Almost two month update : ) - Mount Pleasant, SC

Hi ladies! I'm doing great! someone asked me how long i wore a compression garment so here's my answer:

I wore my hospital grade compression for one month exactly. Then I wore pull up girdles for about two weeks and my hospital grade to bed. Now I just wear my hospital grade to bed and make it as tight as possible and still be comfortable, so when I wake up in the morning I'm flat. This lasts until late afternoon.

Ladies...something they don't tell you...rainy days make you SWELL! I mean to the point where you feel like bending over all over again. Very uncomfortable...

I no longer need my compression during the day because no matter what you're going to swell. I can only speak for myself, but if it makes you feel more secure then by all means wear it...some people say that it helps to shape you after the surgery, but I'm not a big believer in that since some women look great after surgery with NO BINDER. It definitely minimizes swelling though.

I've been walking. Nothing major just yet. I'm afraid to run, but I've been doing the elliptical and that seems to be doing the trick. Funny though...it's been two months and I haven't gained or lost. Just 230 even. I nice, shapely 230 but the scale won't budge. I want to lose 16 more lbs...my doc says it won't affect my tummy since the weight will probably come from my legs, boobs, and butt now : ) I can't stand to lose Anymore booty!

I'll get my mom to take pics so you can see...just hasn't been a priority for me since I've been focusing on losing more weight!

Happy healing ladies!

So I think I figured out how to beat the swelling. Here's what I do:

During the day I wear a waist cincher. Doesn't matter where you get it from as long as its comfortable but tight around your belly.

At night I wear the hospital grade compression (I have the one with Velcro).

Here's the thing: I lay down as flat as I can when I go to bed and tighten that sucker up as much as I can to make my stomach flat but still be able to sleep comfortably (I'm a side sleeper).

When I wake up in the morning I'm as flat as a board (I'll post pics this weekend).

I've even lost 3lbs (I'm assuming its water).

You gotta try this ladies. Let me know if you have any other tips or if you're already doing this. And if you are (and didn't tell me) shame on you! Ha ha!

There is so much more I could think of, but I’ll let you ladies add to this. Just some random thoughts...

Before surgery, you will have 2nd thoughts. You’ll go back and forth about whether you want to do it, whether it’s worth it…you’ll think of better things to do with that money. You’ll think about what will happen to your kids if you DIE. Guess what? nothing is more worth it than you. Not that car payment, or that new furniture set, or those bills but YOU…you’re not going to DIE from this surgery. They lift up skin, tighten muscles, and close you right back up. Lipo is sometimes done, and yes I’ve heard horror stories about the pain and bruising, but guess what? There’s risk in every surgery. Just remember to move around 24 hours after you get home. As much as you want to sit in that recliner, or lay on that couch or bed, you MUST move as soon as you can. It’ll be hard and you’ll hurt but blood clots are no joke.

Buy healthy foods BEFORE you go to surgery. The whole month I ate TERRIBLY. Snacking on everything I could get my hands on…mostly out of boredom. This is not the end of your weight loss. You have to manage what you spent all of that hard earned money on. Eat plenty of protein so you can heal properly…I think that’s why I was up and moving at two weeks. I’m on a very high protein eating regimen. Stock up on protein bars…get plenty of fruits and veggies.

You will sleep A LOT. Yes out of boredom…but mainly because it’s your bodies way of healing after surgery. I would watch tv and the next thing you know, I would be out like a light. I couldn’t go anywhere without being exhausted when I got home, and that’s ok. The more you sleep the better. You’re not lazy…your healing.

Don’t weigh yourself…this is NOT weight loss surgery. You may not lose ANY weight, but I promise you, you will lose inches. You did this to look good in your clothing. You did this because you got tired of seeing that hanging skin in the front of your stomach. You knew you were skinnier under all of that flab and fat…that’s why you did it. no more tucking you stomach into your pants and wearing those big shirts to hide the bulge in front of your jeans. I would NEVER wear dresses because I couldn’t layer, now I can’t wait until it gets warm outside.

Look at your before pictures on a regular basis. We’ll find things wrong with the tummy tuck, or with other areas of our body after the surgery. You MUST look at how you looked before to keep appreciating how you look now.

Maintain…maintain…maintain. I’ve heard so many women tell me that they’ve done this twice. Don’t do that to yourself. It takes A LOT to get back into the position you were in before this surgery. You’ll feel miserable if you gain all that skin and fat back again. You have to maintain. Eat right…exercise even if it’s just walking we have to respect our bodies enough to not put it through this a 2nd time. Like I stated in the beginning…this is NOT weight loss surgery.

It’s just really life changing for me to not see that skin hang outside of my panty line and not have the bulge in front of my body anymore. No matter how I ate or how much I worked out it just got worse and worse. I’m just so glad I did this. I may not have the ‘perfect’ body but the one thing that was the biggest nuisance to me is gone for good.