little over an inch.

I also still take it pretty easy most of the day. My couch and lap top have been awesome! LOL I did vacuum the other day and felt totally fine. What I really want to do is scrub the bathrooms... might try doing it in a few more days.

Sex is now all my hubby thinks about. Poor guy! Im gonna give it another week before we try that out! A little nervous about it. But super excited to get myself into Fredricks of Holllywood for some sexy Lingerie, since my hubby loves that stuff ;-)

26 days PO

Hard to believe that it's been 26 days already. Woke up today feeling even better. Getting out of bed is a piece of cake now. My abs are still pretty sore as if I have done a ton of sit ups. But I think that since my numbness is starting to go away, I am just starting to feel more of the pain now. Not that its horrible, but I can feel it. I take Motrin every once in a while, but I hate taking pills.

My incision is looking good. The ridge goes down more and more every day. Picking up Maderma tomorrow to start using. Been massaging my tummy every day with Palmers. I finally feel that I have that athletic body i've worked hard for, for that past few years! Strong is the new skinny and im itching to get back to my crossfit work outs! My regular clothes fit, although my jeans get a little uncomfortable around my incision.. but no more chuncky tummy when I sit! WOOHOO!!

Finally had sex. A little weird, but we took it slow. Made for a happy hubby. LOL

4 weeks Post OP

Wow, its so hard to believe that its been for weeks already! These past few days have been actually pretty good. Starting to feel like my old self again. I have very little discomfort now. Did some house cleaning yesterday, FINALLY! I know im a little bloated, my period is due any day now but I dont really feel to PMS'y. I still have tightness in my upper abs by the end of the day and of course swell hell in my lower abs! Incision is healing nicely, started using Maderma which has made a difference in the ridge already!

Looking forward to getting back in the gym. 14 more days to go, but who's counting! LOL

Losing count of exact days its been.. easier to say 4 weeks and 5 days!

Figured I'd add a little update to help those reading through blogs, even though there is not much change since my last entry. My scar/ridge looks better each day with the use of maderma! Sleeping fantastically now but still no tummy sleeping yet. Have a check up tomorrow with my PS, gonna ask him if he will ok me to just start walking on a treadmill. This is the absolute longest I've ever gone with out working out in at least 4 years.. itching to go back! Especially when i'm coaching my crossfit class!

Getting out of the house and doing my daily routine is back to normal. I am not tired at all by the end of the day..like everyone, swell hell starts then! BLAH, can this swelling be OVER yet! I also feel all the little sharp pains in my tummy as the nerves are starting to come back. Sometimes it catches me off guard while im driving.. Eeeeck!

I did stop by my police station the other day just to try on my uniform and gear belt! Since i'm swollen, my pants fit just about the same as before, minus the little chunky tummy I had before. They fit so nice an smooth and FLAT! My belt now is a little big.. With my diet and loosing a few pounds in the last few months, I had already tightened up my belt prior to surgery! Looks like I get to do it once more!! WOOHOO! Trying to figure out which compression garment will be best to wear with my uniform.. The most important part to figure out is how easy or hard its going to be with it on, trying to take it off to go to the bathroom. If I wear underwear compression garment, i'd have to take off my shirt and vest and get just about naked just to pee while on duty.. thats NOT gonna work! LOL i'll have to look into some type of tank top garment that I can tuck into my pants, along with my t-shirt. My vest will actually kind of feel like a compression garment but it only goes to just above my belly button. My first day back at work will be Oct 5th, which will make me almost 7 weeks. I am super lucky to be able to take off that amount of time! With 12 years on and 2 vacations a year.. it was super easy to request it all off at once for the surgery!

Woohoo 5 weeks Post op!

Ended up on sleeping on my tummy through the middle of the night! Ahhhh felt so good :-) It now doesn't hurt to lay on my tummy.. its just tight feeling when I want to flip back onto my back.

Today is also my 11 year anniversary and we have dinner reservations. Headed out in a bit to do my first clothing shopping since surgery! All my jeans now are fitting fantastic sine the swelling has gone down! Yay! Now for a cute tight shirt to show off my little waist! Damn its about time :-)

7 more days til gym time!

5 Weeks 3 days

Things are still going well. Swelling is there but its getting much better. I am now able to wear ALL of my clothes and my size 4 jeans fit PERFECT! No more muffin top. Went shopping for a few things and tried on a size 5 jeans that were HUGE! Went for the 3 and they fit really good. Too bad they were the "skinny" cut. Hate that cut! Have a few more days and then its back to the gym I go! WOOHOO!

My Paleo diet starts today! Just getting back in the swing of the crossfit lifestyle now. Was so not motivated to eat healthy the past few weeks.. but now that i know i'll be back at training again, eating better is gonna get me that 6 pack i've been wanting for so long! Lets go rock hard abs :-)

I still have 9 more days left of being off work before my 10 hour, 4 days a week shift starts back up.

41 days PO! Woohoo!

Went to the gym for the first time in almost 6 weeks! As you can tell from my prior post, I am an avid crossfitter. Crossfit uses fundamental movements which uses your core for almost all of the movements. And since my core is healing, I headed over to what we call the "Globo" gym (24hr fitness). I hate to run but do it to keep me in shape. So I got back on that treadmill today.. started off with a nice slow warm up walk for about 1/4 mile. Then jogged for 1 mile and then another 1/4 hill walk. I could have kept running for at least another mile but i knew i needed to take it easy. I call it a jog because I normally run an 8min mile, but today it was just a 10min mile. I then did a crossfit style work out. I did 3 rounds of 250 meter row with 30 secs rest in between. I was careful not to go to far back in my lean with the row. Let me just say, I feel FABULOUS. No pain, although im sure i'll be a little sore tomorrow as I should. Running was a trip.. no more jiggly tummy! The only thing that moved was my boobs LOL.

I also wanted to test out a little bit of my strength. Did some push press with the dumbells but go irritated with the girl who kept standing in front of the mirror checking her self out. That does NOT mean you are STILL using those weights lady! Move the F*ck out of the way! I hate GLOBO gyms! LOL

I honestly did not push it today. The work out I did is usually my warm up for our crossfit work outs! Plus I'm back on Paleo so my energy is through the rough!

I dont feel swollen just yet. Will keep an eye on that because I'm sure it will hit later! :-) Posting some pictures in my string bikini! Damn, that is one flat tummy :-) 6 pack here I come!

6 weeks post op! YAY I made it :-)

Feel fabulous! 2nd day of working out and I did a crossfit work out! Was able to do the thrusters and so excited that I still have my double unders! I just really scaled the weight because lifting/cleaning that barbell is a hard movement with the tummy still. But my cardio is great and I didn't loose much of it!

6 weeks 2 days post op

My body is really sore today. After my crossfit work out on friday which worked out my entire body, my feet are so from jump roping! Can't wait to get my body used to working out again! Im walking slow around the house because my legs are so sore from doing the thrusters! My abs hurt too. I was pretty swollen yesterday, the most swollen i've been in a while.. had 2 long days. Just relaxed all day today. Please swell hell GO AWAY! :-) Have 2 more days before I'm back to work, working from 11am-9pm in full uniform. Not looking forward to how swollen i'll probably be by the end of my shift! YIKES, but looking forward to going back to work. Headed back to the gym tomorrow for some treadmill running!

6 weeks 4 days post OP

Just a little up date for all of you who are work out freaks like me LOL. Ran again today at 8:30m mile and did 1 mile. My breathing got a little heavy towards the end of that mile, but I was happy that its my average time when i'm not trying to race! I also did Push Press. My last weight was 110lbs. Today I did 90lbs as my ending weight. Although it didn't feel super heavy to me, trying to push up 95lbs really worked my core and I could feel it hurting just a bit.. so instead of pushing through it, I stopped and didn't get it up! A little disappointed BUT in know my core needs to heal a bit more! UGH!

7 weeks post op;

Lots of changes for me this week! I am now back to sleeping on my tummy! WOOHOO.. started about 4 nights ago. Went back to work 3 days ago and its been a little adjustment for me wearing my uniform. The first day I forgot to bring my compression garment and after 10 hours in uniform, swell hell came for a visit making my tummy pretty lumpy. After sleeping all night, I woke up to a nice looking tummy again. The last 2 days i've worn my compression garment and its helped a lot with the lumpyness. But I do find that by the end of the 10 hour shift and wearing that gear belt, my incision feels like a little ridge again, but it always goes down by the next morning. I assume that i just from all the swelling.

I still have some tightness above the belly button, but stomach muscles dont hurt as much anymore. I didn't work out as much as I would have liked to this week. With getting back into work and wearing that uniform (an extra 23lbs) all day, I really didn't want to make it any worse.

My stomach still looks fabulous, when swell hell isn't as bad and I am still so loving my new flat tummy! When I put on my full uniform the first day back, I walked over to the mirror in our locker room. so funny, I don't look any different in my uniform then I did before.. I notice that my pants fit much flatter, but its not noticeable to anyone else. When people have asked where i've been for the past 7 weeks and I tell them I had a little "nip n tuck" they look at me and tell me I'm crazy.. LOL I tell everyone I hid it well! :-)

9 weeks 2 days post op

Thought I would give a little update at 9 weeks now. Gosh, I still can't believe how fast it has gone. I remember at week 1 and 2 thinking I was never gonna get to this point. But here I am and very happy :-) I have a follow up appt with my PS on tuesday to take after photos. Can't wait to compare the before and afters he took! Gonna ask him to email them to me so I can post them up here.

Swelling is still here.. BLAH! I have some stitches popping through.. hoping PS removes them for me. My stomach still feels tight, some days tighter then others. I was able to do some push ups with one of my work outs and could do a pull up, although the pull-up hurt a bit. I am noticing that any work out I do that is over head, is still a little struggle. The muscles feels sore and very tight and I don't want to push it too much with over head stuff. I have lost some strength, but that was to be expected.

Found a new costume.. Super girl! Its the 2 piece one, showing my tummy! Very excited to wear it for my 2 parties I have coming up this weekend.

I am just waiting for the day that I wake up and nothing hurts! The soreness is from the muscles being tightened. Its something that Im so used to now, but it would be nice to not have any pain! And by pain on a scale of 1-10 its like a 1! I still feel it but nothing to really complain about.

For all of you who are scheduled for your TT, good luck and make sure you give yourself time to heal. Remember, it is major surgery and its not gonna look 100% over night.. but it will look amazing as the weeks go on!

9.5 weeks PO

Just had my last and final check up with my PS. He took my after pictures and will be emailing me the pictures! Can't wait to see my befores again as I did not take any my self the day before surgery! He also took video of me for other patience to see :-) I was extremely happy to do that for him! The video is gonna be as real as it gets. I was headed to crossfit after so hair was in a messy pony tail and no make-up LOL LOVELY!!! LOL

All is going really well. Had a few stitches make their way to the top and he cut those out for me. Said that all my stitches should be completely dissolved by 3 months PO. Said to keep massaging the area around my belly button to soften it up. But I am cleared for all activity! The tightness I have is normal and the more regular activity I do, the more it will loosen up.

Although i've noticed a loss in strength with my weight lifting..I still have my dead hang pull ups and hand stand push ups. Not quite as easy right now.. but I can still do them :-)

Swelling is still here! Think im used to it now so once its no longer here it will be strange :-)

10.5 weeks p.o

Not to much to update. Still doing good. Started training a little harder last week with Crossfit as I have a competition in February. Definitely felt it and was much more swollen then I have been in while and I had more soreness in my abs. My upper abs are still tight and I do have slight soreness.. kimmers told me that its something you just get used to, but goodness.. im over the slight soreness! But happy my strength is returning :-)

My incision is still doing good and getting a little flatter every week.

I received my before pictures from my PS a few days ago and posted them.. holy cow. I knew my tummy stuck out, but goodness.. really never knew just how much! Definitely makes me even more excited that I have done this and that my PS did a fabulous job!

12 weeks PO

I am almost 3 months PO and all i can say is holy cow, I can't believe i've done this!

My swelling has been a little worse the past week or so. Not really sure why, maybe due to my work outs being 100% now. My incision is still doing good.. I did have an issue last week with a stitch coming through. A few pieces of the stitch came out. Felt like hard plastic and then totally dissolved like powder, but it left a tiny whole in the incision. Cleaned it up, put anti bacterial ointment on it, covered it with a bandaid for a few days and poof.. its all healed again! My incision is getting more flat, but it is still hard in some spots.

I still have some puckering this late into my recovery.. Looks like its really gonna take the whole 6 months to a year for me, to heal completely. I am ok with that!!

Other then that, things are going good. Getting my strength back to what it was prior to surgery with my olympic lifting in crossfit!

3 months and 2 days PO

The tightness in my upper abs has decreased a lot within that last week or so.. BUT now that I am full 100% back to my hard work outs, my swell hell has come back at the end of the day... DAMN swelling! Super excited that now all my strength is back up just in time to train for my up coming competitions. Really hoping that the 6 month mark is a HUGE difference with swelling. Kind of get a little discouraged when I see how swollen I am.

Incision is still doing well. Some days it seems more red then others but i assume all is normal. No issues with it.

Posting 2 more pictures. Really not much change in the way I look since my last pictures.

3.5 months PO

Posted a new pic of how my scar is healing. I guess its doing good. Wish is wasn't so red still

4 months and just about 2 weeks post op:

So today i've noticed a HUGE change for me. I did a 3 mile interval run on the treadmill. On my speed work, I was running a 6:40 min mile for 2 minutes at a time.. I had absolutely NO tightness feeling in my abs for the first time since this surgery! WOOHOO.... I did end up doing some dead hang pull ups and felt a slight tug in tightness, but nothing nearly as what it was! But I was stoked during the running to feeling 100% normal!

Slowly but surely this healing process is just chugging along!

5 months post op!

Can it be this late in my recovery ALREADY! It's flown by. Things continue to get better, even the swelling. Its not as bad in the evenings now. The only time that its crazy swollen is right before I get my period! I still think it will be a year total before there is no more swelling for me.

My incision is flat and starting to fade a bit. I still have that knot feeling in the center of the incision. The tightness feeling is almost gone however I still have an area on my stomach, mainly around my belly button that is still numb.

My work outs continue to improve as I am back full force! Back on the Paleo wagon now. Since I totally slacked in my eating habits during my recovery, I actually weighed 3lbs more then before surgery.. but I got rid of that loosing the 3lbs and 2% body fat in the last 3 weeks since starting Paleo. I keep hoping that its just the swelling, but honestly doubt it since its so late into my recovery. But back on track :-) Won't be taking another photo for another few weeks. My last pic was the start of Paleo.. want to see if there is any difference in a few more weeks.

Hope everyone out there is doing good with their healing :-) It gets better each day!

5 1/2 months PO.

So I decided to see my PS again regarding that hard spot in the center of my incision. I am happy that I did. He check it out today and said that it was scar tissue building up. He gave me a steriod shot and said that I should see it improving within the next month. If I have any issue's he told me to come back in a month! LOVE LOVE my doctor!!

I asked him about a few little areas that I thought might be swelling over my hip bones.. LOL nope, he said thats just a little fat! LOL Told him i'd work on that :-)

Today is now day 30 of my paleo diet. I am down 5lbs (just under what i was pre-op now) and have lost 2% body fat! My ab muscles are coming through and I'm very excited about that.. On to the next 30 days of paleo...

:-)

6 months PO :-)

I can't believe its been 6 months already! Still doing great. The only real swelling I have is PMS week. Paleo has been going amazing. I am down about 8lbs and 2.5% body.. but of course I'd like to go just a little lower... the less body fat, the faster the 6 pack will come ;-)

Still have the numbness around my belly button and a portion of my incision is still number. That same middle spot still feels hard, but seems to be flattening out a little bit more from the steriod shot. And as far as the tightness feeling.. I really only feel tight first thing in the morning.. once i'm up and about, things feel almost normal!

For all of you just starting out, hang in there! You'll be so happy you did this!

7 months PO

Just a quick little check in! Things are still going good! Swelling is less and less each month. My abs have been kind of sore over the last few weeks.. can't figure out if its just the stitches that bug or if its just my work outs! But nothing that really bugs me too much. Scar is fading little by little but I still have that hard spot in the middle of incision. Going on vacation this week, but gonna go see my PS when I get back to see what he can do. That part is also my most red-est party my incision. My scar looks better in person then it does when I take a picture LOL

Hope all you ladies are doing fabulous!

Just about 8 months PO:

My monthly check in :-) Sometimes I don't realize how long its been since surgery! Easter sunday here in southern Cali was beautiful. For the first time, I got into my bikini and actually laid out by the pool! Walking through out the house in my bikini, my husband says. "Those bottoms don't fit you." Right away, i though.. WHAT?? Great now im getting fat!! LOL I asked him what he meant and he said, "They're are falling off you"! LOL ... I made sure to put sun screen on my scar even though it was covered by the bikini and also around my belly button!

I still find it so odd when laying down or sitting and my hands are on my stomach. No flab.. no muffin top.. and its nice and tight! Scar is doing fine.. still kind of dark, but again.. i am pretty fair skin and scares take pretty long to fade on me.. if you could see my shins from crossfit! Got tons of scars that are now just starting to fade after well over a year! There is still that slight tightness/soreness in my abs.. but from other friends who have had the same surgery and are almost 1 year PO, they say the exact same thing... Guess its just part of the healing process!

I still have swelling at the end of the day after being in uniform for 12 hours. Not bad, but I can totally see it.. the ridge comes back along the scar line.. but is flat by the next morning.. and then swelling is HORRIBLE the week before I get my period. BLAH.

10 months PO

Just a quick check in.. things are the same.. No really big changes. Swelling is very minimal but i do notice it more when I have a heavy ab work out lately and then also during PMS. Will that ever stop? BLAH! LOL My scar is looking much better, fading little by little. Still happy happy happy! :-) Was going to post pictures but there is no difference from my 8 month PO pics!

Exactly 1 year Post OP:

So I added 2 new pictures, but they keep posting up side down :-(

1 year has come and gone and I still am amazed that I was finally able to do this! I have had no complications at all. I find myself checking my self out in the mirror as I pass it while naked.. Never would i have thought that my stomach would be this flat and now with my work outs and diet.. its actually muscular! Every once in a while I do still feel a slight tightness in my stomach, but Im going to assume that is just because of the muscle repair. My scar is continuing to lighten up little by little and I still have a small hard spot right in the middle of my scar from some scar tissue build up. Doesn't bug me so I haven't been back to the PS at all and I don't think I will. Im super happy with my results! 1 more week til my first crossfit competition since my surgery! Nervous and excited all at once. Im gonna rock it with just a sports bra and shorts LOL!!

1 year PO, First Crossfit Compeitition since surgery

Just wanted to update about my first comp since surgery since some of you have asked! It was fantastic. Hard as hell, but it was nice to be back in compeition mode! Paleo has been fantastic for me. Down to 117lbs and 17.3% body fat.. thank you crossfit, paleo and a little nip tuck from my doc! So glad that I did not have any lipo done. On to more training and more competitions!!

over 1.5 years PO

Hi there,
It's been a while since i've posted an update. I am 1 year and about 8 months PO. All is fantastic. My scar has faded quite a bit. I have STILL have numbness around my belly button and incision. Depending on how hard my work outs are or PMS, swelling STILL shows up a bit.... but im happy happy happy!! I will be posting a new video here shortly! Good luck to those in the beginning process!