Tired of my Belly Not Following Suit with the Rest of my Body - Palm Beach Gardens, FL

i am a 38 yr old who works out 5 days a week and i have tried to naturally get my body into shape and for the most part i am thrilled at where it is but it seems my belly sits out while I am at the gym. I can feel the muscles underneath there...way down there somewhere. I need to rid myself of the excess skin from childbirth and fluctuation of weight loss/gain through the years. i have been steady with my weight the last couple of year so I am finally ready to make the move. I think some times diet and exercise can only do so much. I will have a mini tummy tuck with muscle repair and lipo along with a breast augmentation. I am super excited for my upcoming surgery in less than 3 weeks! Once the ball started rolling; everything has happened so fast!

I am 2 weeks away from surgery. I am trying to get everything ready and feel a bit overwhelmed with the preparations both at home and at work. I guess the only thing I can really do is make a list and tackle one thing at a time...

had my preop with the PS on Thursday. we are all set to go... Finally decided on a size...425cc. it was bigger than i initially imagined but what do i know with my itty bitties i have had all my life. i want something but i want it to be fairly natural looking. i dont want someone to see me and be like '' hello boobies!" lol

I just picked up all my scripts and was able to pick up next months birth control pills so i can start this week to avoid having my period on the day of surgery. I just dont think i can handle a heavy period on top of surgery. I am making a list and checking it twice. the bf will be out of town and will return the day before surgery so i need the weather up north to be good so there are no delays in him getting home. i am so anxious for this to already come so i can start healing already!! i have a friend that is also getting some work done on the 16th and she is just as anxious as she is also getting breast aug with the same PS. i think the thing that gets me the most is the anticipation of the pain and the healing process. I am hoping that with being fairly healthy that it will not be too bad. I think it is why i have stayed off here a bit. it was helping and creating my anxiety. Posting some before pics.

so i dont remember much on surgery day. once they gave me something to relax...thats is all i really recall until they were waking me up! i was shivering and so out of it. the pain was ok initially until later on that night and it was a lot of pain in my boobs than anywhere else. i was very much expecting to have my pains from the mini TT and lipo. Seems i am more muscular in my chest area. my muscles are sitting pretty high on my chest and it looks odd. The PS said it will come down. He currently has a strap thing across the top of my breast. my tummy looks flatter so the lipo did its job. the first few days all i wanted to do was sleep, i could barely keep my eyes opened if i tried. my bf has been such a blessing to me. i could not have asked for a better caregiver. i am glad now to be up and about. i stopped the percocet yesterday as my pains have been minimal usually just to my lower back where i am bruised up. sleeping is a bit uncomfortable. what i would give to be able to sleep on my side! i am hoping to get my drainage out in the next couple of days, hopefully tomorrow. i am planning on returning to work on Friday. i will leave early if needed. will take some photos later and post

Took my first shower by myself today! It was nerve racking. Going to see the PS and hopefully getting my drain out. I'm having such a hard time finding a comfy position to sleep in... I am walking up feeling like a ton of bricks. My body is totally asleep on the backside. I wake up frequently and try to move my arms and legs and also my butt, it's hard. I need the assistance of my bf to sit me up so I can get out is the bed. Anyone with suggestions? I'm sleeping with a wedge pillow and a couple more pillows. Anyways, I'm currently not happy with the look of my breast. It's so weird looking. This mass if muscle on top of my chest then kinda blended in to my implant. I was going to post pics but I don't know that I want anyone else to see it much myself. I'm headed back to work tomorrow. I will test out driving later on this evening, I've been off percocet since Tuesday and have only been taking the muscle relaxers when absolutely necessary.

i feel pretty good! i can walk straight and I have been back at work for a week now. I feel like I want to do so much but know that I have to restrain and remind myself that I am still healing! it makes me crazy to be just sit around. It was good for the first week, now i am ready to get back to working out. i may try to walk a bit next week and see how i feel. I just feel so inactive, it is driving me bonkers! I pass my gym everyday on the way to work and i longingly look at it wishing i could be there. sounds so silly but working out not only was a stress reliever for me but made me feel good. I know that with the enhancements i made that it will be even better in the future! i have finally decided to post post-op pics. i was not too thrilled with how my breast look and made me apprehensive about posting the pics. Due to my muscular chest, the muscles are sitting high. I am wearing my bandeau as much as i can stand hoping this will help push these suckers down. i want normal looking breasts! it would be the procedure i was less worried about that has given me the most issues. The PS did mention maybe needing to do a revision but we would have to wait and see how they look once they drop. i hope it will drop and fluff and look fine. i really do not want to go back under the knife. i wont worry and just be patient as it has really only been 2 weeks since surgery. my belly is flat and i am happy, PS was surprised how well it turned out. he was honest and did say it would be a B+ job, i didnt have enough skin to do a full TT but with the mini TT and the lipo it did rid me of the excess love handles and the excess hanging over in the front that made me cringe.

During this whole process my main concerns have been for the TT. I have had better than expected results with the mini TT and lipo but I'm having all the issues with my BA which I didn't give much thought to. I didn't expect muscles to sit on top of my implants and give me rectangle breast, I have to wear this bandeau that is so annoying and cuts my skin up. I took off my steri tape today and the stitches are fine except I'm discovering tons of new stretch marks. I never even thought of this being an issue but is giving me pains and it itches. I'm just irritated I didn't foresee this. Just a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things but it's looking ugly in the underside of my breast. Anyone else with newly turned stretch marks?

So I finally took off thebinder is my TT and I'm happy with the scar. It's thin and pretty flat. Posting a pic of my belly scar. Also, a bikini top shot to see what it looks like. I've been wearing a tank but just finally bought a couple of seamless bras.

I've started using kelo-cote on my BA scar and biodermis silicon straps on my belly. Bio oil for my new stretch marks. Going to be religious about this ritual to give my scars the best chance.

I also went for a 30 minute walk tonight, it felt weird at first but then felt good. I almost started in a jog but thought better of it. I don't want to push it. Going to continue walking and up the time. It's driving me nuts not working out. I did bring in groceries yesterday and kicked the door shut, boy I felt it right in my gut. My first real dose of reality that I am not healed yet.
I haven't been eating add all as I usually eat. I've had the worst sugar cravings. It's crazy!! Is not working out contributing to this?!
This may be TMI but I haven't been regular since surgery even with probiotics. Anyone with any of these issues?

Walked again tonight with the bf and he kept saying I was walking too fast. Lol I feel really good when I'm moving. I came back in and did some squats and sets of curls and press with a 10lb kettle bell. I haven't seen my PS and wont till two weeks from now. I won't do any abs and I'm going to try to not go crazy till I see him again with the OK to get back to working out. I think once I can get back to working out it will curb this sugar cravings I've had lately. I want ask the surgery goodness! I can't even help myself. I feel almost out of control. It's my self sabatoging in full effect. Why do I do this to myself?? I need back to my routine and structured eating.

I have a follow up visit with the PS on Tuesday and I am hoping he will give me clearance to go back to working out. As soon as I hear yes, I am back on Wednesday AM! Walking is not working for me. My boyfriend has been so over protective about me doing anything other than walking. It's sweet but I'm ready to get the show on the road!

So saw the PS on Tuesday and he gave me the ok to go back to working out but I am to be careful with my stomach. He said everything looks good and I am happy with the incisions and the way I am healing. I still get these spasms in my breast; he said it was due to my muscles. Still waiting for my breast to drop more. I have to realize I am really only 5 weeks PO; this will happen in time. funny how we want everything to happen right this very second. I am truly happy with my body right now and know that it can get better which I am really excited for; working out will shape me to wear I want to be! Let the fun begin!

I worked out for the 1st time since surgery yesterday and wow it kicked my butt. it felt good but it also made me realized that I need to go slow with this process. It was hard to do a lot of the ab type exercises that I easily did once upon a time. I will not do any exercise that will jeopardize my healing. I will go slow and work out 2 days this week, 3 next week and eventually back to 5 days. It is hard to do a group exercise and not be able to do so many things pertaining to my chest or abs. seems like everything affects one or the other. I have a couple more months on my contract and then will eventually move into crossfit; I am hoping by then my body is ready. I am really sore today in most of my body especially my legs and back. Looking forward to the torture again tomorrow! It makes me feel good to get back into the routine of my life.

i have been working out and even had some days where i did two workouts in a day. i am trying out a boxing class along with my boot camp classes. i have been going 3 days a week instead of the usual 5 days. i am cautious with my belly and am not doing most chest exercises. i feel so good working out again.
my belly is not as tight as it was right after surgery, i guess that is bond to happen. it is still flat but not as tight! i am still having back pains. it feels so tight especially after waking up. there will be random times that i am sitting watching tv and will move to get up and it will feel tight and hurt. i dont know if this is from the tummy tuck or if it is something else. i havent talked to my PS yet. i have been chalking it up to swelling causing the tightness. anyone with these issues? other than this, i am feeling great and am loving the way everything is falling into place!! the muscles on top of my breast seem to have settled and i am really excited about that and the overall result of the surgery.

I've been so busy lately. I've been back three days a week at my group exercise (bootcamp) classes and have now signed up for boxing and I'm going 2-3 times a week. I love it! I am still modifying from any chest exercises and am careful with abs exercises. My belly is not as tight as it once was but im happy with it. The scar is healing nicely but I am still swelling when I'm working out our doing too much. My breast are great, they have settled nicely and I have no complaints.
I am taking a motorcycle course this weekend and the bf tells me to not fall on my implants. Lol he's such a funny guy. He also seems to think I should of went bigger but when we are laying in bed he thinks they are big, men! I think they are at a perfect size.