Plastic Surgery = No Exerise

 Ok so I'm having a reduction/lift done on the 23rd.  As most know I exercise heavily and it is my way of both coping with the loss of food as a friend but also I really enjoy it.  I credit it to my fast weight loss and my great feeling of well being.  To give you an idea of where I'm at, last week I ran 27 miles.

Back to the surgery, the doc said no heavy exercise for 2-4 weeks and maybe longer.  Running (and the up and down motion) will be particuarly painful and he figured that I'd probably be closer to 4 weeks before I can return to it.  I'm thinking of biking heavily, but I'm not even sure about my pain for that one.  

I know that the surgery is important, it will be fab to run without wearing 2 bras and STILL being in pain.  And it'll be nice to not have tube socks too!  But I'm terrified it'll all fall apart when I can't exercise to the level I'm used to.  I have a carefully balanced life of what I eat and how I exercise.  I have more carbs in my life than I would without the exercise so I know those have to go.  In my past weight loss escapades this is what would happen.  I"d be doing great with diet and exercise and then I'd get injured or get really sick (pneumonia typically) so the exercise would go.  Then my eating would fall apart and the whole thing would blow up in my face and I'd put the weight back on plus some.  So I have a very real fear that this is going to happen again.  

As excited as I am about the new boobs, I have a TON of anxiety about this.  To the point that I'm wondering if I should cancel.  Nice boobs aren't worth sabataged weight loss!

Good luck with plastics! Keep us updated on your recovery and definatly take some pictures for sharing!

I understand your concern, since I also exercise a lot. I don't think that this will blow up in your face, because you have been working on and developing new and healthier habits. You will need to make some adjustments in your eating, as you previously mentioned. Also, you may not be able to run, but I'm sure walking will be allowed. I know that it isn't the same as running, but it is some movement. 4 weeks is a relatively short amount of time and when you resume, you will be able to work up to your current level. Muscle memory will help you to regain your fitness more quickly. You can do this. Just think about the nice perky boobs that you will have afterwards. :)


gail

 Don't cancel. I had a breast lift a few years age and I think my doc. said no exercise for 6 weeks. I was working out everyday back then too. I think they just tell you worst case so you're not surprised after surgery. Anyway, at my 10 day or two week follow up I asked if I could go back to the gym and he said yes. He said it had to be lite exercise, like walking on treadmill or elliptical but at least I was back at the gym. The recovery time goes by so fast you'll be back to your regular workouts in no time. 

I am having a reduction/lift on Thursday. I am very nervous as well.. I loved my very big boobs and to lose them is like losing part of my identity. Good luck on your surgery! I will update after mine.

That was then.

This is now.

Your life isn't falling apart.  You aren't going  to be injured or sick.

You are taking steps to improve yourself, just like when you got surgery for your sleeve.  You are taking away more obstacles to the life you want to live--things that bring you pain and make it harder for you to work out.

This is not then.

This is now.

And you are going to ROCK it, warrior girl!

Hi -

I am in almost exactly the same place as you - also running a lot - 25-30 miles a week.  I had plastic surgery 3 weeks ago, but also got sick the week before surgery with a terrible cold so I missed that week as well from running.  After my PS, I wasn't allowed to run for two more weeks, so that was 3 weeks altogether not running.

Anyhow, I started back running 10 days ago.  The first day I was toast after 3 miles.  Two days later it was 4 miles.  A couple of days after that it was 5...last night it was 10 which is basically where my long run was before surgery.  I hope this helps give you some idea of what it was like.

I also was worried, because I too eat more than some since I exercise heavily.  I did try to scale it back a bit, but actually the PS must have bumped up my metabolism because I had great weight loss during the two weeks following surgery even without running.  Maybe that will also happen with you.

Two thoughts - the further out you can get with your weight loss before having the reduction/lift, the better the end result will be.   I had a reduction, gained weight, and now with VSG I'm about 30 lbs lighter than when I had my reduction.  The girls have held up better than I thought they would, but now they are getting flaaaat.  And even now getting really close to goal, the weight is still coming off up top.  I am going to have to have something done to them again I think, and I'd dreading it because the surgery really did hurt and did have a long recovery. 

I can sympathize with the pain of very large floppy boobs while exercising though -  obviously why I had it done in the first place.  I just think even a few more months of weight loss, and you'll be even happier with the result once you are at goal.  

Ok second thought is that I would take the "opportunity" of not being able to exercise to develop even more coping mechanisms other than eating.  Maybe journaling, or some kind of crafting (early on I sewed).  Can't eat while your hands are busy. 

 Yeah I discussed this with my surgeon.  Unfortunately my insurance probably won't pay for the reduction when I hit goal because they don't care how huge my boobs are if they don't have enough fat in them.  So both he and I decided it was best for me to be out of pain, and since I would be out of pocket for a surgery one way or another this way I'll be out of pain until I can afford implants when I reach goal.  His PA also said she felt that doing a 2 stage surgery, one where a recution is done then doing implants later actual gives better results.  The goal is to not be in pain, not for a good look, so I'll deal with deflated boobs at goal.  I would have to anyway as I said my insurance won't pay for it then.

Yeah, I remember going through the insurance approval process...they were really stuck on taking out a certain amount of weight for the surgery to be covered.  So that definitely makes sense if you are able to get it paid for now.