Tummy Tuck: Stories

To first read part 1 of my Tummy Tuck journey, please click here.

8 weeks post op. Hello 5 lbs of weight gain. :-/ I've been trying to eat healthy but recently I think my will power is low. I have been so strict with diet that now I've been craving sugar and salt like there is no tomorrow. Yesterday and today, my husband doesn't even know what I ate. I had a hot fudge sundae for breakfast. Who does that? Not skinny girls. Ahhh. Mac and cheese for lunch- a lot of it. Mexican food for dinner. Oh my... tonight I feel like the stay puff marshmallow girl. That was just today. Yesterday was blurry but I had way too much junk though.

9 weeks post op. Getting back on track. Eating well and exercising for the past couple days. I'm back to 130 and feeling much less swollen. Yay! Wow, I have said a lot on here. Just got a part 2 added onto to my review b/c I maxed out the space in my part 1. Haha. Happy healing ladies. I am looking and feeling great. I will post new pics again soon!

10 weeks post op. Feeling really great. I went today without a compression garment. Not sure if that's okay to do yet but I just wanted to try it b/c some women on this site don't ever wear any compression. I'm not having any more swelling than usual so that is good. My incision is still tender to the touch- especially when I carry on of my children on my hip. But overall, no problems. I will probably put my binder on to sleep tonight. I think it's my security blanket, I'm so attached to it. Haha.
New pic uploaded today of me in my new Old Navy shorts- size 4, getting ready for summer baby! Haha. I'm 5'3'' and holding strong at 130 lbs. Sexy curves and flat tummy, wahoo!!! Happy healing ladies!

Almost 11 weeks post op. New pic added. I'm doing really well. Feeling healthy and strong. My measurements are 34-26-36. So exciting! My waist is down 1 inch from where it has been for a long time. I think my swelling is really improving day by day. I still swell but not as bad as I was a few weeks ago. I think weeks 7-8 were the peak of my swelling. Well, I hope so. But I guess I'm not fully out of the woods yet. I haven't worn my binder in about a week, except for sleep. I like the secure feeling of it, like someone wrapping their arms around me for a hug all night, haha. My husband actually loves to cuddle but I can't sleep with someone touching me. I'm just such a light sleeper. Ahh. Well, I saw Dr. T today and he is pretty happy with how I'm looking. He took "after" pics of me and asked permission to use them online. I said, of course! Maybe he'll put them on his website? That would be neat. I certainly think my results are great and a dramatic change. ;-) Happy healing ladies! Lots of love to everyone too.

New pic added. Almost 12 weeks. Scar is hidden in this bikini baby! Wahoo, feeling very excited!

Craving CHOCOLATE!!!! Ahhh! LOL. Sorry random but it's true. I usually want to eat some chocolate everyday. If I deprive myself for a few days in a row, I start to crave chocolate like there is no tomorrow. And here we are now... Just bought some Valentine's chocolate candy for my kids and ME. :-) and now I'm eating it. So yummy! Tomorrow I will run extra hard at the gym. Happy healing ladies. My swelling is mild in the morning and moderate in the evening, improving each day. XOXO

12 weeks post op. I ran today on the treadmill for 10 minutes with no compression garment and I'm feeling fine. Wahoo! I'm not going to get rid of my binder or compression garments b/c I may still need them. I've read of women on here who did find for awhile and then all of sudden had major swelling again. This journey can be unpredictable. I have not started any abdominal work yet. I'm still a little scared but I think next week at my 3 month post op mark I will celebrate by doing some sit ups. I'll let you know how that goes. haha. Happy healing healing to everyone!!!

Just added a new collage pic to show my before and after in side by side view. I can hardly believe that was me 12 weeks ago. So worth it!!! Happy healing everyone.

3 months post op. I'm doing great. I'm starting to regain some feeling in my abdomen. It's exciting to start to feel my tight stomach. It definitely helps me to eat healthier foods when I feel really fit. I tried sit-ups yesterday and I stopped after doing 2 haha, b/c it hurt more than I wanted to endure. My stomach looks great without any abs definition, so I will continue to focus on eating right and doing my general exercises. Maybe I'll try sit-ups again next month. ;-) Happy healing everyone!

I did my first ever Zumba class today. For those of you unfamiliar with this class, it's fast paced dancing to Latin music. Think of non-stop jumping, quick stepping, chest popping, hips rolling, booty shaking and arms waving for 60 minutes. Okay, it was super fun and felt great during the class but OMG, I am so swollen right now. Ahhh! I need to drink lots of water and lay down. Of course we're hosting a Super Bowl party tonight so I will be eating lots of salty foods. I'm sure that won't be a bad idea. LOL! Oh well, I'm no stranger to swelling at this point. Bring on the pizza and beer tonight! No pics today. Hahaha. Happy healing everyone!

3 1/2 months post op now. Still doing great. Happy Valentine's day to all of my tummy tuck friends! XOXO
I will add new pictures to my review if I start to get some abs definition. Right now, I still look the same. I just did a few stomach crunches and it didn't hurt for the first time today since my surgery. I'm excited about that. ;-) Happy healing everyone!

4 months post op today. I'm happy to be here. It's been a long ride. I am doing well. I have been working out (not consistently) but that's just b/c I've been too busy or been too lazy. I'm working on it. ;-) I have been eating right when I can. I'm a stress eater and sometimes stress just gets in the way! I'm currently 125 which was my goal weight. Are we ever satisfied? I think not. I would like to lose 5-10 more lbs. I think my thighs are great in pants but in shorts and skirts they are pretty thick and a bit flabby. And my arms too! ;-) Anyway, the latest on me is trying to decide about letting my PS remove a pinch of skin from my belly button. I'm on the fence about it. I never really thought about it b/c I thought my belly button was fine. I've been more focused on my flanks and my scar. Haha. But at each visit, my PS has talked about how he would be happy to revise my belly button anytime. I just saw him for a chin lipo consult this week. He said I'm not a candidate for that b/c my skin is too loose. A neck lift may be in my future, but not yet. My husband was happy to hear I'm not getting chin lipo. He said I don't need it either and I'm just getting picky, noticing every little flaw with my body b/c my tummy looks great. I'm sure he is right!!! But again, when I saw my PS the first thing he said was let me see your tummy and what he could do for my belly button. I said, you don't like it do you? ;-) He said, it's fine and healing well, but I do prefer innies. And he would have liked to see mine tuck in by now, which it hasn't. Then, he pressed his finger in my belly button and asked me cough, at least 10 times. LOL, checking for a hernia. Nope. ;-) Anyway, I said okay what would it look like? He said he can't guarantee exactly what it will look like but his goal would be to minimize the "outie button" I currently have. I had an outie before my tummy tuck. It was hidden in a sea of flab in my before pics. Once upon a time, it was visible though. I think I'm happy with my belly button b/c to me it's comfortable (it's all I know). The past few days, I have been looking online at pictures of swimsuit and lingerie models to see lots of belly buttons and most of them do have innies. Part of me feels like mine is cute and unique. Part of me feels like maybe my PS does know what's up!? My husband said he thinks my belly button is fine too but maybe I should trust my PS and let him revise my belly button if he seems that confident. Okay well, I'll keep you all posted on what I decide. Happy healing ladies! I'm still swelling but not too much. My tummy doesn't hurt anymore unless I try to arch my back. Can't do that yet! My scar is healing well- looks dark red but that is normal. Also, it's still higher on the left side which is visible in some low cut bottoms, and you can see peeking out in one of my new pics but overall I am extremely happy. Love to you all.

5 months post op. Wow it's nice to be here! I have recently read back through some of my early posts and those early days seem a little like a distant memory now. Yay!! Haha. Well, I have no regrets. My tummy is still super flat and looks great. I never worry about it when I try on clothes. My thighs are another story! Hahaha. But seriously, I appreciate my body and I'm accepting that we are all only getting older with each passing day. So I might as well take good care of myself. My body will always be a work in progress. But I have a lot to be thankful for and will do my best to keep it up. I'm still happy with my results. I have very little swelling left. Hopefully by next month it will be even less or all gone. My scar is healing well. It's still a dark red line. My weight has fluctuated up and down about 5 lbs. I notice when I'm up a little, my back flanks have a little muffin top action going on, that absolutely drives me crazy. I'm trying to just maintain at 125. That seems to be a good weight for me. Although my body likes to weigh 130. :-/ I'm looking forward to warmer weather to come to Maryland. It has been very cold and windy here. We even had snow a few times this March. I'm so bored of running on the treadmill in the gym and excited to run around outside. I have no pics today but I will try to upload some again later in the week. Right now, I'm crazy stuffed from eating terribly today and over the past week while my kids were home on spring break. Happy Easter and happy healing ladies!

5 1/2 months post op. Photo added to show scar. Healing well. Dark red line. I'm up a little on the scale an have been eating way too much junk. I'm trying to eat healthy at least a few days a week. I love food so much!! Especially desserts. Argh! ;-) My weight gain is showing up on my thighs, back and face. Not my tummy though. My tummy is so flat. I'm not swelling anymore at all. I'm still very happy I had a tummy tuck. Happy healing to all of you.

6 months post op. New pics added. Working on getting in better shape for summer. My tummy is definitely flat all of the time. I am loving that! I have been eating bad too often and not exercising enough. I am going to do better. So happy I had this tummy tuck. This was one of the best decisions for me. I'm excited to wear bikini this summer. I sometimes still can't believe that I'm going to be able to do that. ;-) My husband is excited too! Happy healing ladies. XOXO

And even though my thighs are full. They really were before so that's just another area on my body that I'm working on but my tummy was out of control is no longer an issue. So even though I don't have six pack abs (which I thought I would at this point- prior to my tummy tuck) HA HA HA. When I compare to my before pics, I really do want to run around town in my underwear!!! ;-) God bless Dr. Tattelbaum!