[ashla86]

So for a while now, I thought that I had a big fat gut but a slim body. Recently in January I started to get really bad pains around my belly button. There was a bit of a bump there, so I thought that maybe I had a hernia. So I went to the doctor, and they told me that it wasn't a hernia. I had something growing in my abdomen, and at first they thought maybe I was pregnant even though I insisted I wasn't. They made me do all the tests anyway, and scheduled me for an ultrasound. It turns out after going to a gynecologist as well that I have a six pound ovarian cyst. I am having surgery on it in three weeks.

I am very glad for the surgery, and I am thankful that it isn't anything too serious. However, when I thought I was fat, I thought I could lose the weight and not end up with anything except stretch marks. I have a few already on my hips and sides. I don't really care about those. I am concerned though that I am going to have extra skin. The stomach sticks out a lot, not just a little bit. I've even been mistakened for five months pregnant. So I am wondering once I am clear to start working out again, how can I tighten up my stomach.

Pictures to show what I am talking about: