Sunday, January 27, 2008
So I realized that I never officially posted an after picture of my arms post surgery. For those of you who don't know, after losing 50 pounds over the last 3 years, I was left with a large amount of hanging skin under my arms, which I referred to as my "wings". You can see them pre-surgery below:
It is now about 10 months after the surgery I think (I had it at the end of April and I am bad at math). The scars are still pronounced - you definitely still notice them when I am wearing short sleeves and turn my arms a certain way or hang onto the bar of the subway, but since it is frigidly cold in NY they are hidden under sweaters all the time right now. But the size difference is really astounding. I lost 5 inches circumference from my arms. I can now fit into shirts that I couldn't wear before because of my large arms. My upper body looks more proportional to itself, and I feel like you can really see the definition I have from weight lifting. So here's an after picture, which is a candid from my wedding (yes I know I suck, I haven't posted wedding pictures here yet - but I also haven't actually gone and changed my last name yet either, so I guess I am just massively lazy and/or busy).
Isn't it crazy what a big difference it made?? I have to say I am 100% percent convinced I made the right decision, although some days I think about how I could have used that money to re-design my website sooner (yes, to answer that question to, its definitely 2008 for the re-design, so keep waiting!!!). But my overall confidence level is up, I wore the strapless dress of my dreams at my wedding, and I feel like the work I did to lose the weight is more evident now that my body matches.
However, I will say that for the girls who have written me to ask whether they should do it or not, I recommend a few things:
1) Be within 10-15 pounds of your target weight
2) Have maintained your weight loss for over a year
3) Be prepared to take plenty of time off work (probably 1-2 weeks)
4) Have someone who can take care of you - the first few days you'll need round the clock assistance as you can't even lift a toothbrush to your mouth, feed yourself, or pull down your pants to go to the bathroom
5) Be prepared to be in pain/uncomfortable for a long while. I had the feeling of having tight rubberbands wrapped around my upper arms for months. I got used to it but it was weird. It felt like someone had a blood pressure cuff on me CRAZY tight.
Also, please make sure to go to a very experienced doctor. The doctor I chose is an expert on weight loss surgery, his name is Dr. Joseph Capella, and all he does is surgery on people who've lost massive amounts of weight - he works with bariatric surgeons in his practice and has literally written the book on this type of surgery. He has performed hundreds of my arm procedure, and that gave me confidence.
Ok, so I have PLENTY more to tell you about my life, but I thought, better a little blog than nothing at all. Oh, and today I am officially married three months!
It is now about 10 months after the surgery I think (I had it at the end of April and I am bad at math). The scars are still pronounced - you definitely still notice them when I am wearing short sleeves and turn my arms a certain way or hang onto the bar of the subway, but since it is frigidly cold in NY they are hidden under sweaters all the time right now. But the size difference is really astounding. I lost 5 inches circumference from my arms. I can now fit into shirts that I couldn't wear before because of my large arms. My upper body looks more proportional to itself, and I feel like you can really see the definition I have from weight lifting. So here's an after picture, which is a candid from my wedding (yes I know I suck, I haven't posted wedding pictures here yet - but I also haven't actually gone and changed my last name yet either, so I guess I am just massively lazy and/or busy).
Isn't it crazy what a big difference it made?? I have to say I am 100% percent convinced I made the right decision, although some days I think about how I could have used that money to re-design my website sooner (yes, to answer that question to, its definitely 2008 for the re-design, so keep waiting!!!). But my overall confidence level is up, I wore the strapless dress of my dreams at my wedding, and I feel like the work I did to lose the weight is more evident now that my body matches.
However, I will say that for the girls who have written me to ask whether they should do it or not, I recommend a few things:
1) Be within 10-15 pounds of your target weight
2) Have maintained your weight loss for over a year
3) Be prepared to take plenty of time off work (probably 1-2 weeks)
4) Have someone who can take care of you - the first few days you'll need round the clock assistance as you can't even lift a toothbrush to your mouth, feed yourself, or pull down your pants to go to the bathroom
5) Be prepared to be in pain/uncomfortable for a long while. I had the feeling of having tight rubberbands wrapped around my upper arms for months. I got used to it but it was weird. It felt like someone had a blood pressure cuff on me CRAZY tight.
Also, please make sure to go to a very experienced doctor. The doctor I chose is an expert on weight loss surgery, his name is Dr. Joseph Capella, and all he does is surgery on people who've lost massive amounts of weight - he works with bariatric surgeons in his practice and has literally written the book on this type of surgery. He has performed hundreds of my arm procedure, and that gave me confidence.
Ok, so I have PLENTY more to tell you about my life, but I thought, better a little blog than nothing at all. Oh, and today I am officially married three months!
posted by Lisafashionista @ 7:53 PM
