Tummy tuck

linda_333 · August 2016

Hi all, I need your help! I have a loose tummy

which really looks bad and I have tried dieting to get a normal and flat stomach, but I was not able to maintain my diet properly. So I am planning to do a tummy tuck surgery from McLan Clinic, Mississauga ( http://www.mcleanclinic.com/surgical-procedures/body/tummy-tuck-surgery/ ) and to start my diet after the surgery so that I will be more careful to keep my flat stomach. Would it be a good decision? Share your comments, please.

jemhh · August 2016

I would not consider a tummy tuck until getting to a healthy, reasonable body fat level and staying there a couple of years to see how my skin recovered.

kommodevaran · August 2016

Make the necessary adjustments to your behavior before the operation. You need to have the good habits implemented; and if you can't do it now, you can't do it afterwards either, and the suffering and money spent would have been for nothing.

Flat stomachs aren't necessarily normal for women, though.

healthygreek · August 2016

I've always heard you must lose the weight before the surgery to benefit the most.

amusedmonkey · August 2016

You may end up with a bad laxity around the surgery scar requiring a revision if you diet down after the surgery, especially if a good deal of the fat is actually visceral (deep around the rogans). It's best to lose weight first and teach yourself good habits before you go under for a major operation.

Joanna2012B · August 2016

jemhh wrote: »

I would not consider a tummy tuck until getting to a healthy, reasonable body fat level and staying there a couple of years to see how my skin recovered.

^^This!!

Shells918 · August 2016

jemhh wrote: »

I would not consider a tummy tuck until getting to a healthy, reasonable body fat level and staying there a couple of years to see how my skin recovered.

kommodevaran wrote: »

Make the necessary adjustments to your behavior before the operation. You need to have the good habits implemented; and if you can't do it now, you can't do it afterwards either, and the suffering and money spent would have been for nothing.

Flat stomachs aren't necessarily normal for women, though.

These ^^^

I got a tummy tuck after getting to 15 pounds above my goal. I hit my goal a bit later. If you're too heavy you may end up with loose bits that you could have had taken care of with a tummy tuck after weight loss. Loose the weight first, then get the TT. They will usually do some liposuction with it so you are flat and small. Also, as an FYI, you don't come out of surgery skinny. It takes months for the swelling to go down and for you to be able to stand completely upright. When all is said and done it's a great thing, but when I gained some weight back, my stomach looked weird and now my arms are heavy, which never happened before. The fat goes to different places.

SophieSmall95 · August 2016

No credible surgeon would perform a tummy tuck when you still have significant weight you plan to lose, as it's a disaster waiting to happen. You won't get the desired results you want doing it this way, you will come out of this with a very odd looking stomach.

trigden1991 · August 2016

You say that you couldn't maintain your diet. What difference will a tummy tuck make to this? Why get surgery when you aren't at your ideal weight?

goldthistime · August 2016

I have a friend who had a tummy tuck and from what she described there's a long and painful healing process. Dieting sounds far easier. Can you take whatever time you were going to take off work for the surgery recovery and dedicate yourself to diet and exercise to get in the groove? Although I'm a fan of slow and easy, living life as normal as possible, I know that removing yourself from your current bad habits/routines and pushing the exercise aspect can be a great springboard to success. Good luck, whatever you choose to do.

stephaniej2888 · August 2016

1st: if you can't maintain healthy eating before a tummy tuck then you won't be able to after. You need to focus on getting yourself healthy first and then if you still have loose skin you want to get rid of then it's your decision.
How much would it sucks to pay all that money and go through all that pain just to gain that tummy back?

2nd: have you done some research on the pain and scarring of a tummy tuck? I have looked into it before and decided "h*** no" lol
First of all you have a scar from hip to hip....I think I would rather have a little tummy sag then that huge scar. Second the pain is excruciating from what I've heard. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos from people who've had them and they showed off there flat tummy with this huge scar and 90% of them said if they knew how much pain they would be in there is no way they would have done it.
One girl got breast implants and a tuck at the same time and said the tuck hurt 10x worse than the implants and recovery was much longer.

SLLRunner · August 2016

linda_333 wrote: »

Hi all, I need your help! I have a loose tummy which really looks bad and I have tried dieting to get a normal and flat stomach, but I was not able to maintain my diet properly. So I am planning to do a tummy tuck surgery from McLan Clinic, Mississauga ( http://www.mcleanclinic.com/surgical-procedures/body/tummy-tuck-surgery/ ) and to start my diet after the surgery so that I will be more careful to keep my flat stomach. Would it be a good decision? Share your comments, please.

How much weight have you already lost to end up with a loose tummy?

How much more weight do you have to lose?

Have you tried progressive weight lifting?

Have you given your tummy skin time to bounce back?

Any doctor who would give you a tummy tuck prior to losing the rest of your weight and before you have good habits down to maintain your weight is not a credible doctor. Please think long and hard about this.

cee134 · August 2016

lose the weight and keep it off for 3+ years. Alot of people end up gaining some to all the weight back after losing it. If you exercise and eat right, surgery shouldn't be required.

ninerbuff · August 2016

If you didn't maintain a flat stomach, it was because you ate too much. Getting a tummy tuck won't solve that.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Elise4270 · August 2016

I agree. Use the motivation to have the TT to lose the weight. The outcome is better, and what if you can't stick to your diet/ weight loss program? I've known a few that gained quite a bit after their TT, that's a lot of money and time to waste.

I had a TT in 2013. I was within 5 pounds of where I wanted to be. I'm happy with the results, and glad I didn't start that frustrating journey with weight to lose. Post TT your focus is on healing, you can't restrict calories, and you can't do much exercise for some time.

Realself.com has a lot of information if you haven't already found it.

davis978 · August 2016

cee134 wrote: »

lose the weight and keep it off for 3+ years. Alot of people end up gaining some to all the weight back after losing it. If you exercise and eat right, surgery shouldn't be required.

Absolutely NOT TRUE!!! I agree with everyone here that the OP is not ready for this procedure and shouldn't have it. But who are you to tell people that surgery "shouldn't" be required.

I was fat throughout childhood. During college, I lost half my body weight (about 150 pounds) and maintained for many years after that. I have a very significant belly apron of hanging skin that looks terrible, drastically limits the clothes I can wear, makes me feel terrible every day, and will never go away. No amount of dieting and weightlifting (which I do) is going to fix that. A lot of what skin looks like after weight loss depends on genetics. Thank your lucky stars that you won the genetic lottery and you don't need surgery, but don't you dare tell other people that they shouldn't need it either.

stephaniej2888 · August 2016

davis978 wrote: »

cee134 wrote: »

lose the weight and keep it off for 3+ years. Alot of people end up gaining some to all the weight back after losing it. If you exercise and eat right, surgery shouldn't be required.

Absolutely NOT TRUE!!! I agree with everyone here that the OP is not ready for this procedure and shouldn't have it. But who are you to tell people that surgery "shouldn't" be required.

I was fat throughout childhood. During college, I lost half my body weight (about 150 pounds) and maintained for many years after that. I have a very significant belly apron of hanging skin that looks terrible, drastically limits the clothes I can wear, makes me feel terrible every day, and will never go away. No amount of dieting and weightlifting (which I do) is going to fix that. A lot of what skin looks like after weight loss depends on genetics. Thank your lucky stars that you won the genetic lottery and you don't need surgery, but don't you dare tell other people that they shouldn't need it either.

I totally agree!
My best friend has had 3 children and has worked out and lost the weight after all of them. She is 5'4 and probably around 130 lbs and it great shape, but still has what she calls her "tummy flap" because of her stomach being stretched out over and over again from pregnancy. She has tried for years to get it smaller or gone and no amount of working out has changed it. She wants a tummy tuck when they can afford one and I totally support her decision!

ryry_ · August 2016

I seems like you would want to lose the fat before tucking things in or else you might just end up with the same problem

Elise4270 · August 2016

davis978 wrote: »

cee134 wrote: »

lose the weight and keep it off for 3+ years. Alot of people end up gaining some to all the weight back after losing it. If you exercise and eat right, surgery shouldn't be required.

Absolutely NOT TRUE!!! I agree with everyone here that the OP is not ready for this procedure and shouldn't have it. But who are you to tell people that surgery "shouldn't" be required.

I was fat throughout childhood. During college, I lost half my body weight (about 150 pounds) and maintained for many years after that. I have a very significant belly apron of hanging skin that looks terrible, drastically limits the clothes I can wear, makes me feel terrible every day, and will never go away. No amount of dieting and weightlifting (which I do) is going to fix that. A lot of what skin looks like after weight loss depends on genetics. Thank your lucky stars that you won the genetic lottery and you don't need surgery, but don't you dare tell other people that they shouldn't need it either.

Ya I agree. I was never overweight and I needed a TT. I had one single pregnancy then twins that did it in. The doc removed 10.5 inches of skin after 18 years. It never goes away for some of us. I hated playing fat roll round up every time I sat down. It wears on you.

Now if the OP wanted to have two surgeries, depending on the severity, and purpose of skin removal. Like people that have much to lose and the skin impairs their mobility, then sure, knock it out.

I think the skin can take up to a year to recover, but during the TT, they stretch you tight (if it's cosmetic). So I think that the docs call when to do it. They are good with skin types, not a forum.

OP, also know that with excess fat healing is harder. I believe there is more of a chance for dehiscence. You and your doc can figure this out. Good luck!

xmichaelyx · August 2016

davis978 wrote: »

Absolutely NOT TRUE!!! I agree with everyone here that the OP is not ready for this procedure and shouldn't have it. But who are you to tell people that surgery "shouldn't" be required.

I was fat throughout childhood. During college, I lost half my body weight (about 150 pounds) and maintained for many years after that. I have a very significant belly apron of hanging skin that looks terrible, drastically limits the clothes I can wear, makes me feel terrible every day, and will never go away. No amount of dieting and weightlifting (which I do) is going to fix that. A lot of what skin looks like after weight loss depends on genetics. Thank your lucky stars that you won the genetic lottery and you don't need surgery, but don't you dare tell other people that they shouldn't need it either.

Cool story. But you don't know if OP has the same issue as you, or if she was just a few pounds overweight and could easily get rid of her extra skin, or if she's a 90-pound anorexic with body dismorphia.

So depending on the situation, maybe she shouldn't need surgery.

No need to get all aggro without all the facts, which none of us have.

amyk0202 · August 2016

I had a TT in 2014 after losing about 100 lbs. I had that horrible belly apron. I saw 7 different surgeons & they all made sure that I had been maintaining my weight loss for a while. Any reputable surgeon will want you to be close to a healthy weight & have been maintaining prior to doing the surgery. I did regain some after my surgery (bad year, bad coping skills, horrible binge eating) & my tummy still looked good. I did not gain back all my weight however. I then lost the weight again as well as another 20 lbs or so on top of it. The extra weight loss was not really intention. I was happy at my previous maintenance weight but for some reason my maintenance # was not the same as before & I kept losing while I was adjusting my eating. I do have to say that even with as little as an extra 20 lbs, I can tell that my skin is not as tight as it was right after the surgery. It looks 1,000 times better than before my surgery & *I* think I still look great, but it would have been better if I hadn't subjected my skin to all the fluctuations. Now, my skin has gone through a lot of abuse & perhaps isn't as elastic as others, but it's something to consider if you are thinking about forking out so much money (between $12K-$13K in my case) . If you have more than 20 lbs to lose, your results may not survive the extra loss depending on how your skin recovers.

As far as scarring, my scar does go from mid-hip to mid-hip. It runs down the creases of my legs--very low, right over my pubic bone. It is thin & tight & faded silver now so it's barely noticeable. It is waaay better than the hanging skin I had before my surgery. I took my pain pills for a little over a week after my surgery, slept in a recliner for a couple of months. The recovery was more inconvenient than painful after the first couple of weeks due to some complications that are more specific to me than the general population. After you lose the weight, if you still need a TT, I would not let the fear of pain or scarring deter you. My TT made me so much happier with myself in a way that the weight loss alone just did not.

Tummy tuck

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