Panniculectomy & Tummy Tuck After 100+ Lb Weightloss - Denver, CO

So here's me...Im a 30 year old female. I have always had somewhat of a weight issue but throughout high school I was very athletic, played basketball, ran track, etc. In my early 20s I experienced significant weight gain, due partially to depression partially my (not so fantastic) diet habits (ie: drinking at the bar for hours then hole in the wall mexican food at
3 AM several nights a week. Hey, at least I got my cardio in with dancing! Lol). At 28 (better late than never) I finally committed to a serious health change. I was terrified of what was ahead of me if I didn't. I joined the super fancy gym at located in my office building & started my journey. After a couple frustrating months, I made the leap to personal trainer. Best decision I have ever made. Within 6 weeks I was down 24 lbs and I never looked back. Over the course of a year, I lost over 100 lbs, 270 down to 165 (currently 168 due to vacation & the holidays). I train hard, everyday but Sunday. I love it, I remember now why I loved being an athelete. However, as a teenage athlete I didnt have this pannus in my way..literally. No matter how hard I trained or how much I lost, it remained. It gets in my way when I am working out (running, mountain climbers, its not an attractive sound or feeling & honestly its embarassing & holds me back at times). I also have had some back problems (lower) associated with the excess skin. My doctor determined (& my insurance thankfully) that it was medically necessary to have the surgery. However, much like other stories on here, he doesnt feel I need the muscle tightening as I have not had kids ans due to my training and excercise. He thinks my core and muscles are strong enough on their own. At first I was disappointed but I have seen amazing
results here , so I have hope!! Im scheduled for Jan 8 & I am anxious, nervous, scared and mostly excited! I think the worst part for me will be recovery, in that I will have to skip the gym & training for a while. That is what honestly scares me the most.

Well, here I am 17 days out...just about 2 1/2 weeks until my surgery & the anxiety is hitting hard. I have a million thoughts running through my head about it and I don't even know where to start. What if it doesn't look good? What if it doesn't turn out how I'm expecting..hoping it will? What if I haven't lost enough weight? What about after the surgery, when I go back to training? What's going to happen then? Probably seems a little silly..maybe not, I'm sure everyone has a million thoughts running through their heads before a surgery like this. I am trying not to be anxious, I'm trying not to let my fears get the best of me. I feel like for the past couple of weeks I've worked so hard to try to get down a few more pounds and of course, it's not happening. That stresses me out, stress is the worst thing for me right now. My pre op is next Wed (the 31st) & I will address all of these issues with my surgeon. I just wish I could shake these nerves. I just feel like I've worked so hard to get to the point where I can even have this surgery and I know that once it's done, I'll still have work to do. It's just a stepping stone for me, to get to where I feel I should be. I think that's where a lot of my anxiety is coming from.

So this morning was my pre-op and I have to say that I already feel much more relaxed about the surgery. I think I'll have a little anxiety until after it's done, just because I don't know how i'll look and of course, missing the gym for a couple of weeks is really going to be hard for me. But my trainer gave me a couple of very simple at home things to do once I'm feeling better, not serious workouts, just a couple of little things to keep my muscles working while I'm out of comission. We discussed my nutrition and taking in extra protein. I think, aside from my normal meals, I'll be drinking some protein shakes with my muscle milk or muscle pharm. He seems very confident about my results and I keep telling myself that anything is an improvement from what I've got going on now. :) 8 days out!!!