Here I am, 8 years post-op, 250 pounds down, 2 plastic surgeries later, and guess what folks…my body is not perfect.  As a matter of fact it never will be.  Am I Okay with that?  Yup, I’m 63 years old, super fit for my age, living my life, loving my life and if you think letting a few bumps and rolls and shrinkles are going to intimidate me, YOU ARE WRONG! 

Just to share with you how I assess myself here’s a rundown of me from head to toe:

Hair:  as close to perfect as I can get it with the help of an awesome hairdresser and products that keep me from ever becoming gray

Face:  What you see is what you get and a little blush, shadow, liner, mascara and lip gloss help a bit

Neck:  Turkey neck, well there is no other way to put it…sucks, but having the bones of my clavicle/collarbone show and muscling in my back and shoulders really helps since it leads your eye away from my turkey neck…..ok stop staring!!!

Shoulders:  If only I didn’t have scoliosis with a 17% curvature you could REALLY see all of the great work I’ve done on my shoulders and upper back.  As it is, pretty darn good.

Arms:  I worked hard for the defined biceps and triceps and forearms (which I think are flexors and extensors but who cares?) and Dr. Pickart worked hard to remove my batwings so I could merrily show off all of the hard work I have done in the pool and the gym

Breasts:  Bet you thought I wouldn’t go here- but I love the girls, another great job thanks to Allergan and Dr. Pickart’s excellent workmanship. 

Now come some “shrinkles”.  Dr. P did a great job tightening up as much of my back as was possible with my breast lift and brachioplasty, but gravity and age ALWAYS win, so I have a little loose skin that doesn’t quite lie smoothly under all of my clothing.  Most of the time it is no problem, but there are outfits I want no bumps or wrinkles in.  What do I do?  What do I do?  How do I solve this little issue?

TO THE RESCUE!
This is where their Tanks A Lot takes care of housing everything smoothly - their web site says:  “ it smoothes lumps and bumps around your middle back and bra comfortably and beautifully.” Neat feature- you can wear it under or wear it alone.  For those of you who need to tame those batwings from flapping around there are versions with sleeves down to the elbow.

So now we are smooth from head to hip and moving downward.

Thighs:  I had a full, circumferential body lift which included my tummy, lifting and reshaping my butt and dealing with a little bit of the outer thigh saddlebags.  But when you are 60+ years old, have been up to 424 pounds for a number of years, and always had fat thighs and legs, losing 250 pounds is not going to improve your thighs - that is, not unless you always wanted your lower half to look like a Sharpei…..you know, the wrinkly dog.  Be proud of your shrinkles, I am!  It means we have been successful in our weight loss, but it certainly screws up looking good in pants, jeans and dresses from the thighs down.

I love my flat tummy, and I still remember the nurse in the hospital telling me Dr. P gave me a “cute butt” (although I don’t really think there’s anything cute about my butt after living with it for 63 years, but if she does, great!) and I was and am still thrilled with the plastic surgery results.  But my thighs, oh my thighs, and my inner thighs and the back of my knees..yuchhh!  How do I deal with these shrinkles and lumps and bumps….You got it, once again 

TO THE RESCUE! Now we keep everything from the waist down smooth and no jiggling and I can wear sandals or flip flops if I choose.

Feet and Toes :  Well all I can say here is I wear sandals or flip flops most of the time, sneakers to work out, and boots when I am forced to because of weather.  At 63+, after carrying around 424 pounds my feet hate to be in enclosed places even though they are smaller than when I started my journey so all I can do is keep getting pedicures….lol

I hope you found some humor as I bared my imperfections to you.  The best part of all of this is that I am comfortable talking about me, my body, and the choices I make.  Can’t imagine myself doing that a few years ago.  Not only am I proud of my accomplishments, I am proud of my imperfections and how I can embrace them, work with them, and move forward without running to a box of cookies to stuff my negative self talk.  It’s a process, this journey we call life.