PLASTIC SURGERY
(Do you need it?)
By: Jennifer Ross Sawyer, MA, LPC, NCC, Jennifer Ross Sawyer, Counseling and Consultation
For 100 pound plus losers, slack skin can be not only a physical obstacle, but it can be an emotional roadblock to maintaining weight loss.
About six years ago, I met some of the most wonderful women Ive ever known. I believe we will remain friends throughout our lives.
Four of the six of us had plastic surgery after massive weight loss. I envied the new body shapes, the flat bellies, the perky breasts.
While they were having their bodies sculpted, I was preoccupied with fighting breast cancer.
It is no small matter that my diagnosis was made after the thickness of my breasts would have prevented detection of the cancers.
At my previous level of morbid obesity, treatment by mastectomy may not have been an option in quelling the movement of the aggressive form of cancer that was eating me.
So, make note, Im not complaining.
Im asking a question. My dear friends who at the first year of their journeys had full body lifts, tummy tucks, and other procedures seem to have been able to change their mental images of themselves and appear to have had easier times keeping their weight down, fitting into new sizes, and picturing themselves as thin persons.
For five plus years, I have tucked my apron into my jeans, felt like a fat girl, and felt like I was not as successful as my surgically altered friends.
Do I need to have plastic surgery to feel more successful? Do you?
Please leave your comments here.
And, let me remind you of ONE THING-I AM SO GLAD TO BE ALIVE!
Jennifer has a private practice, Ballantyne Counseling, in Charlotte, NC. You can check out her website at www.jentalk.com.
Having plastic surgery has been a wonderful final chapter in the weight loss journey. By feeling better, fitting into clothes easier, moving during exercise without having skin irritation and breakdown, an exciting transformation can occur. The benefits of plastic surgery is obvious and I highly recommend it if patients have the finances and recognize the potential risks as well as the reality of its limitations.
For meplastic surgery made all the difference in the world. Before plastics I wore a size 10/12 and felt like I was still wearing the fat suitgranted it was deflated but I was still wearing it. After plastics (I had EVERYTHING done – full body lift) I wear a size 4 and look fabulous. But more importantly I feel fabulous. I finally feel like a thin person and yes it definitely helps to keep my weight stable. I would do it again in a heartbeat and I would encourage anyone to go forward with it – its life changing.