Getting my Strong Curves Back - Tijuana, MX

Ahh, where did the the time go? One minute I had a nice athletic and strong body with curves everyone wants now (back then we all wanted to be Skinny Minny) fast forward and self care took a back seat to career, family and home and, WHUMPH, I almost doubled in size.

** Disclaimer- I worked for the insidious processed food industry and was the poster girl what that kind of food does to you.

After years of trying different things and becoming a research junky, I finally lost 85 lbs and was pretty decent, Heck better than decent, only to add back 25lbs (dramatic sob story here) and this weight looks ugly, puckery, rolly. It took full advantage of my degraded collagen and less resilient skin, which I have likely made worse with repeated half assed attempts that resulted in 10 lb yo-yo fluctuations.

MY Public Service Announcement- DO NOT YO YO WEIGHT GAIN!!!

I've thought about a surgical response for a long while and it is very, very hard for me to spend this kind of money on myself, just myself. But my husband and partner in life is very encouraging. He says go for it, I deserve it, I'm worth it, and afterwards we will go to Jamaica. (where did I get such a lovely man?)

So I have started conversation with a couple of Dr.s after looking at reviews, pics, profiles and then reaching out to patients of those Dr.s to see how their experience really was. Although the approaches were disparate, the Dr.s consensus was that I need a Lower Body Lift. BTW when you get conflicting information and approaches, I think you should ask the Dr. to explain their opinion vs. another, you will find out a whole lot of stuff you might not otherwise and some of it might be important to your decision making. After all this and making some good friends here, I have decided on Dr. Victor Gutierrez. He was not the least expensive but he listened to my concerns and priorities, treated me as a unique person, plus the patients of his that I talked to, met and even saw in person the results were fabulous and they all said they felt no real pain. Not like the stories you usually read about.

Excited to meet the Dr. tomorrow in person! Tagging along with AZDee to TJ and getting a pre-op consult so we can fine tune what needs doing. I have an old trauma at the base of my left buttock that I am wanting attended to, it is the dent that creates an extra ripple below and shows in a lot of things I wear. Not nice. But it will be a fun overnight in the San Diego Area, and a little cooler than our Phoenix. We are hoping we might get a sneek peek at the Doc's new surgery and recovery center that is under construction.

Meanwhile I was in the gym this morning working on the muscles- So this transformation is part me and part the Doc. I want to improve the musculature that I've let go to seed and provide a good scaffold for the LBL. And I want to be as strong as possible for a good recovery as about a month after I'll be visiting with my sister and helping her open her brand new indoor tennis club in Camas WA.

I mean, where else but Mexico are you going to get to spend lunch hanging out with your Plastic Surgeon?

We got to TJ and Dr. Gutierrez' office and Elsa, office manager, patient coordinator and superhero, tells us the doctor is on his way but suggests we go to the seafood restaurant across the street and have lunch and he will meet us there. So we have a wonderful lunch hanging out with Dr. G and Elsa before we even have our appointments.

When we do finally get to my actual consult, we talk about my entire list of fixes. We discussed medial thigh lift groin incision only, butt lift, full tummy tuck with muscle repair, mini face lift, mini upper arm lift, lipo scupture in various discreet areas and treatment for tuberous breast with breast implants and a small lift. I know, sounds like a lot, and it is.... and it can't all be done at the same time. Of course not. It is too much trauma and too much potential blood loss for me, which would jeopardize my health and recovery, and too much surgery time for him. He is only human after all.

So after a few minutes of pushing things around we decided together that the LBL, which is the butt lift and flankplasty, the medial thigh lift (groin crescent) and the tummy tuck would be done in August and the mini face lift, mini brachioplasty (axilla crescent) and breast work would be done some months down the road.

Now comes the ummmm bad news. I have to lose some 10lbs+/- of fat off my thighs to really get the results that I want. I have a fair amount of thick adipose tissue still sitting in reserve, mostly near the top half of the thighs. I am in the gym weight training now to improve my musculature, trying to make a perkier glute and stronger hamstring. But I was not trying to achieve a net loss of weight. I know some will come, but I was after strength and muscle gain. ( those legs in the blue pair of leggings are not what I look like now but they are my inspiration) And there is no such thing as spot fat reduction, unless it is lipo. However we are avoiding doing a lot of lipo on the thighs because results can be iffy, there is lymph structures you don't want to damage and very superficial fat just can't be lipoed. So I need to add some other components to the program. Apparently cheese had just been stricken from my diet :(

Do you ever feel like you are your own pet? I have to feed me and pet me and take me out for my exercise and check my vitamins, brush my skin, get a chiro adjustment, etc, etc.....