Weight Loss and Aging

I'm 54 Disabled Veteran....hell I don't care what I look like or what people think....I'm alive getting healthy. Don't worry about it. Like wine...we get better with age.

I looked younger after I lost weight in my 20s.  I don't care now.  What do I want to be?  A young looking corpse? 

I guess it depends on the person. I think I look older, but still get told I look younger. At a family wedding this past weekend my grand mom pulled my mom aside to say she and my g-pop didn't recognize me (again) and that I look like I am 15 again, like before "Andrew ruined my body".. When my mom told me I almost pissed my pants. I am gonna post a pic of me with 3 of my siblings this past Saturday. I am at least 8 years older than them all (8-11 yrs to be exact) and I don't think I look too much older than them- I didn't feel like an old lady, lol.. But hell, even if I do look my age, or even older.. I feel a lot better than I used to!

For me, this is a valid concern. I had a super round, plump face. After losing 140+ pounds, I have a lot of noticeable fine lines, crows feet, and the "11" lines in between my eyebrows. People actually tell me I look younger, or my age. I have no more wrinkles on my face that some other women who are my age, but they bother the hell out of me. Botox and fillers are on my agenda. I'm 34(soon to be 35), my husband just turned 29 and no one suspects I am older than him. I have a 13 yr old son, and currently 36 weeks pregnant so no one believes that I'm "old enough" to have a 13 year old child.

Luckily, I've avoided the turkey neck and don't need a lift, but I'm not opposed to having one.

I'm not sure if I look older or younger. I have been carded for cigarettes and booze, but I'm not sure if that was the male clerk just being sweet and flirty. The sign did say "We card under 27" so I can only hope he was thinking I was under 27yrs of age.

I'll live with wrinkles on my face versus looking like a can of Grands biscuits busted at the seam with back fat billowing out in every direction!

Just an "old lady" question because I'm really old...I just got my Medicare card in the mail...and cranky and NOT as a personal attack:


If the answer to this were "Absolutely...wls will make your face look 10-15 years older than you really are," would it make a difference?


If it would, that means three things to me:  you don't realize how dangerous a hundred extra pounds are; you might not have a realistic view of how you look with that extra weight; and you might be having surgery for the wrong reasons.

Nothing is going to happen that a good plastic surgeon can't fix...but dragging around an extra hundred pounds will cause a LOT of problems, may of which will "age" you in a heartbeat.


And the real answer is...it depends.  It depends on how overweight you are now, how long you have been overweight, and how elastic your skin is.  My sister--who is having the sleeve later this month--has been between 150-190 pounds overweight for thirty years...everything will sag and droop.  But she probably won't waddle anymore!

I'm old enough to not care if I look younger or not. I sure do feel better and that's what matters to me at my advanced age!  

My thoughts...  START SAVIN FOR PLASTICS THE WEEK OF YOUR VSG especially if you have a crappy insurance plan. Plastics post WLS is NOT cosmetic surgery!  Do an OH search AGING and WLS...there was a great study comparisons  posted here some time back..how WL and AGING affect appearance. Many of Before n Afters looked OLDER...even tho they felt BETTER, deluded themselves, people tended to be kinder w/ compliments...reality is they AGED...the fatter the face the YOUNGER they looked.

I LOOK OLDER!!  I thought I could live with the loose skin.......ITS HORRIBLE  and something WE ALL MUST FACE SOONER OR LATER....My PS trek ha**** a temporary standstill.
I ''look" very nice in clothes, when layin down...who doesn't post WLS?
where that loose **** goes is beyond me...
Im unable (mid 50s) to make a living lying on my back now so that's out ,-(

My face is gaunt! The high cheekbones (Apache in me) remain that's it!...I look GREAT at LAST CALL!  When they turn them lights on...one look at me...everyone hits the EXITS!
My face is a PRUNEFACE...no amount of concealer will fix the droop, lines...I look like a bi-lateral STROKE victim....soo much frikken loose skin, and wrinkles all over the place ... a Shar-Pei.  I try to envision myself with a face-lift...and pull it back...NO WAY without making me look like fish faced Meg Ryan or Priscilla Presly...IM ******!

Earlier out tho...not a problem ...in fact I was quite surprised how much I bounced back...my gobble gobble DID eventually fade a great deal 1yr or so out..........the further out, the more my weight loss stabilized...it all settled DOWN...I need a MAJOR BODY LIFT now much of it pools at the knees! When I run, walk fast....my thighs from knees up jiggle ..its LOOSE SKIN not FAT!...Ive always had great legs even when I was fat!, born that way.  Its tragic what has happened to my LEGS...I feel it..yes Im back in mini skirts n my legs "look" great...I FEEL the changes tho!.  My TITS are SHOT too...Plastic titties at my age...hmm...I dunno...I certainly feel physically , mobility wise, sexuality, to be in my early 30s ....but my integumentary system ,-) as is my STOMACH now post VSG....more like 80's! 

It sure is a trade off...especially for us older gals...what we can live with, what are ya NOT willing to live with. Aging and WLS...dna, chronological age TAKES prececedent. Remember the #1 regret on this board is I DIDN'T DO IT SOONER!! Amen!....For sure I, 3 years ago reached an impasse...I could NOT live with...diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, plantar fascities and chronic clinical depression. .....and post VSG...I AM NOT!!  Over 15 years prior...wasted...getting older and fatter and sicker!
and I wasn't fortunate (?) enough to DIE YOUNG and LEAVE a PRETTY CORPSE.  

But I WILL DIE OLD and LEAVE A LIFE FULFILLED....Ya know...THE SERENITY PRAYER some things ya can change and some things ya can't right ,-)

Some VSGrs make a comment to the effect about nothing tastes as good as thin feels
To me nothing tastes as good ........as GOOD HEALTH does!

Key....promise me....yer not gonna let these pre-op jitters get the best of you....that you keep searching for your ANSWERS to free yerself from the chains that bind you!

Take care of YOU!! 

I am still pre-op my surgery is scheduled for Nov 2.  Yea!!!

Anyway... several years ago I had some plastic surgery in COSTA RICA.  It was the best thing I ever did for myself!!!    Needless to say after I lose 100 lbs I will probably be back in Costa Rica, I can't stand the thought of the turkey waddle.  I don't mind a few wrinkles but if it gets bad after weight loss then I will have a face lift.. oh.. I'm 53 years old, and having the boob job was fantastic... after seeing mine, my daughter (27) said she is putting in her marriage vows that she gets a "mommy makeover" after kids!

Google plastic surgery journey , it is a forum like this one that tell the good, the bad and the beautiful of having plastic surgery out of country.

I had several procdures done for what the cost of one would have been in the US.  unfortunately I gained most of my weight after that so now I am trying to do something for the 100 lbs but mostly for my health... blood pressure, diabeties, high cholesterol.

Rhonda