Finally Got It Done!

I've thought about getting a tummy tuck for years, but kept putting it off for money reasons and because I wanted to be in better shape before doing it. I wish I'd been able to scrape up the money sooner and just done it as soon as I put in a deposit last year. I went in for a consultation and didn't want to book the appointment right away because, once again, I figured I'd lose some more weight before. Then the pandemic hit and I'm now 15lbs heavier (but probably more so because I lost a lot of muscle as well). Last month I finally set the date to July 19 to try and kick my butt into gear and hit the gym hard again like I used to and at least get back to the weight I was when I had my consultation, but things keep getting in the way almost daily. It's been a real struggle and I haven't made any progress and now it's only a month and 2 weeks away. I'm seriously considering postponing it, but I'm afraid of that being a mistake too. I'm a little lost on what to do or if the time I have left until my date is enough to make any real progress.

So, I was assigned a surgeon during my first and only consultation a year ago. I only recently booked my surgery date (July 19) and found this site (real self). I'm nervous because on here he only has 6 reviews, 1 which was for Botox and he's not rated, and another in which he was rated 1 star for a breast reduction. The other four are 5 stars for breast augmentations but were done 3-5 years ago (the 1 star was 1 year ago). I'm getting a tummy tuck with him and there are no reviews for him for that. He does have his own site, and the tummy tuck gallery of his work there does look good, but I don't know how recent they are and if he's maybe only showcasing his best work. I've read stories of people's messed up work by other surgeons and I'm scared I'll end up having a similar experience and dislike or hate my results. I'll be getting a tummy tuck with light lipo of the hips, flanks, and upper abdomen. The cost is $10,500. I had tried getting consultations with other surgeons, but it's always a few hundred just for a consultation (even if it's virtual) and I don't know if I'll even be choosing the surgeon I have the consultation with. And going off reviews, it seems those same doctors I'm curious about, for the same procedures, would cost me at least another $5k. I don't want to be spending hundreds on various doctors just for a consultation when I might not choose them and then on top of that be paying a ton more for the procedure. I don't know if I can shell out that kind of money, but I also know you get what you pay for. At the same time, I've seen other people here get the same procedures for less than what I will be paying too and they came out phenomenal. I'm just not sure what to do.

Just wanted to have some pictures to compare to later. This is one month prior to my procedure date. I couldn't take a great picture from the side but I wanted to show how I look with my pants holding in that excess skin and how I look with that excess skin hanging over them. It might be hard to tell, but those pictures are of the flab of skin hanging over and on top of my pants.