32 Yr Old in Ft Worth, TX, No Children, 77lb Weight Loss- Tummy Tuck and Flank/Bra Back Lipo - Plano, TX

I started this journey of transforming and taking control of my body, back on New Year's Day 2011... my resolution was to lose all the weight that had crept on throughout the years. I was 28 years old at the time, had my routine physical to discover that my blood pressure and cholesterol were normal, but on the high end of normal, that alarmed me. I was only 28, knowing that I didn't like what I saw in the mirror and the size 14-16 pants I put on everyday, but it didn't occur to me that I would need to be taking measures to watch my blood pressure and cholesterol. Talk about a wake up call! So on New Years Day 2011, I stepped on the scale, at 214 pounds, and drove myself down the next day to Weight Watchers. Thus started my weight loss journey... and the blood, sweat and tears, that got me to 137 pounds that I am today (give or take a few throughout a month, ;0))

My name is Jennifer, I am 5' 8" and 32 years old. I have never had children, nor do my husband and I plan to have biological children in our future. We say we are the best auntie and uncle ever! I met my husband through friends of the family 9 years ago, had a crush on him the moment I met him, and we were friends for 7 years, until it turned into something more. We dated for 3 months and were married by elopement, that was over 2 years ago.

Being from a Christian home, I was reared that charm is deceiving and beauty is fleeting, but that a woman who loves and fears the Lord is to be praised. My family did a wonderful job encouraging good self confidence in other areas of our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control, but it was not always expressed, the importance of taking care of yourself on the outside. So, as I continued to grow and mature, the way I ate and my sedentary lifestyle, caused weight to gain quite quickly. I didn't really care too much about that because I was told that a man falls in love with your heart, and as a single gal that hits all the romantic points in our hearts... "if I could only find someone that will love me for me!" This is extremely true, and should be expected... but one thing I learned that resonated with me was I had this guy friend that was a personal trainer. While we were have a very deep and meaningful conversation he said, "Men don't fall in love with your heart on first glance... they see a woman and say, whoa that's good... get to know her and that is how they fall in love with your heart!" That really struck and stuck with me, "men don't fall in love with your heart on first glance." So, to attract the type of man that I am attracted to, I needed to take care of me first, inside and out!

It wasn't easy, as I know many of you women can attest too... baby weight, surgeries, menstrual cycles, more babies, and good old fashioned not-watching-what-goes-in-our-mouths... leads to this journey we have all come from or going through right now. I have read dozens of reviews since a friend of mine that had a tummy tuck a year ago referred me to get plugged into this community, and I am so proud of each and every one of you. I tell all my friends and family, that a commitment to weight loss, eating right, changing your lifestyle, starts with you and you have to do it for you! Keep up the great work ladies, y'all deserve this!

Okay, so about my procedure... in telling you my back story, my husband is my biggest fan and supporter! He has seen me when I was 77 pounds heavier (while we were still friends) and knew my heart then, but fell in love with my commitment to taking charge of my body, when he saw the pounds coming off, and the more active I became. I have seen personal trainers, done various diets and workout routines (I am a P90X graduate and fiend, LOVE IT) to try and erase all the damage I have done to my body. I went from Weight Watchers, which taught me portion control, to a strict Paleo diet. Eating clean is VERY important to me and my family! I workout 5-6 days a week, one hour at a time, cardio to full body weight training. I say all this, to lead to, nothing I did would get the bulge from my belly. No number of crunches to miles run would allow me to really see what is/was going on behind these three rolls of skin. I was frustrated, to say the least, I called my personal trainer friends, asking for help, they had nothing... finally one of them told me that the skin can only come back so far, especially in a weight loss like you have had... though my journey had consisted of diet and exercise, losing the average 1-2 pounds a week, and weight training all the while, that didn't matter... unfortunately the damage was done... He then told me to go see a plastic surgeon about possible remedies.

I have had experience with Plastic Surgeons in the past, about 12 years ago I had a breast reduction, and to this day it is the best decision I have ever made... I would do it again in a heart beat! Going from stuffing myself into a DD cup, because I didn't want to order a special sized bra, to a very curvy and comfortable C cup... so happy! This gave me proportion at a time in my life when I was very self conscious of my body.

Living in Dallas/Ft Worth area, this is the mecca for Plastic Surgeons, I am sure there are other cities that boast of such, but I would say DFW is up there! ;0) My husband and I scheduled my first consult with a well renowned surgeon in downtown Dallas, he was very nice. Looked at my body and gave me his prognosis. He said that he could fix the damage, that what he was looking at could not be remedied by diet and exercise. I would need a full tummy tuck and flank liposuction to take care of the fat deposits in the love handles. We went through the rest of the consultation got the amount it would cost us and kindly went home to figure out our next course of action. I was sticker shocked to say the least, I mean I knew what PS surgeries cost, having had a 16,000.00 surgery several years ago, but blessed enough that my insurance picked up all but my deductible of 1000.00. Here, my husband and I having only been married, less than one year at the time, saving for our first home together and now this... I was having the inner turmoil, you know the one, the one that says, "Is this really necessary?" "You are just being selfish!" "There are soooo many more things you can be doing with that kind of money." Just when I was in about to say, this isn't going to happen, my Love grabs my hand and says, "let me do this for you, you have worked so hard to accomplish 95% of your goal... the time, energy and commitment, I want to give you the last 5%! If you want this, I want it for you!" Yup, that is right ladies, I found a good one!
So, we went home, made the commitment that a home is first priority, we budgeted and saved (did I mention that I am a housewife, my husband is our breadwinner, so we live on one income)... built and moved into our new home on December of 2013, and set up saving for my tummy tuck.

I had a second consultation with another surgeon a few months ago, I had been praying and I really wanted a female surgeon. I had a female do my breast reduction and just felt more at peace with that, so I met with Dr. Young in Plano. From the moment of calling to book the consultation, to stepping foot in her office I have felt so comfortable. Beverly, her assistant, is so sweet, she herself had a tummy tuck a couple years ago by Dr. Young and she showed me her incision line. Throughout the whole appointment we connected! She was so thorough, I never felt rushed or silly for the questions and concerns I had. It was at that appointment, I set my tummy tuck, and after her prognosis, flank and bra back liposuction, for December 18, 2014. It will have been a LONG six months from my consult to surgery, but it will be well worth it! I am literally counting the days!! **find the doctor you are comfortable with, they are the ones that you are entrusting your final results too!**

What has been awesome, is that I have a real support system... my family, even though they don't understand per say, support me and are excited for me. Two of my good friends have had tummy tucks and I have been able to ask loads of questions and get their personal feedback. Having been introduced to this website is a God send. I hope to chronicle my journey from lumps and bumps to the flat side as well has half the ladies on this blog.

My goal is to follow my surgeon's instructions, as if they are law. Too not be a hero, my husband says he is going to take care of me and I am going to allow him to do so. My mom is flying in from MI to help me for the first few days, I am so blessed by this kind gesture. It always feels good to have your "mommy" there when you aren't feeling well! I am a pretty holistic person, so I plan to fill my prescriptions (instructions as if they are law, lol!) but my hope is to get off them as soon as possible and use supplements in place of chemicals to treat what may rise. Eat several small meals a day, my friends both said they LOVED applesauce while they were mending the first few weeks, protein shakes, soups (made ahead and frozen to watch sodium content and control what ingredients I am putting into my newly transformed body!)

I hope I keep realistic expectations... this body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and one day it will fade away... but in this life, I want to experience looking in the mirror and being encouraged by what I see after an intense workout, I don't want to be scared to have 3-5 pounds extra one week and know that could make or break me getting into a couple pairs of my jeans. My expectation is that I will have a different tummy than the one I see everyday, and it will continue to motivate me to keep this body heathy, fit and strong!

Thank you for taking the time to read my posts, I feel honored to be a part of this community and cannot wait to read all the success stories!

I will post some tummy photos, argh, later on tonight... for now, here is some befores and afters with my weight loss journey!

Many blessings! Peace, Love and Happiness
Jennifer

85 days!!! Everyday closer to completion of a nigh 3 year journey of transformation! I will update pictures hopefully tonight, so that y'all have a look at my before tummy tuck and lipo and know what I am "working" with now... no more rolls, that is all I really care about, no more rolls! Come on December 18!!

Hello RS Friends,

After looking at dozens of reviews over the past few weeks, I noticed that the surgeon/surgery fees disclosed here are all over the place... I have seen from $4900.00-12,000.00 for a tummy tuck- and whatever add ons from there.
I feel that maybe a better explanation of my cost with Dr. Patty may help someone else looking to get a tummy tuck and wanting to know what to budget and be ready for financially.

With saying this, I realize the cost depends upon doctor, location, procedure, etc. but I will give the break down of the cost of my procedure- I am having a full tummy tuck with liposuction of my flanks and bra back. I live in Ft Worth and my surgeon is in Dallas. I will be staying one night at the hospital in a private room, with an adjoining bed for my sweet hubby to be there with me. You will see my quote includes, surgeon fees, hospital costs and anesthesiologist fees and for how many hours of his/her service. My Love and I are paying cash for this surgery, so we were given a discount off of the surgeons fees... essentially they discounted 5%, what they are normally charged for credit card processing or financing from their bank/processor. No additional discounts given from hospital or anesthesiologist as they already price cosmetic surgery at a significant discount, to make it feasible for you and I to afford their services. My pre-labs and binder are included in the surgeons fees, as well as up to 1 year of post op visits, if need be, at no additional cost to me. Since my surgery is not until Dec 18, I have not filled any prescriptions, so I do not know the cost to me on these yet, as we are responsible for filling and paying for them separate. I have seen some ladies post that they usually run around $150-200.00, once I have specifics for my situations I will share with y'all!

Also, I pay all three entities separately, surgeon, hospital and anesthesiologist.
Okay so here goes,

Dr. Patty's Fees:
Full Tummy Tuck (with fascia repair on abs, including obliques) $5,000.00
Liposuction (flank and bra back) $3000.00
**discount for paying cash** -$400.00
Total: $7,600.00

Hospital Fees:
Tummy Tuck: $1,650.00
Liposuction: $665.00
**overnight stay- private room** $300.00
Total hospital stay: $2615.00

Anesthesiologist Fees:
Tummy Tuck: 4 hours $1280.00
Liposuction: 3 hours $780.00
($500.00 for the first hour, and $260.00 for each additional hour)
Total Anesthesiologist cost: $2060.00

For a grand total of $12,275.00 for my transformation!

I chose to disclose this information, because I know what it is like to save and budget for something you want so desperately, I thought it only fair to share my cost so that y'all are more prepared when you go to see your own surgeon. Knowledge is power, and I like to be prepared and in the know! Please if anyone has any questions, you can message me or make comments below... Hope this helps and gives confidence in your personal approach of this adventure! Keep smiling- we are one day closer to the flat side!!