Mid-40's Breat Reduction and Abdominoplasty - Portland, Oregon

I was an athlete most of my youth and 20's. A horribly rocky start to marriage resulted in a 50 lb weight gain at 29, and then a broken foot that wouldn't heal for 6 months added another 50 that same year (well, not being able to workout, which is how I kept my weight from increasing). I managed to lose the second 50 three times. Once on my own after discovering a low carb diet, once after the first child at 39 and just recently after my 2nd child in my 40's. But total weight loss has eluded me for over 15 years. I'm currently about 35 pounds from my realistic goal weight and contemplating a BR/TT/Liposuction procedure. My thinking was that I don't seem to be able to get down to that weight on my own, so do the procedures so I'm happier with my body now, and hope that any further weight loss doesn't require revision.

However, after talking with the PS before my consult, I am now questioning if I should wait. And reading the many stories here on RS, I'm starting to wonder if I should be a candidate at all. Most reviewers list their weight and height and I can't get over how much less everyone weighs than I do. It's discouraging. I see women who I think look like they have the same body I have, and then I see their weight is 140 pounds! I can't figure out if I'm built with bones the weight of gold or if I have a serious disconnect between what I see in the mirror and the reality of my body.

When I was talking to the PS, I heard myself saying, "my weight is mostly muscle" and found myself cringing afterwards that he must hear that from fat women all the time. The thing is, I'm in really good shape. I work out all the time and lately have been doing 2-5 hours a day. When I had my second C-Section, the OB-GYN actually said after the baby was delivered and he was sewing me up, "wow, you have a LOT of muscle here." I think I've clung to that - that if only I could lose the leftover paunch of fat, there would be a six pack underneath waiting to be uncovered.

Similarly, I've had a dream since I sprouted large breasts overnight when I was around 17 years old of getting them lopped off. When I gained weight, I became a full D cup, and with the babies and breastfeeding, I maxed out at a 38K cup. I'm back down to a 34DDD, but no amount of weight loss will get me to the small B I so desperately want to be.

I found some great results (according to the before/after photos) from a PS on the other side of the country and I thought, hey, the PS I like closer to home will be able to do the same thing, right? Wrong. He's much more conservative and so I am realizing that if I do the procedure with him, I am probably not going to get tiny B breasts or massive lipo with my TT. I will have to do more than one surgery over time, and I don't know if I can afford that or if I'd want to go through it more than once. And I'm not sure all the pain and money will be worth it if I'm still forced to wear an Enell bra to exercise. I would find it a complete waste to have D breasts, and a C would be disappointing.

So, I'm backtracking and wondering if I should maybe just get some liposuction done to reduce those hard to burn areas of fat on my back, thighs and upper abdomen and then work on losing the final 35 pounds before going for the BR/TT. Maybe if I get down to my final weight, there will be enough shrinkage that I will get that small B that I want. Of course, I just had my first mammogram and found out I'm level 3 density, which seems like it will be harder to remove as much as I want taken out. I had so hoped it was all fat!

Finally, I don't want to post my surgeon until I am set to do the surgery with him, but I will say now that I didn't do a bunch of consults like we're supposed to. I looked online and went through websites and narrowed it down through before/after photos, physician comments, and reviews. I really liked this one guy for some reason and so just set up a consult with him. After talking with him on the phone, I like him a whole lot for his honesty and integrity. He was not in a hurry to get off the phone, he answered all my questions and he pretty much discouraged me from having the surgery if my plan was to lose more than 25 pounds after due to the high chance I would have skin sagging and need a revision. As much as I'd like to go with a doctor who takes big risks and sees some amazing results with a few of his patients, I think I'm more comfortable with a doctor who is realistic and cautious so that I don't have major issues afterwards.

My in-person consult is next month, so I should know by then if I'm going through with the full surgery now, or will wait until I've lost more weight. I will say that just the prospect of getting surgery has motivated me in a way I hope will be lasting. I just don't want to lose momentum by putting it off indefinitely.

I forgot to put in my "stats" in my first post (thanks TJphnson for pointing that out) and RealSelf doesn't let you edit your posts! I will remember that for the future (need to spell check and really consider what I'm saying...). But for now: I'm 5'3" and currently 175 pounds.

Ok, so I have been depressed since reading the real self reviews because I weigh a lot more than the other women my height getting the same procedure(s) I want, and I started wondering if maybe I'm a little deluded about what I actually look like. I did a google search and found this amazing website: http://www.mybodygallery.com/index.html#.VQSwOZPF_qw. You put in your height, weight, age, and other factors that can narrow it down and the gallery shows you real women who have photographed themselves so you can see other women your size (or any size). What a relief! These women all look like me. Sure, we are different and there are differences between the women too (some are obviously athletic and have more muscle, some carry the weight in different places), but after seeing them, I know I'm not crazy, and also these women are beautiful right where they are =).