Discussion Board

Please forgive me for posting this again but I think posted it in the wrong area before. I am new to the forums.

I am a 48 year old McDougaller with three kids (big kids) I breastfed for a total of 10 years (think Attachment Parenting). I weigh approx. 138 and I am 5'6". My weight has fluctuated between 160 and 120 for the past 20 years. I work out almost daily. I walk, lift weights, do Pilates and Bikram Yoga (1.5 hrs at 105 degrees 40% humidity). In Jan/Feb I did 61 days of Bikram.

As my weight has stabilized and I've shaped up in other areas I am more bothered by my protruding stomach and low hanging pancake breasts.

I have learned from some docs...surgeons (uh-oh)... that pregnancy causes diastasis recti, a separation in the tendon between the abs in front. This separation, a stretched tendon, does not respond to exercise and is one thing that contributes to my protruding belly. Also, the fascia gets stretched. While not a huge prob a weak core puts more strain on my lower back.

The long and short of it is that all the AB work in the world will not give me flat abs or shrink the hanging skin. I can do pec exercises until I am blue in the face but it won't lift my sagging breasts.

What I am wondering is....have any of you considered or gone through with a Tummy Tuck and/or Breast Lift? Will you share your experience with me? Can you give me any advice?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have been having a private conversation with PlantStrongMom about this but I would just like to make a post here in case anyone else ever is searching for info about this. It is 2 years now since I had the TT and I am still really glad I had it done, and so is my husband! Still maintaining my weight bouncing up and down about 5 pounds. I was 52 when I had the TT done, so 48 isn't too old for sure. I have thought about the breast lift since I did a lot of nursing with 4 kids, too, but I have so much numbness of skin on my abdomen, where it doesn't matter too much, that I would be afraid to mess around with an area where I certainly don't want any numbness! This is one reason that I keep my weight no lower than 125 even though some parts of my body would look better at a lower weight.

Thanks so much for your response, Kime. I work out a lot so I spend tons of time in outfits where I can't hide my stomach. Yes, it's a "war wound" and I'm proud to be a mom but it's also a weakness in my core which also impacts my lower back. Again...thanks for your response.