ms.sss

i'm one of those that had a 3-fer. I had breast lift, arm lift and tummy tuck all in one knock out. i too tried to decide if i should space them out. since my surgeon said he could do them all under 6 hours (his max under time), he left it up to me. i initially decided just to do just the arms and boobs but then at the very last second decided to add the tummy tuck as well. i'm glad i did cuz my recovery was a bee-yatch...though all of my own doing...but i digress...and i'm glad i don't have to go through that again. in all, am super pleased with his work. my arm are nice and slim (i live in sleeveless shirts), my boobs are like teenager boobs (i can go bra-less no prob), and my stomach is (almost as) flat a board (i have 20 year olds in my yoga class who compliment on my abs on a regular basis...btw im 52). if you have the means and the desire to get plastics, go for it. its a total game changer. the hardest part is the recovery, but if you take it slow and do as your doc says, you'll be up and at em (and looking hawt) in no time. good luck! ❤️

something to note that i discovered many women (and men) don't realize is cup size is not static across band sizes (sorry if you do know, i just got the feeling that this wasn't clear in the thread above...) anyway... the amount of "boob volume" that can be stuffed into a 36C is actually LESS than the amount you can stuff into a 34C. along the same lines, that same 36C boob is larger in VOLUME than a boob in a 38C. sooooo... 3 women with bra sizes 34D, 36C, and 38B actually all have the same size boob (if they are wearing a properly fitting bra of course), however their TORSO sizes are different. with that said, 1) @ShoppGirl its reallllllllllly hard (impossible?) to tell what size you will be in the future. on top of that, it's equally (more?) difficult to determine if you will stay that way. 2) i do understand that you have a decision to make (under time crunches and duress, omg) but like everything else on here, its reallllllllyy hard to compare yourself and your outcomes to others cuz, well, you know... but since you asked, here are my deets: btw, 28D is like a unicorn to find in a retail store...i just get the sister size of 30C (which isn't that easy to find either, but at least better than trying to find 28D!) i didn't keep meticulous records of my changing bra size during active weight loss, so i can't say how quickly i changed bra sizes. i dont think i even bought a new bra during weight loss phase, just kept wearing ill fitting ones or none at all, ha. not sure i was any help here, but it there is anything to take away from this data of my sample of ONE, is that if you shrink proportionately as you lose weight, you will stay the same bra size (remember 28D has same boob volume as 30C, just smaller torso, which has nothing to do with implant size)...now, will you shrink proportionately? who even knows. 3) lastly, in my insignificant opinion (i mean i am just a stranger on the internet), if it were me, i would opt to err on the side of smaller vs bigger. i can always wear a padded bra if i wanna go bigger afterwards, but not much i can do to make a set too-big boobies smaller. good luck! ❤️

something to note that i discovered many women (and men) don't realize is cup size is not static across band sizes (sorry if you do know, i just got the feeling that this wasn't clear in the thread above...) anyway... the amount of "boob volume" that can be stuffed into a 36C is actually LESS than the amount you can stuff into a 34C. along the same lines, that same 36C boob is larger in VOLUME than a boob in a 38C. sooooo... 3 women with bra sizes 34D, 36C, and 38B actually all have the same size boob (if they are wearing a properly fitting bra of course), however their TORSO sizes are different. with that said, 1) @ShoppGirl its reallllllllllly hard (impossible?) to tell what size you will be in the future. on top of that, it's equally (more?) difficult to determine if you will stay that way. 2) i do understand that you have a decision to make (under time crunches and duress, omg) but like everything else on here, its reallllllllyy hard to compare yourself and your outcomes to others cuz, well, you know... but since you asked, here are my deets: btw, 28D is like a unicorn to find in a retail store...i just get the sister size of 30C (which isn't that easy to find either, but at least better than trying to find 28D!) i didn't keep meticulous records of my changing bra size during active weight loss, so i can't say how quickly i changed bra sizes. i dont think i even bought a new bra during weight loss phase, just kept wearing ill fitting ones or none at all, ha. not sure i was any help here, but it there is anything to take away from this data of my sample of ONE, is that if you shrink proportionately as you lose weight, you will stay the same bra size (remember 28D has same boob volume as 30C, just smaller torso, which has nothing to do with implant size)...now, will you shrink proportionately? who even knows. 3) lastly, in my insignificant opinion (i mean i am just a stranger on the internet), if it were me, i would opt to err on the side of smaller vs bigger. i can always wear a padded bra if i wanna go bigger afterwards, but not much i can do to make a set too-big boobies smaller. good luck! ❤️

neither am i...like SM, i won't get into it here, there is alot of info out in the google-verse that you can read about and come to your own conclusions. HOWEVER, if you reaalllllly want to add more weight/intensity to your work outs, a weighted vest may be less damaging as the weight is more evenly distributed over your body. my SIL goes rucking regularly (basically hiking with a weighted vest or backpack on) and she LOVES it. says she gets a good workout in plus swears it's fixing her posture.

omg, how did i miss reading that you have the same body part injured as me???!!?!? now i'm scared i'm eventually going to tear mine!!! yikes. arggggggg.....

sooo...let me be a cautionary tale for you. after my plastics i was so itching to go back to running that i did just that, at about 2-3 weeks post (i was told to wait 4-6 weeks). and wouldn't you know, i busted open my stitches in 4 different places. doc told me to wait another 4-6 weeks. and what did i do? i went running again, 2-3 weeks before i was supposed to. and yep, busted them open AGAIN,..only 2 places this time, but still. so because of my stupidity, i extended my recovery time by a good extra 3 months, and probably made those areas that re-opened more scar-ish looking had i not been so eager to move. but i get it, i was so upset about not being able to move like i wanted to, i would seriously ugly cry some days. though this may have been because of the hormones or recovery or the pain or the fact it was winter and dark, lol...in any case i was miserable for what seemed like a really long time. sooooo...take it easy, try not to worry about not being perfect in the exercise or food department (cuz i mean, you aren't 100% right now, how can you expect to give 100% ??) but yea, easier said than done. i know. p.s. full disclosure: i am currently nursing a double "proximal hamstring tendiopathy" a.k.a. yoga butt...been suffering from it for like 2-3 months now. physio told me to rest it, meaning stop doing forward folds and splits...but i mean basically EVERYTHING in yoga involves some variation of a forward fold or split! needless to say, i have not stopped and am totally in pain. AND i have a shoulder injury from falling on it a month ago and have not been resting that either. so yeah, if you don't want to end up like a sack of injury like me, do as i say, not as i do! ha! (i made a new years resolution to cut down on exercise this year, but as we can see, it is not going well. le sigh,) good luck! ❤️

it will really be up to you to find what you and enjoy doing...best to try different things and see what sticks. start slow and small! i started off with just walking....i then tried a gazillion other activities/exercises/classes and went through phases of interest. i'm 6+ years out now and the ones that stuck were: pilates, hot yoga, running/hiking, rock climbing, dance, and the occasional swim. as an aside, weight lifting and other gym-type machines are the bane of my existence. i never enjoyed it, and still don't. i went through a couple of years forcing myself to do it, but eventually stopped, because, well, i hate it, lol. but yeah, as mentioned above, find something you actually like, because you will be more likely to keep doing it. good luck! ❤️

what the??? what sorcery is this??? i'm 6+ years out, and i still can't eat and drink at same time, unless, of course, i WANT to feel super-overly-full and want to barf.......

omg same. in the immediate years after WLS i would always wear snugger fitting clothes because i felt they "highlighted" my skinniness more. these days (and basically the past 3 or so years), outside of my workout gear and the odd fancy-night-out, i wear way more relaxed-fit clothing. its just waaaaay more comfy, lol. as cher horowitz would say: I know it sounds mental, but sometimes I have more fun vegging out than when I go partying. Maybe because my party clothes are so binding. 😂😂

as everyone has alluded to above, the number on the scale is often not very indicative of your overall progress. i had a goal weight and goal BMI number. turns out neither were where i wanted nor ended being at. its weird because a certain weight number looks totally different on me at different times. at one point in my life 115 looked "fat" on me. 5 years ago it looked malnourished. then 3 years ago it looked awesome. these days (i'm 6+ years out), i go by how my clothes fit me (i.e, body measurements). so long as my clothes still hang well on me, i'm all good! when they start getting looser or tighter, then i'll make efforts to correct. so i guess i'm saying if your clothes start hanging looser on you, that is a better sign of your weight loss vs. the number on the scale. good luck! 😍

both i guess. good cuz my inner fat person is glad that i gave myself a bigger skinny buffer from my happy weight; bad because i didn't do it on purpose and i am actually not entirely happy with how it looks on me (sort of), plus my clothes are effing too big on me and i REFUSE to buy new clothes, because i KNOW i will regain the weight eventually. or hope. (background: i got braces on my teeth back in september, and i discovered that i HATE the feeling of food stuck in my braces, so i have to brush and waterpik my teeth EVERY SINGLE TIME i eat something solid....then i discovered i HATE having to clean my teeth like a gazillion times a day, so i just don't eat. yeah, i know, not the greatest reasoning, but there you go. as a result, i lost like 10 lbs (which is actually alot since i was already 115lbs)....but, since i started adding a morning protein shake and eating higher calorie foods when i DO eat, i seem to have stopped/slowed down the weight loss...so we'll see...) sooo maybe if anyone wants to try, getting braces may be a good weight loss tool for you too. lololololzzzzz.

i skipped puree cuz it grossed me out. i barfed a little in my mouth when i saw the beef i pureed for my first foray into that stage. in the end, i just extended my full fluids diet an extra week then went straight to soft foods afterwards. though others have had great success an joy in this stage, so it cant be all bad?

hugs love and good thoughts sent your way....❤️

my go-to fave was ISOPURE dutch chocolate flavour (its the least sweet of the *many* brands i tried). low carb, not too sweet, not powder-y feeling. blended it up with 2 tsp decaf instant coffee crystals, 1.5 cups water, 1 cup ice and 2 tsp benefibre (for regular pooping lol). had 2-3 of these the early post wls months, then 1 a day in the later months until about 7 months post. recently went back to drinking 1 a day to deal with some unintended weight loss. ISOPURE also has a flavourless zero-carb version that used for cooking...not for drinking though cuz it really isn't that flavourless, ha.

honestly, you really just have to white-knuckle it if you are looking to adopt a low-carb diet long term. it takes about 3-4 days, but if you can get through it, it's soooooooooo much easier going forward. the cravings are no longer as intense and its easier to stick to low-carb. keep in mind though, that if you indulge at any point in time you will likely have to go through another 3-4 days to tame the beast again....which is why as soon as you pass the "no-carb-craving-point" for YOU, then its in your best interest to stay there (i.e, don't eat have high-carb meals, like ever....especially if you have a self-proclaimed addiction to them). with that said, it takes ALOT of dedication and self control to make it a lifestyle. so really, its not that sustainable for the majority of the human race. i myself was only able to keep it up for about 2-ish years, and i gave up after i had a piece of Mr.'s homemade bread, lol. good luck! ❤️

Drink less alcohol (i drink too much, and it really is getting out of hand) Do less exercise (i exercise too much and my body is starting to object...feel like i am hurting in some body part or other like 24/7 these days). Buy less clothes. Eat more often. Read more books. Floss my teeth regularly. Do what i say i'm going to do.

same here. doc gave me a prescription for oxy, but i didn't even fill it. pain was tolerable...mostly annoying. i slept alot. (i was a one night hospital stayer...arrived at hospital at 8am, surgery at 10am, was out the door 11am the next morning) now...recovery from plastic surgery was another story though...yikes. i filled AND went through every last tablet....but i digress.

this is pretty much it. i lost weight at a consistent rate until i made efforts to stop (i lost roughly 10 lbs a month from months 2-7...and while months 1&2 had larger drops, they were not indicative of my average rate of loss). i lost another 10-15 lbs after that over about 4-5 months trying to figure out how much exactly i needed to eat to keep me at a constant weight without gaining nor losing (which honestly is harder than losing weight man) i finally sorta stabilized at 115-120 for the next 4 years. basically i stopped losing weight when i started eating enough calories to sustain me and my lifestyle choices. now here's kicker: i am now 6 years post op and recently lost about 10 lbs in 2-ish months, again because i was/am eating less than i am expending. so i guess i'm saying it doesn't matter how far out you are, you can still lose weight if you are at a caloric deficit for YOU and YOUR lifestyle. ...and the only (easy) way you can really determine if you are in fact in a caloric deficit is if you track your intake and compare to your weight/body composition (which you'll have to track too) over time. but i get it, this is not for everyone...just offering a strategy that has worked for ME all these years.

you are ready when you are ready. it took me 2 extra years and 2 (self-inflicted) surgery postponement/cancellations until i finally bit the bullet and had it done. oh and i even gained an extra 35 lbs during those indecisive years for good measure. only u can decide if ur ready. i will offer a suggestion though...maybe go though with the process to the official approval step (if u get one) and just postpone ur surgery date instead of cancelling altogether. this way if u do decide to go through with it, you don't have to start at the beginning. also, *raises hand* i am 5'2" as well! this is what weight loss looked like on MY 5'2" frame. (the collage below is from my first year progress pics plus a couple pics after my plastics and 2nd & 3rd yr anniversaries. i am 6+ yrs out now, and pretty much look the same as my last pic...but i do weigh about 10lbs less today)

ok here's a weird one lol. went to yoga, pilates, nail appt, botox appt, then grocery shopping this morning/afternoon. i didn't eat before i left (which is normal), then came home around 3:30pm still on an empty stomach (not so normal)...and only realized i was STARVING when i finally got home omg. it was slim pickings in the fridge/pantry and was too hungry to order out, so just threw together what was available: 1 avocado, 3 tbsp of 4-day old cannedtuna with mayo (yikes), chilli oil & ginger-scallion sauce. 511 cals for it all. spoiler alert: it wasn't very appetizing. ate like 2/3? (basically until i wasn't hungry anymore). and was done. kinda wish i just waited and ordered something yummier. feels/felt like such a waste of stomach real estate, ugh. oh well. at least im not starving anymore.

ok here's a weird one lol. went to yoga, pilates, nail appt, botox appt, then grocery shopping this morning/afternoon. i didn't eat before i left (which is normal), then came home around 3:30pm still on an empty stomach (not so normal)...and only realized i was STARVING when i finally got home omg. it was slim pickings in the fridge/pantry and was too hungry to order out, so just threw together what was available: 1 avocado, 3 tbsp of 4-day old cannedtuna with mayo (yikes), chilli oil & ginger-scallion sauce. 511 cals for it all. spoiler alert: it wasn't very appetizing. ate like 2/3? (basically until i wasn't hungry anymore). and was done. kinda wish i just waited and ordered something yummier. feels/felt like such a waste of stomach real estate, ugh. oh well. at least im not starving anymore.

hmmmm...i was diagnosed with fatter liver maybe a year or so before my wls. it was basically reversed by the time i had my 3 month post-op follow-up. honestly though, i don't really know how "bad" i had it - im sure my doc told me but i probably wasn't paying attention - in any case, i didn't even notice any ill effects from it when i did have it. sorry...i realize that wasn't really much help.

breastmilk??

so here's my take on it: its all about relativity others have been so used to your bigger size for so long that when you change that long-held view is such a short amount of time, its jarring and surprising to them. compared to your previous morbid obese self, your regular overweight size seems tiny...despite the fact that on paper you are actually indeed overweight. i started at 235 lbs, and when i got to 150 lbs 5 months later, everyone around me were calling anorexic or starved human or cancer patient or every kind of slightly uncomfortable comment you can think of. but i mean, i was still overweight and like 25 lbs from goal. geez, man. now 6+ years later, i am 105 lbs (and well below my initial goal weight) and no one even bats an eyelash...and this is 45 lbs less than when they were all worried for my existence! its ridiculous because *i* actually think i'm the thin side these days and everyone else just keeps telling me i look awesome (which i do, but still...lololololzzzzz 😂😂😂) long story short...the only opinion that matters is YOURS. nod and pat the head of others who have something to say and just keep on truckin'. good luck! ❤️

ummm....HR!!!!