Big Butt and a Smile... Aventura, FL

So ladies, I never thought I would be here at this very moment, not only writing this review, but awaiting a BBL procedure. To give some background, I am 36, married with 3 kids. I am an RN, I work in the ICU at a local hospital in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH (I hate my job btw, but that is another story). My story is no different than a lot of ladies here; I had kids and the rest is history. I have always been super duper skinny and never worried about being overweight. I always worked out and I watched what I ate. I had a wake up call when I decided to have, not only 1...but 2 kids after 30. My body is not the same--not even close. I look like a different person, I am 50 lbs heavier before I had my last two kids, and it is disgusting. This is not due to baby weight. This came from a sedentary lifestyle with poor food choices, and a slower metabolism from my age. Growing up, I never had big boobs, or a big butt; but, I always had a tiny waist and hips which gave me a nice Coke bottle figure. Now, I look like I'm Sponge Bob's sister. LOL.

Anyways, instead of complaining, I decided to do something about it. I am 5'9" and I weight 189. I was 195 but I started working out and eating healthy 4 months ago to change my lifestyle. It's important to incorporate lifestyle changes to prepare your body for the shock of surgery, to heal quickly, and to keep long lasting results. For the last 6 years I have been raising kids, being a wife, attending school, and working to provide for my family. I attended graduate school when my son was 9 months, and everyone told me I couldn't do it; it was too much. I graduated 8/2011 with a MSN and a 3.9 GPA, and I haven't looked back since (Don't ever let anyone keep you from your goals). I have found in life, people will say you can't do something because they themselves don't want to see you do it. Use it as motivation.

I decided it's time for me to do something for ME! I am the oldest of 5 kids. So everyone relies on me. I found this site and started to research doctors. At first I was going to go to Dr. Matlock in LA. But once I saw the results here on Dr. Salama, it was love at first sight. I contacted Nancy, and I put down my deposit for a BBL (with lipo of inner thigh and upper arms) and BA with full lift and secured my dates. That was October, 2013. My surgery date for my BBL is 9/19/14. My surgery date for my BA with full lift is 2/15.

This process has been a roller coaster. It is mentally exhausting. Some days I am super excited, and other days I feel guilty, as though I shouldn't spend this amount of money on PS, and other days I have a lot of anxiety. I have now come to this conclusion: Some people gamble, some people use drugs, I am choosing to physically enhance myself, and I deserve this! This journey has motivated me to eat healthier, work out, and love me again inside and out. Let's be clear ladies: plastic surgery is a Billion if not Trillion dollar industry. We are not the only ones, we are just the brave ones who openly talk about it. I don't bother anyone, I stay in my lane, I take care of my kids and husband, and I work hard. I am doing this, and I am sure all of you have experienced some of the same feelings, to some degree, at some point. You deserve it too.

Anyways, so for I have ordered 90% of my supplies which I will post separately. It's down to the wire so I need to get it together. I just need to order a chair to sit in when I get back, I am ordering a director's chair off Amazon, an extra thick yoga mat for driving, and a squeem waist cincher. I have not ordered any additional CG yet because I want to wait to see what size they put me in before I go home. That will determine the size I need. I'm not trying to waste any money.

What else? I have a midsized car reserved through Firefly for a total of $116 for 10 days. Great deal, be sure to check them out. My friend is supposed to get me a discount at the Westin for $50/day, but we will see what happens...you know how that goes. In the meantime, I have a condo reserved in a suburb of Fort. Lauderdale, which I am leaning towards anyways. The only downfall is it's 20 mins from Dr. Salama's office. My flight has been booked for weeks, found a great deal on Delta for $245, nonstop and round-trip.

My plans:
My surgery is scheduled on 9/19 for the BBL. My anniversary is 9/17, so my husband and I are going to arrive on the 17th and go down to South Beach to celebrate our union. On the 18th I have my preop appt and we are going to hangout and go shopping. My husband is going to stay with me until 9/22, then my sister is going to fly down on 9/23 to help me and support me the rest of my trip.

My measurements:
Not sure, I need to measure my self and I will let you know.
I know my bust is about 38", my hips last time I measured, a year ago were 41" My waist around my belly button is probably around 34-38 inches. Again, not sure
I weigh 189.

My wish:
I don't have any wish pics. I personally think it's unhealthy, and that is not a dig at anyone so please don't get offended. What I mean is this: It is great to appreciate and like someone's results and/or shape. However, we all have different shapes and our anatomy differs. It is unrealistic for me to give Dr. Salama a picture of a girl who is 140 lbs with a 24" waist and a slope, when I weight 195 lbs, (borderline need a TT, and I have a short butt) and tell him I want to look exactly like this. Forreal? This will build you up for failure and you may be disappointed with your end results. Let's not forget, PS is an enhancement tool, not a magic wand. Instead, I aim to be the best I can be with MY frame. Personally, I want a small waist, and a flat stomach, with a slope butt--no shelf. If Dr. Salama can get me close to this as possible, I am good. Anything has to be better than where I am now. The real work comes after the surgery is performed. This is no different than anything else we treasure in life. You gotta WORK for it. Eat right, exercise, take your supplements, drink lots of water, take care of yourself and your investment ladies.

My workout:
I work out 5 days a week. I do INTENSE cardio for a least 30 mins on the three days I strength train and lift weights, and I do intense cardio for 45 min - 1 hour 2 days a week. I do Yoga and deep stretching 1 day a week. I eat healthy, no fast food, no pop, no chips and dips, no sweets. I drink lots of water, and I take protein shakes after I work out to build lean muscle. I have a cheat day once a week and I eat whatever I want on those days. Most days I still stick to healthy eating.

My pics I posted were photos I sent to Cynthia a year ago before working out at 195. At that time she told me I didn't need to lose weight. I don't know about that, so I started my work out journey to lose 20 pounds. I probably need to stop before I get too small. Haven't lost that much weight, just inches. I guess it's hard to tell my true weight since I lift heavy weights and have built muscle. I am going to send in an update pic to see what she says, and I will take a recent picture and post it with my measurements.

In the meantime, how did you ladies do when traveling home by airplane? I have a 2 hour non-stop flight, but I am only staying 7 days after my surgery. I don't want to sit. Dr. Cortes tells his ladies to use a cigar shaped pillow. What is this? Have any of you tried it or heard anything about it?

Well, I am about to work out because it's getting late here. I welcome any comments, and thank you for going on this journey with me. Good luck to everyone, wishing you small waists, big butts, and happiness from the inside to the backside #Team Salama #Biggbuttsandsmiles

I had my pre-op physical, lab work and EKG. I was fully cleared however, I am slightly anemic. I have horrible periods that last 7-8 days; I bleed heavily, and this has been a problem for the last 1-2 years (since I had my daughter). I am contemplating a partial hysterectomy , possibly in the future, because my periods are causing me to be chronically anemic. My hgb was 11.4 and I was already taking 325 mg of Iron twice a day for two weeks! That is crazy my Hgb was only 11.4. I am now taking a stronger form of Iron, still twice a day, and I have to go back for iron studies. It makes me nervous. I talked to my sister, husband, mother, and best friend about it, and they did not give me the moral support I anticipated receiving. They were nonchalant about it. I got the impression, they don't want to see me go through with this procedure. But guess what? It is happening, no one can keep me from getting my snap back. As long as I feel healthy and safe, I am going to have the surgery. I go back to the doctor tomorrow for further testing. I will post the results once they are in. Thanks ladies for your continued support. It means the world to me!!

Sorry for the delay with my updated measurements and pics. My measurements are:

Arms: 12.5
Bust: 36
Upper waist: 31
True waist: 36 (measuring at belly button region)
Hips/Butt: 43 (Told y'all I had hips:)
Thighs: 26