I have about 20 more pounds to lose before my BMI is in the normal range. I've heard that some plastic surgeons want you to be at your final weight before surgery, and some want you to do it a little earlier. Maybe it depends on the particular procedure they're doing. In any case, I'm not ready for PS this minute, but I'm starting to think about it, perhaps for early summer 2020.

Should I wait to lose more weight before an initial consultation with a PS? Or would it be helpful to start looking into it now?

My plastic surgeon wants you at a weight where you do not ever intend to gain or lose more than 10 pounds.

I don't think there is any harm in getting consults now. It may motivate you to lose your final 20 pounds. My SIL had a consult and did not get plastic surgery until a year or so later. He still honored his estimate.

I started researching surgeons and whittling down to my final list (I aimed for 3-5 potential candidates) when I was about where you are. That took a lot more time than I thought it would, so now might be a great time to start! I was at my goal weight when I finally did the consults (I did three), but they all required that patients be at a stable weight for at least a year, and at least a couple - if not all three - said not to gain or lose more than 10 lbs after plastic surgery (so....same as White Dove)

I found realself.com helpful for identifying possible surgeons - as well as doing a search on this site to see if anyone had used a surgeon in my region (I decided early on that I wanted to be within driving distance (maybe 2-3 hours away max) for various reasons. But there are people on here who've traveled long distances for this)

My surgeon says you should be at goal and maintain that weight for at least a full year before committing to palstics. Things can look very weird if you regain after having plastics done.

I had my consults within 1-2 months of hitting goal, knowing it would be another 6+ months before I'd go forward with it. However, I hit goal and kept losing way below that. I was at my lowest weight when I had my plastics and have since regained about 8-10lbs from the day of my plastic surgery and now maintained the same weight for a year. My plastics look better now than they did when I was thinner (I had a 19.1 BMI on the day of my surgery, I was too thin).

Anyway, all that to say that if I did it again I'd give myself some time to bounce back if I was going to. On the same token I had plans to move several states away (which I did at 8 weeks post op) and I wanted the surgery done before I moved as I knew that getting the point of taking an entire month off was going to require some time spent at my new job first.

I think you should start to have a healthy diet.

I would start researching now. I took years to research while I lost the weight. Have you checked Dr. Saucedo in Monterray Mexico. He is the best

You may never need to get plastic surgery! While I do have stretched skin on my upper thighs,my stomach and arms look normal. Most people don't believe that I was ever near 300 lb. As long as I wear long running skirts or biker pants or a modest swimsuit, one doesn't even see the excess skin on my thighs.

Great Job! I can't wait to (hopefully) be at that stage in my own journey. I have several friends who have undergone surgery and all have been at different stages so I believe it is up to the surgeon and your personal situation. I went with a friend of mine to a consult and she was in a similar situation as you (very close to her "healthy" BMI range) and the surgeon stated he would actually prefer her NOW since she has somewhat plateaued for 6-7 months at this weight and with plastics, she will be very close to her preferred range to which, she may be very happy with the results and not need to lose any more.

I know there are a ton of articles in the library that pertain to Plastics that I found and will refer to when it's my turn! https://www.obesityhelp.com/articles/category/plastic-surger y-procedure

Good luck! Can't wait to see how your journey progresses!