Loving my new tummy! - It's the icing on the cake in this long journey - Athens, GA

When I asked the opinion about my decision to get a TT of someone I trust to tell me the truth and not just what I wanted to hear, she said "Go for it! It's the icing on the cake in this long journey", thus the title. I am 44, ", just under 5'8". I currently weigh 184 and have lost 111lbs over the past 3 years. I am not sure what my ideal weight is, maybe 150. The doc and I believe this surgery will spur me on to the finish. Watching my "apron" deflate and get grosser looking is not very encouraging. LOL! I couldn't run a mile in high school and now I can run a 5k five days a week. I have to force myself to slow to fat burning mode, b/c I love the run!

I am fortunate that I did not cause as much skin damage as I could have, doc says he is amazed that it is not worse. He is so proud of what I have accomplished and is excited to to see the resulting surgery reverse the damage done. I have two children and had gained a significant amount of weight with each child (they are 10 years apart) and carried that weight for many years. At 40 I decided that I was wasting my life and decided to make a change. I quit smoking and a almost a year later started eating right and exercising. Sounds easy, right? Not. I wont even pretend there were not ups and downs, but I am sure you have heard it before.

Solidly in a sz 12 but a 10 in dresses that are not fitted in the hips. I am blessed with an hourglass shape and decent height. Smallish waist, about 30" at the moment. Large chest, no implants, just heredity. Even with the weight loss I am still a 34DDD, don't know if those will ever go away. (I am going to the 36/26/36 in the end!) Not complaining, but I have a feeling the girls are going to look HUGE once the TT and lipo of hips and thighs are done. I already plan on having my arms done and possibly a thigh lift. My doc says that he usually discourages the arm lift surgery due to the large scars, but in my case, he understands. It is truly the worst area. He says the thigh lift is a bad recovery and he would like me to be at my final weight (150-160) for a year before we do that. He says the same about a breast lift as well. He will not do my TT and arms together b/c he says my recovery would be miserable, but still will charge me the same as if they were done together. Yay! And, he said that since the TT will make such a huge impact on my shape (says it will look like I have dropped 25 lbs!) he recommends I do that first. So October 10th, here I come!

So anyway, the part that concerns me is that I say the last 10 lbs or so I have lost, I am seeing more wrinkling skin on my outer thigh/hip area. My husband, who has been at all the consults, says that the doc has said that the sides will "cinch" in a bit. So essentially, in addition to pulling the skin from my stomach down and the bottom portion up slightly, that it will pull forward as well. This in addition to the lipo of my hips, thighs and stomach should take care of that.

I am extremely excited about my surgery. Rental recliner ordered, time off work arranged for me and my husband, pre-op done, meds ordered, food prep planned, house cleaned, organized and sanitized. Kids taken care of, extra help on stand by, etc...

I will do my best to keep you all posted on my progress, I know I have obsessed over the blogs and pics in the last few weeks. I am just going to post 2 befores for now. I have dozens of very unflattering shots, but don't have the nerve just yet. This will give you an idea of my body type along with the stats above. I know when I was looking, I was constantly looking for someone with my body type.

I keep going from "Yay, I can't wait!" to "Am I sure I can't fix this with more working out?" Does this happen to everyone. I know I am not at goal weight, but this flap is not going away!! I don't know why I feel like I need people to tell me "it's ok" or "You're doing the right thing". Please tell me this is just cold feet!

BTW, anyone out there with similar stats needs additional pics of "before" let me know. I was kind of stingy with the pics. :)

I am anxious about sx. Just 7 days away! Traveling to see family this weekend and I am glad for the distraction. Work has slowed somewhat and it leaves me too much time to think. LOL.

Tried on a bunch of clothes yesterday to distract myself. Turned out to be fun. Everything was much bigger on me than the last time. I already need new clothes but will wait until after healed to spend anymore money.