Judgy McJudgerpants
Damn!! I should have consulted with you before I had my breast lift!! 
Laura in Texas
53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)
RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis
brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco
"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."
Just FYI, What you look like post weight loss depends very much on your body type and how you "choose to lose"... by that I mean...there are things you can be continually doing to tone the excess skin...to a point! It will not remove the extra rolls, but some of the excess can be toned, doing things like wearing a shapewear product help support the gravitational pull on the skin, as you choose to wear it continually for all the months post op, your body will adjust with less stretch of the outer tissues being maintained.
Everyone who has the weight loss surgeries does not have the plastic surgery. i could probably lose another 20 lbs, with excess skin removal, but I am not into pain and the benefits outweigh the costs for me. If anyone WANTS to have plastic surgery...Go for it. It's just not my cuppa tea.
I believe, but have not done a survey...that most people who have weight loss surgery choose to do so because all the diets and things they have tried, did not work. They are attempting to get control back. plastic surgery can help in that, when the excess skin interferes with your goals or your health
. My advise, get to goal, or very close to goal then begin searching if that is your choice. You will need info re: your insurance and how it can be done...some things like hernia's can give a reason for initial surgery, which could result in less skin... Don't get the cart before the horse. Relax. Don't stress now, it will interfere with your loss.
I wanted to add that it's highly unlikely that you have 20 lbs of excess skin. I've lost 200 pounds and surgeon's estimate that I have, at most, 5 pounds of excess skin. According to the Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive, and Aesthetic Surgery in 2014, (JPRAsurg.com)the average bariatric patient has less than 4 pounds of excess skin. The average WLS patient loses 100 to 130 pounds. Only patients over 500 pounds with weight loss over 350 pounds and often with lymphodema co-morbidities have more than 10 pounds lost in skin and tissue removal. Plastic surgery is a very unproductive way to lose 20 pounds.
Additionally, while shape wear certainly helps to smooth skin/flab under clothes, it does not prevent a need for plastic surgery. If you do not need it, it's likely to luck and good genetics -- something proved by the fact that your mother is the same way.
Anecdotal experience is not the same as fact.
"What you eat in private, you wear in public." --- Kat
Exactly. My panni was fairly large (not like in "My 600-Pound Life large, but it hung down onto the top of my thighs) but it was almost all skin and tissue and even though the plastic surgeon originally estimated 12-15 pounds based on the surface area of it, it was all of 6 pounds. I was disappointed, but it made sense... I knew when I lifted it up that it wasn't 10 pounds worth!
Lora
14 years out; 190 pounds lost, 165 pound loss maintained
You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there.
Huh? I am confused by your post. Where are you looking at pictures? Here on OH or on plastic surgeon's websites? Are you saying most of the people who had plastic surgery looked like they did not need it? I assure you that most of us who lose 100-200 pounds after bariatric surgery have enough loose skin to warrant plastic surgery.
Laura in Texas
53 years old; 5'7" tall; HW: 339 (BMI=53); GW: 140 CW: 170 (BMI=27)
RNY: 09-17-08 Dr. Garth Davis
brachioplasty: 12-18-09 Dr. Wainwright; lbl/bl: 06-28-11 Dr. LoMonaco
"May your choices reflect your hopes and not your fears."
I am looking at plastic surgeons websites. So, they are mostly people who have not had wls. I totally agree that many people who have bariatric surgery have plenty of loose skin. I don't think plastic surgery is wrong for anyone. But, I am more being a brat about how it looks like many of the "before" pictures really did not need plastic surgery (at least to me). I realize people think differently about their own bodies. That is why I had the caveat that I am just being a a judgey mcjuderson.
