Big old belly flaps/redistribution? Fat? Skin? How to tell?

Ok, so I'm getting a little worried about my floppy stomach.

I have no ass, big shoulders, and an odd floppy/hanging but still squishy mid-section. Since I'm 18 pounds to goal, I have a hard time beleiving it's all fat, but it takes up so much damned room that I'm second guessing my goal weight.

Weight loss has slowed to 2-4 lbs per month, which is fine, but this damn stomach!

I approaching the "distribution phase"? Is this stomach poochy floppy stuff normal until things re-settle, or is it a sign that I need to loose a bit more weight?

I kind of look like a tazmanian devil, big shoulders (the batwings make them look even bigger), no waist thanks to the tummy, and no ass and no goddamn hips. Kick me if I'm slipping into skinny ***** syndrome, but I don't think I am. I don't want to look skinny, just feminine if that is possible.

I'm planning on having a baby in a coulple of years, which has me worried if it will make the mid-section look even worse, but I figure at that point it would be clear whether or not I'd need plastics anyway.

 I hate to say it, but only plastics will fix this. But you gotta wait until after your pregnancy.

How old are you?

36. Waiting until after the baby was the plan if I felt I needed plastics.

I'm just wondering how much difference the distribution phase during year #2 will realistically make on my current shape, or if the problem is that I've more weight to loose than I thought.

I didn't think 165 was a bad goal. When I was in my prime shape as a SMO working out 6 hours a week with weightlifting, spinning and kickboxing my lean mass alone was calculated at 150lbs (tested several times). KNowing I'm not in that kind of shape anymore and that I'd loose some of the remaining muscle with the DS I figured 168 for my 5'8 frame was probably right on target. Now, I'm second guessing myself.

 Part of this is genetics,  too.   Your skin is going to do what it's going to do,  and redistribution might last a long time - in fact the rest of your life,  because gravity and age continue to do their thing.

The pannus thing is a huge drag.  It happens to loads of folks here.  It's just part of the process and it's going to get worse.  

Hopefully you will have a baby and eventually have a tummy tuck.  But that's a long way off,  and unfortunately  you're going to have to live with a yucky tummy for a number of years.

Your goal weight is not the issue....FWIW, I had my DS when I was 38,  I weighed one pound more than you did pre-op,  I also have broad shoulders and am quite muscular.  I never focused on a "goal weight number."  I focused on being healthy and getting to a size that pleased me.  That didn't happen until after my TT.  

But please, please,  focus on your planned pregnancy.    You're one year out now.  Get labs done every 3 months, tweak thoroughly, make sure your calcium,  iron,  etc are all okay.  And when you're 18 months out,  assuming all your labs are okay and your weight has been stable for about 6 months (you're close to goal now),  then start trying to get pregnant.

Yep, I expected I'd have loose skin, I just didn't expect it would be this odd-looking around the mid-section in particular. When I was SMO I did have a well defined waist, but now I don't have a waist anymore due to the flab/pannus so its a bit of a downer. Still, I'll just deal with it, in the end I'm thrilled that I lost this much weight and I'd rather have a bit of a lumpy midsection than remain SMO.

Thanks for the advice about preparing for the pregnancy, it is very close to what I had planned. I got the surgery so that I would have a better chance at having a healthy baby, I knew I was getting on in years as it was and all the fat doesn't help when you've got PCOS. My second surgiversary was when I planned on trying to get preggo, labs willing. But if I can start on that any earlier I will (will wait for the docs to give me the green light according to the labs and all)

 165 on a 5'8" frame is verrrrry fine as a goal.

I'm 5'5",  broad shouldered and muscular,  I weigh 160....I am totally satisfied.  Wearing size 8-10 pants,  looking good.

Try not to worry about the pannus.   You can't do anything about it any time soon anyway.  

Meh. I'm five years out and STILL redistributing to some degree.

Don't have any reconstructions of any kind till you're done with having kids.

Yeah I think it will probably be only one kid. I'm a bit late in years to crank out a litter Even if we'd like to have 2, we want to space them out a few years and by that time I'd be in my 40's. So after the first baby I'm probably done.

 Please don't wait 2 years to try to get pregnant. Fertility declines rapidly starting at age 35.

Yes, I was made aware of that by my new obgyn a few months ago . The doctors I had seen previously did let me know I shouldn't wait too long and that I needed to have the baby before 40- but it wasn't until my appt with the new obgyn that I was made aware of the 35th year marking the fertility decline and I was urged to start as soon as possible.  I wanted to wait until my 2nd year surgiversary to begin trying for a pregnancy. I knew most of the weight would come off after the first year and that pregnancy during that time was completely out of the question (that's a no-brainer). I was also under the impression that one should wait a little while after that for the weight to stabilize, so I figured the 2nd surgiverary was enough time for that to happen.