Too heavy for plastics?

I had RNY June/2004. Starting weight 321, lowest weight 167 the day I found out I was pregnant (11mo post-op). Have since had a 2nd child and am now up to 215. I have maintained over 100lbs lost but I am concerned how I will look after plastics since I am now over 200lbs...I know I put off having my abdominoplasty way too long but I had other health issues I had to address before under going a major surgery. Now I am ready..I meet with my surgeon in May to schedule a full abdimonoplasty/fluerdelis cut with liposuction and muscle tightening. I am a special case due to the 11cm piece of mesh in my abdomen from an extremely large hernia along with 2 other abdominal surgeries causing lots of adhesions. I am nervous as hell but so ready to say good bye to this pannus. My concern though is how the rest of my body will look once the gut is gone...My inner thigh (right at the groin) is large...I want this fixed but don't know that I will ever get the chance. Anyone else with a similar situation? I keep envisioning myself going to buy new jeans to fit my small waist only to not fit in them due to the flabby inner thighs. I would really like to get under 200lbs before surgery..problem is exercising with this gut and no muscle tension whatsoever is near impossible. I keep telling myself when the tummy gets fixed I can hit it hard and finally have core strength to return to my exercising and get the 40lbs back off. What do you think?

I'm 5'10 and was 190 when I went in for my PS. My only regret is not getting to my goal before PS because now that Im dealing with long lasting swell hell, 5 months post PS i am bigger and heavier than I was when I went into surgery and it screws with my head. 

I had A LOT of excess skin removed and in theory should have made my life easier and improved exercise but...it's really a mentall process all around, so...you never know what you recovery will be like - dont count on it being the magic key to making you get the last 40 lbs off. 

Try and lose as much as possible before you do it - your results will be better and you will be happier. 

i'm around 160 (but only 5'). my surgeon said he'd like me to lose a little more, but the surgery will be effective regardless. i've been maintaining for a year and a half and haven't been able to lose anymore, so it looks like this will be where i end up, at least for the time being.

I think you should try to get the weight off before surgery for optimal results.

I don't undersand why it's near impossible to exercise with a large tummy, but if that's the case why not try to lose the weight by diet alone? 

If you lose 40 lbs after plastics you may drastically (negatively) affect the overall results.

My two cents:  lose the weight before the surgery.  Why can you not exercise?  I did with extra skin-just wear compression garments.  Also, it will make your recovery even better if you are in good physical shape. I'd set the surgery date for 6 months from now and bust my ass to lose that weight and get in shape....you'll be glad you did.

I lost over 140lbs total and have not had plastics yet.  I work out pretty much everyday.  I have done triathlons, half-marathons, etc.  I trail and distance run a few days a week and the rest of the week I am in the gym.  I work out, HARD, with a lot of extra skin. I do Plyometrics and weight training and cross training and swimming etc.  Ive done P90X and Insanity (a few times each).  I wear compression garments and deal with the physical pain from the loose skin flapping and the embarrassment of people staring- because I HAVE to right now.  I do it for me.  To stay healthy, to lose weight, to keep it off, to build muscle.  I waitied until I got to goal and maintained it for over a year before scheduling plastics, because Im NOT going to spend that much money, go through that much pain and recovery, just to be unhappy.  I would never forgive myself if I went through all that and either didnt get good results, or ended up losing more and needing to go through it again, or gaining back and undoing what I spent all that money for.

I would try very hard to get to goal and get into a regular exercise routine before plastics.  Your results will be better and you will handle the long surgical times and heal better the healthier and more in shape you are.  Remember, walking and swimming are exercise too, and they are both very low impact.  There are also great compression garments out there to help.  And core exercises dont need to be situps- there are great core workouts that dont require a single situp at all.   

You sound like me!  And when you do have plastics, you are gonna LOVE your results!  When the body under the skin is toned, you look amazing after that skin is gone.

I'm a P90X girl and a runner  too-haven't tried Insanity yet.

This is great to hear!  Surgery in 2 weeks...  Eeeek!  

I love P90X.  Insanity is a whole level of HATE for me.  I hate hate hate it, but its a GREAT workout, haha!

Felicia:

I'm in the same boat. Was 325 at heaviest and now 210. Having a LBL on June 5. I'll have the same thigh issue and can't imagine myself naked. Can't imagine clothes either. But... like my bypass, I'm doing this for mobility reasons, not vanity.

I have a Stage 4 pannus and it's huge. I can't bounce, jump, run, and even walking is miserable. Removing this skin will increase my mobility. Everyone is different. Just because someone is able to run a marathon, it doesn't mean YOU can. Their pannus might be smaller or might not be in the way as much as yours.

My surgeon never said a thing about losing more weight before surgery, just that I've been holding steady for a while (yep, 4 years). I appreciate the fact that he realizes I'm not an idiot and I do indeed know how important weight loss is. Wouldn't have risked dying 3 times if I didn't.  

I'm guessing you want to do this for the same reasons I do: To keep up with your kids and to live a better life. Best of luck! Please keep us posted! 

I think it is important to be near your goal weight when you do plastics.  Now... your goal weight doesn't have to be a normal BMI.  I had gotten to a weight that I had maintained for many months and was satisfied that I wasn't going to lose more and was 100% OK with that.  So even thought I was/am still technically overweight, I was ready for plastics.

I'm just a week out from an anchor tummy tuck, and about 8 weeks out from an arm lift and neck lipo.  I can tell that my legs certainly seem heavier now in contrast to my new abdomen.   But, I'm ok with that.  I anticipated this might happen, and I wouldn't let myself do plastics until I was 100% certain that I was OK with not every losing another pound for the rest of my life.   My legs used to look comparatively skinny, now they look comparatively plump... and that's OK.   If I "fixed" my legs, I'd surely find something else that looked less than perfect.  When would it end?  You really have to decide what so-called imperfections you can live with and be happy.

There is no right or wrong answer here, no right or wrong approach.  This is a highly personal decision.  Some people do indeed lose a lot of weight after plastics - for a variety of reasons - so you could very well do plastics now and then lose additional weight.  But you might not - you have no way of knowing. 

So, are you too heavy for plastics?  Nope!  Absolutely not.  You can have plastics now and improve your contours and all the fun stuff that comes with extra skin (like rashes) right now.    This could even kick off another round of weight loss and you'll end up back down in the 160s.  But.. it might not.  Would you be happy if you had plastics now, but your weight didn't change?  Your pannus is gone but you don't change clothing size?  If you'd sincerely be OK with that - then I'd say go for it!  Additional weight loss after might be a bonus, but it should never be counted on.    If, however, the idea of NOT losing any more weight after plastics or even gaining a few pounds is horrifying to you... then I'd gently recommend that you wait.    Try to either (a) get to your goal weight, whatever that might be, first or (b) get to a point where you are confident and satisfied with your current weight and OK without losing any more. 

Just my two cents.  It's a tough call.  I certainly am glad that I had plastics now rather than waiting because I wasn't going to lose anymore and I didn't especially feel a need to either.  If you feel like that too, then go for it.

Good luck!  It's a big decision and you are very smart to be thinking about all of these things now.

OH... and one more thing I wanted to add.  So many women... I'd say the majority even... say that it is hard to find jeans that fit right.  Thin women, muscular women, fat women, apples, pears, hourglasses, petites, and talls....  they ALL say that finding jeans that fit well is hard to do.   So, no matter how kickass your plastic surgeon may be and how much weight you lose or don't lose before or after plastic surgery, finding the "perfect fit" for jeans will likely always be a challenge.  :)