I am almost obsessed with the idea of getting a boob lift and a lower body lift when I am done losing. I look at before and after pics constantly. I have lost and gained and re-lost the same 70 lbs a few times, so my midsection and boobs never look good, regardless of where I am on that spectrum. This time, I want to actually feel good about how I look when I get to goal (whatever that is...I am kind of just guessing about 135).

The boob lift sounds good. I still hope mine stay as they are even with more weight loss. Because if they deflate, it's not going to be pretty with the effect of gravity. So far my skin looks relatively firm with some flabs left mainly under my arms. I am not sure whether this is due to my slow losses or plain luck.

Yeah, after 70lbs lost (and two breastfed kids), my boobs and tummy are a sorry sight. No bikini for me!! But since I know it takes about a year for skin to reabsorb and such, I'm going to wait on any decision for plastic surgery till next January. That will also give me a year on maintenance so that I know my weight is pretty stable.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

The body has a fantastic knack for adjusting itself along the way. When you lose a lot of weight quickly, you end up with loose skin because your skin's elasticity wasn't enough to keep up with the weight loss - particularly in the tummy region. Over about 6 months to a year after weight loss, the body will slough off or reabsorb some of that skin. That, combined with toning exercises, may be enough to have the skin somewhat tight against the muscles again.

For people who have lost VERY large amounts of weight, the loose skin may be too much even for the body to handle. In that case, after the body has been given time to do what it can (and after maintaining for a while so that your weight is pretty stable), plastic surgery makes sense to take care of extra skin leftover.

I had a friend who had gastric bypass - her doctor would not even talk to her about plastic surgery until 1 year afterward, for these reasons. She had the surgery 2 years ago, and just had her tummy tuck this past summer.

Thanks. I'll have to hope the collagen and time work for me as I do not have a plastic surgery sized bank account.

Collagen will do nothing. The only "clinical studies" in favor have been financed by the companies that sell such products. If it would work, these companies would be billion dollar businesses.

I was wondering about that but since I have become very skeptical/cynical generally, I tend to reserve judgment until I can get more info, especially results from others. (I'm pretty new to IP and still very concerned about the long-term health impact of, for instance, the artificial sweeteners.)

Is there anyone here who believes these products have helped?

No clue if it's actually beneficial or not, but I've been eating the Raspberry Jelly every day as a free 4th packet (which is how it's supposed to be consumed) and am hoping for any improvement it can offer!

Didn't realize it was supposed to be eaten as a fourth packet. Also, isn't it supposed to be consumed only every other day during Phase 1?

I think the Raspberry Jelly is a good way to fill up your stomach without adding carbs or many calories. As somebody else said, it does not provide essential nutrients, so should not replace another meal.

You can either use it every other day as one of your 3 packets or every day as an additional 4th packet.

The reason you can't use it every day is because it's an incomplete protein, not containing all essential amino acids.

Thank you, Lolo. It definitely is filling (due to lots of water, perhaps) and tasty but I think that is because of the sucralose which I would prefer to avoid since I think other IP foods contain it. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...e-dangers.aspx among others.

Newbie, thanks. That makes sense.

I am new so please forgive me for not knowing the answer. What is the difference between IP Jello and sugar free jello you buy in the market?