It's a bumpy ride, hang on tight.

LOL Mary - oh boy, I never realized how important these details are and I guess the good plastic surgeons are very careful about the order and how they approach us. LOL "It won't work that way" okay, I've decided to go in and keep my mouth shut about the order I "want" things done - I will ask what he thinks works best for healing and success.

I also hadn't realized that all this fat and huge breast tissue while I was obese may have wrecked my posture - but I have been having problems - so I'm curious as to whether the surgeons will say anything about it. I'll post back and let you know.

I hope when I'm done I look half as good as you and Ruth.

This post has been most helpful! Thanks for discussing it. I'm about 30 lbs. from my goal weight and like you Skylar, have a lot of excess skin. I'm learning to accept the body that I have after losing so much weight, and letting go of the idealized image of the body I dreamed of having. They are not one and the same, however they both make me feel great. I may not like how the skin looks, but the body I have now allows me the freedom to do so many things I couldn't do before. It may not look the way I wanted, but I'm learning to love it.

In Jan. I told my Zumba classes that as part of me accepting the 'new' me, I'm going to wear the Zumba tank tops that I have in my dresser and never wear... they were going to have to ignore the arm skin flapping in the breeze! lol They were very kind and promptly showed me all of their arm flab! lol!

Having skin removal surgery scares me, but I am planning on doing it, especially my breasts. I used to carry a great deal of weight in my chest. I was about a 60 H (I say about because I stopped buying new bras and just stretched out the old ones when I was at my heaviest. They didn't really fit right, but I was embarrassed to get one that fit right because it probably would have to be specially ordered.)  Anyway, I'm left with nothing for a chest now... at least just skin. It's hard finding a bra to fit properly because I have so much skin to tuck into it. I also have a lot of skin above my waist and of course my stomach and thighs.

I'm still a ways away from visiting doctors but I always like reading about this stuff because eventually I'll need the information. Thank you so much!

Hi Wendy, I'm in shock at how much you have lost -  that's amazing. And you're a Zumba instructor - absolutely fantastic. Clearly you've had a major transformation and you're hitting that same spot that I am so I'm glad that this post has helped you to. I have to be honest, when I posted I had no idea how much the responses were going to really change my feelings completely around and be an education about the process too.

I'm impressed that you had the guts to wear a tank top and show your upper arms. Mine are really bad - looks like yours and I am so embarrassed with them even when hidden in clothes because you can't really hide them completely. But I find when I move my arms around the hanging skin part flaps around and sometimes it hurts as it hits my body. My arms and my panni are the two areas that bother me most. My breasts are lower on the list because once I have them folded into a bra they look okay, not great, but okay.

I hope you stick around and post regularly, I'd love to hear how things are going for you.