12 Weeks Post-op. Feeling pretty darn good!

I love my new waist. The other day, I wore my favorite "skinny" capris that I have not been able to wear in years (since I was 10 lbs lighter) and they were comfortable.

But I have to admit that it's been hard to really get used to my new shape. I used to keep an eye on my waist to gauge my weight and now my waist looks great even when I'm gaining weight. Now, my face is getting rounder, my boobs are bigger and my thighs are a little bit bigger, but I'm not attuned to those changes the way I was to my belly. It's hard to explain... I just don't want to gain weight to where I feel like I need to lipo my thighs and get a breast reduction :-)

I'm still easing my way back into exercise. I'd say that I'm about 60% back to my pre-op level of fitness. Adding weights to my routine has been the hardest but I've been making some good progress during the last week or so. It's nice to see the beginning of muscle definition in my arms and legs. I've been missing it. I'm planning a 10K in May.

Compression is becoming a thing of the past. I wear my waist-cincher when I run, but that's it. Sometimes I wear spanx, but I hate them. Spanx has to be the most uncomfortable thing ever! Well.... I suppose corsets were worse... thank GOODNESS I was born after the corset craze ended!

At my last appointment, my doctor said that he's not worried about my pleating (although I am), but he is a little concerned with my bb (but I wasn't... until he said something). He says that I need 6 full months before we can evaluate the pleating.... ok

Belly is still sore and swollen sometimes: at the end of a long day, after exercise. Swelling is located above the incision and sometimes above my bb as well.

Weight: 152 (oh my!)
Waist: 32.5 (at bb), 31 (natural)
Hips: 39
Bust: 38
Face: oh wait....

Good luck ladies, wherever you are in your journey. Thanks (as always) for your updates and support.

I taught a Zumba class today! I haven't done that since December and I was really worried about it. It was hard and I'm tired, but I'm not hurt and that's the important thing. I probably didn't have 100% of my hip/rib mobility back... in fact I know I didn't (body rolls were not happening for me) but it was pretty darn fun. Now I'm whooped and very hungry.

Hope you all are well!

Things have been rolling right along.

I've started running. I'm up to 2.41 miles and although it's hard, it's not quite like starting over from scratch. There's one place on my tummy where I feel little zaps of pain but it doesn't happen if I wear my super-duper waist cincher.

Today *was* going to be my first day back at my strength training class. BUT, I'm not feeling ready. I've been carrying firewood up the stairs and that's enough. I can do it, but I still feel like I need to be careful.

Spin class has been awesome. I can work really hard, get my endorphin rush and be happy all day! All without hurting anything :-) I didn't realize it until I started exercising again, but I NEED to exercise, it keeps me happy. When I was exercising a few times per week, I didn't notice how much better it made me feel.

My scar is calming down quite nicely but there's still quite a lot of swelling above it. There's still pleating on the left side but it is getting better.

On compression: I wear a mixture of spanx, the super-duper waist cincher and nothing. Sometimes it feels fine to wear nothing so I do. But not if I'm doing any sort of exercise. Then it's the waist cincher.

On a somewhat sad and very frustrating note, I've put on a little bit of weight. I'm at 151 which was on the high side BEFORE I had 3-4 pounds of flab and skin removed. You can probably see it in the pictures.