A bit of history...

280 pounds

This was me.  You could say I had a bit of a problem ;-)  To make a long story short, I have been massively obese for as long as I can remember.  After having my son July 4, 2007, I weighed in around 280 pounds.  The most shocking part of this story is I did not feel the weight.  I felt beautiful, alive, healthy and happy.  I realized when I couldn't walk up the 10 steps from my basement without breathing like I'd just ran a mile that I was wrong.  It took me until November, 2007, to buy a scale, some stock in SlimFast and a bottle of hydroxycut pills.  My sister allowed me to borrow her treadmill, and so the dieting game began!

260 pounds



Quickly, I realized that pills, restricting calories and meal supplements were not going to get me anywhere.  I researched calories in fruits, vegetables, meats and the snacks I liked and built a meal plan to keep me around 1500 calories per day.  This was low for my basal metabolic rate (referred to as BMR from this point on), basically the rate in which I burn calories.  I was running/walking and doing Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred.  I began dropping weight the right way and felt great about it.  On average, I'd lose 15 pounds per month. 

170 pounds

In 2 years (November 2009) I got down to my goal weight of 150 pounds.  I didn't have gastric bypass or the lap band; I didn't use Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or Nutrisystem; I did this by myself, with no workout buddy, no gym membership and no idea that I would be trading one ugly for another. 

Even though I persistently exercised, the excess skin on my stomach and arms was not shrinking.  I used firming creams, ate foods high in antioxidants and vitamin E, worked my arms and abs almost daily and still, no results.  By October of 2009, my incredible and amazing husband finally agreed to go for baby number two =)  We got pregnant right away and I had a whole new challenge:  stay healthy and manage my weight while pregnant!

June 22, 2010 (160 pounds)

On July 6, 2010 my baby girl Anna Kaeli was born.  I ended up gaining about 25 pounds during the pregnancy, which was easy enough to work off.  My step-mom-in-law bought a gym membership for our family at the local recreational center and by January, we started the gym.

140 pounds

Now here we are, April of 2011 and I weigh a healthy and happy 140 pounds.  I lost half of my weight! 

So, that's the history.  You might be wondering where the circumferential body lift and mastopexy come in... let me explain:

From the very first day I started working on losing weight, I explained to my husband that if I was successful but had extra skin, I would want cosmetic surgery to remove it.  I had done my research and any story about massive weight loss normally coincided with a story of massive excess skin.  In 2009, after reaching my goal weight, I began going to consultations with plastic surgeons in the St. Louis area.  I was most interested in an abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), brachioplasty (arm lift) and mastopexy (breast lift).  The price tag?  Anywhere from $25,000.00 to $30,000.00.  My hopes faded; I could never afford that.  I had given up my position as an office manager in a law firm to become a Domestic Engineer (stay-at-home-mommy).  My husband is a union carpenter and basically, we live paycheck to paycheck.

On April 1, 2011 (yes, Fool's Day) I met Dr. Timothy Bradley, Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who has his office in Swansea, Illinois.  MUCH closer to home!  You can check him out here: http://www.drtimothybradley.com/ .... anyway, he was the first doctor I have truly felt comfortable with.  He is practical, professional, experienced and very intelligent.  With every consultation I had gone to, not one doctor had told me I had the option of either having my abdominal muscles tightened or not.  Dr. Bradley explained to me that I would need a Circumferential Body Lift (also known as a belt lipectomy) versus a tummy tuck because I had excess back skin.  He then explained to me that I was a rare case because I would not have to get my abdominal muscles sewn together nor would I need liposuction!  I left there knowing that he was going to be my surgeon and that I was having a body lift and a breast lift with silicone implants performed.  The surgery is set for May 13, 2011.  Friday the 13th, go figure!