Karen R.
Now What? (Plastic Surgery and Fat vs. Muscle)
Feb 21, 2014
February is almost over and I realized I hadn't written a blog post in 2014. Quelle horror! So I thought I should check in and share where I am in my journey.
I'm currently hovering around 131/132. I got down as low as 131, then rebounded up as high as 134. I've been at 132 most of this week and figure it's only a matter of time before I'm nudging that magical line between the 130's and 120's. I haven't been pushing myself as hard as I probably should. My calories have been between 1,000 and 1,200 most days. Mark, my trainer, threw his back out earlier this month (poor guy--it turns out he has a degenerating disk), which meant my sessions with him were cancelled for a week. I substituted other classes (largely Pilates). But he pushes me harder than anyone, so I know I got off easy. As it turns out, we had to cancel last Thursday's session as well because he was going to be out of town (the Stones are playing in Abu Dhabi and Mark had tickets) and I was in the States for a week mid-month (three more sessions cancelled). So all told, February has not been as physically active for me as it would be under normal circumstances.
But I got some excellent, excellent news! Mark periodically (every four to six weeks) measures my progress. He weighs me, uses the tape measure on all the pertinent points and does skin fold tests using calipers to measure body fat. When we first started working out in August, my body fat percentage based on these measurements was 40%. That didn't surprise me. I might have lost 50+ pounds at that point, but I was still clearly obese. I figured that number would improve the more I worked out and the closer I got to goal.
Only it didn't really, at least not at the pace I'd hoped for. When we measured at the beginning of 2014, I'd lost over 100 pounds, my BMI was 23.3 and was only 11 lbs to goal. Yet my body fat percentage was at 30%, barely in the acceptable range. That didn't make sense to me. I asked Mark what he thought was going on. He said he didn't think I was getting in enough calories to promote fat burning and that instead I was burning muscle. That horrified me. It also didn't seem logical. I could see muscle definition in my arms and legs (admittedly, not much in my trunk, where I have a fair bit of excess skin). I wasn't convinced, particularly when I read how inaccurate caliper measurements could be. So I decided to investigate other options.
I got lucky. I needed to go home to the Chicagoland area for a week and discovered a gym on the north side (Quads on Broadway near Sheridan) that did Dexascans for a reasonable price ($100/scan). I set up an appointment. The scan itself took about five minutes; the appointment as a whole ran less than 30. As it turns out, I'm doing great! My overall body fat is 22.7%. This figure takes into account areas like my brain (which has fat cells). If you only focus on the trunk and limbs, the number drops down to 21.9%. The Dexascan is considered the most accurate method for measuring body fat, so I feel confident the numbers are correct. I'm in the top five percentile for my age!
I ROCK! ;-D
What's even better is the fat is evenly distributed, which means I'm symmetrical (apparently not everyone is) and I don't have a whopping deposit of it in my torso (despite my middle looking like a collapsed souffle). I can't tell you how thrilled I am.
I plan to continue my quest for 125 pounds. I don't think I want to lose more than that. I'm already wearing size 2 and my measurements are 34"-28"-34". I want to focus on getting that middle number down, but otherwise, I'm satisfied. If/when (and likely it will be when) I have plastic surgery, I'll no doubt lose a bit more weight, which will bring me down to the low 120's. Any more weight loss will make me look drawn. I don't want to suddenly look older than I should. If I can maintain between 120-125lbs., I'll be very pleased with myself.
So now I need to investigate plastic surgeons. My goal is to do consultations with doctors in May when I'm in Chicago again and then have the surgery itself in December, when I'm home for the holidays. I think I'd like to use a Chicago area surgeon, but I'm also going to look into Dr. Sauceda in Monterrey. I'll be paying this out of pocket and cost is definitely a factor. But what also makes the Monterrey option attractive is the aftercare. I'm single and while I could no doubt come home from the hospital in Chicago and stay with my sister's family, I don't want them to have to become responsible for looking after me. I don't want to be a burden. I like that with Dr. Sauceda's practice, the initial recovery would be under his staff's supervision.
I think I need a lower body lift, inner thigh lift and possible a brachioplasty. I'd been saying my arms don't bother me, but the thinner and more defined I get in the upper body (and Mark has been working my arms and shoulders HARD--I have guns now!), the more the extra skin becomes apparent. I don't know that I would try and have everything done at once, but I may see if the lower body and thigh work can be done at the same time.
I'll keep you posted (Ha! Blog posts!). I feel as if one hurdle has been cleared (even though I'm not yet at goal) while a whole row of them are lined up in front of me.
