Has anybody had cosmetic surgery?

[SunDevil]

I was watching MTV the other day and watched a show where a hot girl had a lot of stuff done that she really didn't need. And it was obvious there was some pain and suffering during the recovery.

I can see how some cosmetic surgery is beneficial in lots of situations, but a lot of the time, it doesn't seem like it would be worth the pain that they go through.

[maxwell78]

Yeah I think I saw the same show last night. The one I saw had all these girls that were getting tens of thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery so they can look more like Brittney Spears. Nose jobs, boob jobs, lip injections, face lifts. I'm sitting here thinking about what kind of beyond warped self-image you have to have to want to do that. It's crazy to me. And, invariably, all of them...the ones that I saw anyway...all ended up getting boobs that were WAY too big for them. Like freakishly big. They looked like they were going to tip over. :lol:

[biodork]

My grandma has had a facelift, tummy tuck AND breast lift. Yes I did say my GRANDMA. She's in her late 60's. My mom has breast implants.

Wonderful family.

Oh yes can't forget how my grandma told me I should get liposuction (and various other people who don't need it)

My grandma TOTALLY didn't need any of it, she is this petite french woman who just can't deal with getting older. I'm more ok with my mom's surgery though, she was feeling down about herself cuz she basically lost all breast mass from being pregnant, so it was something to make herself feel better.

I would never get anything done unless it was for health reasons (why I'm considering breast reduction because I have bad back problems)

[inuts]

I know some girls believe it will make then feel better about themselves, but if those girls could read the minds of guys--or better yet hear what we say when you're not around--you'd be devastated.

I, and many other guys, think cosmetic surgery is a cry for help from someone who lacks any self-esteem; only a girl who is completely desperate for love would do it. Cosmetic surgery might "fix up" the outside but it doesn't fix what's actually broken--the inside. Cosmetic surgery won't make you more happy with who you are, it won't improve your relationships with your friends and family, and it will not fill that empty feeling inside.

If anything the opposite is true--cosmetic surgery will make people notice how desperate and empty you are. They will pity and feel sorry for you, and they will not love or respect you.

[biodork]

I have a BIG problem with the women who have like a C cup boobs already and go up to a triple D or whatever huge size is up there. I'm at only a D and my back is made SO much worse from this size. Why the hell would you want to do that to yourself!!! I mean its one thing to go from a flat chest to a B or C (which my mom did), but DAMN don't stuff basketballs into your chest! So freakin unnecessary. I would give anything to just have a smaller size and fit into shirts I like in stores and not have back problems.

[kimmer23]

most people that i know that have had boob jobs are sorry they did it later on. they wind up being too big or they cant sleep on their stomachs and they realize they made a mistake.

[paiger81]

The show is called "I want a famous face"

If anything the opposite is true--cosmetic surgery will make people notice how desperate and empty you are. They will pity and feel sorry for you, and they will not love or respect you.

I'm planning on getting some work done in the future. My reason is cause after I'm down to the proper weight for someone my height/age I will have lost about 70 pounds. I'm half way there, and already my boobs have gone from a 38 full C cup to a 34 small B cup. It's not so much the size of my boobs that are affecting me, as much as they have lost their shape. I used to have cute perky round boobs, now they are kind of hanging & flat......that's not cool. So I plan on having a boob lift, but not necessarily implants. I think that depends on how small my boobs get.

I may have to remove excess skin as well. Most of my weight is in my legs, and I can already see where the sking is starting to pucker around my thighs.......that is something I'm keeping an eye on.

I'm not doing this surgery for anybody but myself. I'm not desperate or empty, I'm 23 and the concept of having a body that looks like a 40+ year old is not something that I want to have.

[MetFanL]

I haven't had anything done, but that's not to say I wouldn't down the road. If all that stands between you feeling like sh*t and feeling good about yourself if fixing this flaw in your nose or getting a boob job to even out your boobs or any number of other things, I say go for it.

Working out and losing weight, for me, has changed my attitude about myself. I was confident before, but now I'm downright ridiculous and I think it's great. And, it's all physical. If you're taking care of yourself and there is just this one thing, there is no reason not to do it. Or, if you're aging and you aren't blessed w/ great genes, get your sh*t taken care of. Whatever you have to do to be happy with yourself.

[paiger81]

I agree met!!

Though on that particular show there are some people who think getting new boobs will make them less shy or something like that. That's kind of unhealthy thinking, you know?

I wish plastic surgeons would require some form a evaluation of the patient before performing surgery. SOme people do expect tooo much from a little nip & tuck.....

[capella]

Elyse, I feel your pain!! Damn genetics. I also am lugging around a D to DD cup depending on the cut, and I laugh at women who have C cups who want bigger boobs. You fools!! You want a D cup chest. Here "Take THEM!!!"
I am getting them cut down to a nice, healthy-for-my-5'2"-frame size when I have the money saved in a few years (and after the baby thing is done and over with). There are NO bikini tops that remotely fit and look nice with D boobs. Unless you buy bras for 35 bucks from Victoria's Secret you'll have to buy that monster strap, four-clasp, only-comes-in-white, covers an area on your back the size of Rhode Island, god-awful bra in the other stores. Forget any cute halter tops or anything that'd require hiding a bra strap. God I hate bra shopping!!! Almost as much as jean shopping!!! And why the fuck does Vic's secret have to discontinue any bra I find that's decently comfortable? GRR.
And Paige, great job on the weightloss!!! :bigger: You should feel proud. And I think cosmetic surgery in cases like that are just one more step in getting yourself back to the way you were.
People who do crazy things who look fine to begin with, just to hide underlying self-esteem issues are the ones who should be signing up for therapy instead of going under the knife ~~end judgmental rant~~

[biodork]

I wish plastic surgeons would require some form a evaluation of the patient before performing surgery. SOme people do expect tooo much from a little nip & tuck.....
Actually I think some do. I was actually watching I think Dr. 90210 and he actually said if he thinks a woman's breasts are fine he doesn't like to do anything to them, and he tells them that. The same person also says he won't do liposuction unless they have made an active effort to lose weight and get healthy first and still don't see results after that. But Im so sure that's not everyone.

[GetMeOuttaDC]

I know some girls believe it will make then feel better about themselves, but if those girls could read the minds of guys--or better yet hear what we say when you're not around--you'd be devastated.

I, and many other guys, think cosmetic surgery is a cry for help from someone who lacks any self-esteem; only a girl who is completely desperate for love would do it. Cosmetic surgery might "fix up" the outside but it doesn't fix what's actually broken--the inside. Cosmetic surgery won't make you more happy with who you are, it won't improve your relationships with your friends and family, and it will not fill that empty feeling inside.

If anything the opposite is true--cosmetic surgery will make people notice how desperate and empty you are. They will pity and feel sorry for you, and they will not love or respect you.

Oh, riiiight... I am sure men are just lining up to date women who are disfigured from accidents, surgeries, etc and stayed deformed and not-so-pretty rather than take advantage of the medical technologies available.

I'll have you know I have had men suggest to my face that I get a nose job.

Do you mean to tell me you're also critical of those who wear makeup and select hairstyles/clothes that flatter them?

I am not saying cosmetic surgery is a panacea to fix your life, but come ON! It's not all bad.

[paiger81]

Actually I think some do. I was actually watching I think Dr. 90210 and he actually said if he thinks a woman's breasts are fine he doesn't like to do anything to them, and he tells them that. The same person also says he won't do liposuction unless they have made an active effort to lose weight and get healthy first and still don't see results after that. But Im so sure that's not everyone.

Technically they are supposed to. My cousin is a plastic surgeon, and he says the problem is that there are a lot of surgeons who just want to make a buck or get off on the fact that they can create beautiful women, so they are willing to do whatever the client wants.

[kimmer23]

oh yeah i think its great if you just wanna get a few things "fixed" so to speak, but there are so many people out there that take things to the extreme (like 50 yr old women trying to look 25) and its plain silly!

[pisces2473]

Oh, riiiight... I am sure men are just lining up to date women who are disfigured from accidents, surgeries, etc and stayed deformed and not-so-pretty rather than take advantage of the medical technologies available.
Kelly, no one's talking about that. What people are talking about are these women who are already stick thin and/or look FINE and think, "I need a new face." If you have a birth defect (cleft palate) or bad accident scars, yes, by all means, have it taken care of so you feel like your old self, or how you should have looked.

Everyone gets negative comments about their bodies from other people. I got called "Amish" in HS b/c I had a lot of facial hair where guys would have sideburns. I'm going through laser treatments, but that was because I didn't like it, not because of what some punk 17 year old said 7 years ago.

Do it for yourself but don't expect miracles or guys to fawn all over you--that's the best advice I would give someone.

And Paige, I would do it too if I'd lost that much weight. There's only so much exercising can do for you :) My mom keeps complaining about her flabby arms--I keep telling her to get them fixed. She's totally muscular, but just has extra fat/skin in her tricep areas--no matter what she does, she can't get rid of it.

I too, don't understand the attraction of huge boobs. My shirts make me look like I'm a skank or I'm pregnant!

Amy--Lane Bryant has really cute bras that aren't nasty and are in ALL sizes, not just for bigger ladies.

[wordsmith]

I really don't foresee it, unless it were to fix something damaged in some catastrophic accident - reconstructive surgery, or skin grafts if I were burned or something. But because I don't like my body enough to leave it as it is without surgical enhancement? Nah.

If it makes somebody feel better about themselves, TRULY makes them feel better, more power to them. But I just really feel like, in a lot of instances, somebody who's so upset with their (non-deformed) looks that they'd go to that length is probably somebody who's going to just move on to the next perceived "flaw," once the one that's been plaguing them is fixed. Dissatisfaction with your looks is a mindset that can't really be remedied by a knife or laser, in many circumstances. It runs a lot deeper than that.

I've had to have moles removed, but it was to be biopsied for skin cancer, not for cosmetic purposes.

[pisces2473]

But I just really feel like, in a lot of instances, somebody who's so upset with their (non-deformed) looks that they'd go to that length is probably somebody who's going to just move on to the next perceived "flaw," once the one that's been plaguing them is fixed. Dissatisfaction with your looks is a mindset that can't really be remedied by a knife or laser, in many circumstances. It runs a lot deeper than that.
Hello, Michael Jackson.

[paiger81]

Hello, Michael Jackson.


And LaToya, and Janet........Papa Joe really screwed over those kids

[pisces2473]

What about Randy's gastric bypass? Is that cosmetic? LOL

[biodork]

(like 50 yr old women trying to look 25)

MY GRANDMA!!!

I swear the face lift made her look like she had a duck bill for lips. Not so bad now but man...so unnecessary

[shimmer728]

[QUOTE=GetMeOuttaDC]
I'll have you know I have had men suggest to my face that I get a nose job.
QUOTE]

Did you suggest that they get a penis enlargement? How rude!

My mom has said that if any of her daughters inherited the big Italian honker, she would have gotten us nose jobs. I'm not so sure how serious she is about that, though. :rolleyes:

[capella]

Amy--Lane Bryant has really cute bras that aren't nasty and are in ALL sizes, not just for bigger ladies.
I'll have to check that out :) I usually get so pissed I just go home and bend the wires back in line on the old bras.

[wordsmith]

Seriously. I know people who have had work done, and rather than be happy with what they fixed (which they were sure would make their lives so much better) it was just on to dissatisfaction with the next thing.

It's not being unhappy with your appearance, so much as it is being unhappy with yourself. What's gonna fix that? Not surgery.

[WeirdBrake]

I'll have you know I have had men suggest to my face that I get a nose job.

Holy crap, Kelly. You should've given HIM a nosejob.... a broken one, that is.

[kimmer23]

i had laser eye surgery and i think that is considered cosmetic surgery.

[mishl982]

Isn't something considered cosmetic surgery if your insurance doesn't cover it? Like if you get a breast reduction because it is causing back problems, insurance covers it. Sometimes insurance will cover laser eye surgery too. Am I wrong?

[paiger81]

Isn't something considered cosmetic surgery if your insurance doesn't cover it? Like if you get a breast reduction because it is causing back problems, insurance covers it. Sometimes insurance will cover laser eye surgery too. Am I wrong?

HA! I went to the association of plastic surgeons web site & here is what they say:

"Cosmetic surgery is performed to reshape normal structures of the body in order to improve the patient's appearance and self-esteem. Cosmetic surgery is usually not covered by health insurance because it is elective.

Reconstructive surgery is performed on abnormal structures of the body, caused by congential defects, developmental abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors or disease. It is generally performed to improve function, but may also be done to approximate a normal appearance. Reconstructive surgery is generally covered by most health insurance policies although coverage for specific procedures and levels of coverage may vary greatly.

There are a number of "gray areas" in coverage for plastic surgery that sometimes require special consideration by an insurance carrier. These areas usually involved surgical operations which may be reconstructive or cosmetic, depending on each patient's situation. For example, eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty) — a procedure normally performed to achieve cosmetic improvement — may be covered if the eyelids are drooping severely and obscuring a patient's vision."

[kimmer23]

Sometimes insurance will cover laser eye surgery too. Am I wrong?

it might now...i am not sure. i had my done about 4 yrs ago and mine wasnt covered and i had excellent insurance through my parents.

my friend recently had a piece taken off of her ear--she had a little tip on the end of one ear that made the ear look elfish--and it wasnt covered under insurance. she wanted it done really badly though because she had been pretty self conscience about it since she was a kid. i hope now she'll start wearing her hair in a ponytail once in a while!

[kimmer23]

now my husband did have his ears tacked back when he was a little kid and that WAS covered under insurance. i think because he had it done by a certain age and that is why it was covered. his parents let him get it done because he was teased a lot for having "dumbo ears."

[wordsmith]

From my own experience -

Having a mole removed because of a predisposition to skin cancer, on the Dr's suspicion that it is precancerous - not cosmetic, medical. Covered by insurance.

Having a mole removed because you don't like how it looks - not medical, cosmetic, not covered by insurance.

If it's not a health risk, my insurance isn't covering it.

[Kitty]

I lost a shit load of weight. I went from around 230 to 145.

Anyway, I had a "tummy-tuck" a year ago. Best thing I ever did for myself :)

[mishl982]

HA! I went to the association of plastic surgeons web site & here is what they say....
Hehe, I love when topics on qlc prompt us to research. It makes me feel smarter. :p

[Kitty]

What about Randy's gastric bypass? Is that cosmetic? LOL

I don't think that is cosmetic surgery.

I have strong feelings about that surgery, but I know a lot of people will disagree with me.

[GetMeOuttaDC]

Did you suggest that they get a penis enlargement? How rude!

:lol: Were you there? I also commented on the fact that our entire 300 person class hated his guts because of his annoying personality.

My mom has said that if any of her daughters inherited the big Italian honker, she would have gotten us nose jobs. I'm not so sure how serious she is about that, though. :rolleyes:
A friend of mine did get the big Italian honker and a nose job - her whole family chipped in to pay for it. I personally didn't like her "new" nose though - not sure whether it was just weird to see her face so different or whehter it was actually too small for her face.

[paiger81]

What about Randy's gastric bypass? Is that cosmetic? LOL

It depends on how overweight you are. Some people I know were MORBIDLY OBESE to where there body was literally shutting itself down, their insurance company approved the bypass. For others where you can't prove other aspects of your health are being affected-gastric bypass is NOT covered.

[wordsmith]

This surgery won't typically be done unless there is a legitimate medical need. I vote no, that it's not cosmetic. It's typically done for morbid obesity, or when excess weight is causing specific medical issues. Not because you wanna drop a few pounds or anything like that.

My younger sister's best friend had this done at age 19 or 20. She'd been very overweight most of her life. Now she's down to probably a size 14 or 16, and is still very unhappy. I think she expected that she would magically feel great about herself, but it's more than her size making her unhappy.

[MetFanL]

You know, my mother has the big Italian nose and she's absolutely GORGEOUS. Truly. I have a friend like that too -- it just depends on the person and how confident they are with it. Of course, it's not her favorite feature, but she would NEVER change it.

[paiger81]

I think she expected that she would magically feel great about herself, but it's more than her size making her unhappy.

One of my former coworker's wife is the same way. She used to moan that it didn't work, but she still would eat the wrong foods, refused to exercise, and basically didn't UNDERSTAND that that surgery is NOT a magic cure, you still have to work for it. She was an EXTREMELY bitter woman.

[steph78]

I lost a shit load of weight. I went from around 230 to 145.

Anyway, I had a "tummy-tuck" a year ago. Best thing I ever did for myself :)
WOW!!! That's really incredible - how did you do it? And how long did that take? I bet you have so much more energy now.

[pisces2473]

I don't think that is cosmetic surgery.

I have strong feelings about that surgery, but I know a lot of people will disagree with me.
I was just joking around...didn't want to start the debate that I feel is brewing.

So lets take it to another thread if we want to talk about gastric bypass surgery--this is me as the mod speaking--thanks.

[Kitty]

I was just joking around...didn't want to start the debate that I feel is brewing.

So lets take it to another thread if we want to talk about gastric bypass surgery--this is me as the mod speaking--thanks.

Yeah! I don't really want to go there, personally.

[Kitty]

WOW!!! That's really incredible - how did you do it? And how long did that take? I bet you have so much more energy now.

Eating healthy and changing my lifestyle. It took about a year to lose the weight. The intial weight loss happened in a matter of months. The hard part comes as you get closer and closer to your goal weight. The last 15 pounds becomes insanely hard.

[paiger81]

Kitty-
I meant to ask you if you had long term plateaus and how you dealt with them. I've been stuck at 155 no matter what I change! May 6 will be a whole year since I started my change of lifestyle. Ultimate goal is 125, any advice would be appreciated.

[mishl982]

The last 15 pounds becomes insanely hard.
I hate stupid plateaus!

[Kitty]

Kitty-
I meant to ask you if you had long term plateaus and how you dealt with them. I've been stuck at 155 no matter what I change! May 6 will be a whole year since I started my change of lifestyle. Ultimate goal is 125, any advice would be appreciated.

Honestly, you have to be REALLY strict for awhile. That is how I did it. I had to be very very strict w/ almost no cheating for about 3 months. It really sucks, but after you lose the weight it is easier to maintain and you can kinda cheat and be a lot more casual. I remember being stuck at 160 forever and feeling like I wouldn't be able to get any lower. Then, during the summer I just took it to the next level.

Good luck!! It is really hard. I wish I could lose another 10 pounds, but I can't seem to find that focus I had before.

[inuts]

Ok, I know I've already said it, but I'll say it one more time:

Implants are a complete turn-off. My friends (guys and girls) and I went to a strip club last night (not my suggestion, but I didn't object either), and all I can say is that girls without implants have it all over the girls with implants.

The girls with implants: Generic Barbie lookalikes. Yawn. No physical flaws, nothing interesting. Boring.

The girls without implants: The real deal. Exciting. Real women for real men.

Looks don't count half as much as women think they do. They really, truly, trust-me-on-this-one, don't. It's sad how some people work so hard on what's outside and do so little on what's inside.

[Larry David]

^I agree. Boob jobs do nothing for me. I'd rather a girl have a real B than a fake D. I wish women understood this, since more and more seem to be getting implants these days.

[paiger81]

Looks don't count half as much as women think they do. They really, truly, trust-me-on-this-one, don't. It's sad how some people work so hard on what's outside and do so little on what's inside.

Here's the thing though. You seem to be thinking along the lines that women(and men) are getting cosmetic surgery so that OTHER people think they look good. I don't know if you are understanding that A LOT of people aren't doing it for other people, they are doing it for THEMSELVES.

I could care less if you or anybody else approves of my decision to have surgery done. This is something I want to do for MYSELF.

As for the inside, I think I'm a pretty damn good person. I felt self confidence when I WAS 200 pounds, I feel confident at 155, and I'm pretty damn sure I will feel confident when I'm 125, the surgery is not going to change who I am, it will just get rid of the problem areas. I'm sorry if you don't get that.

[Tayl405]

My mom had a nose job, which I always forget because she's SO not superficial. She just really hated her nose. But now she has these friends who are all about appearances and botox and shit (her one friend, while incredibly sweet, has makeup TATOOED on her face). Her self-esteem seems to have dropped since she started hanging around them, and sometimes I get worried.

Aside from reconstructive surgery, I can't imagine ever wanting anything done to me. Not only does it seems unbelievably painful, but I don't want any part of me to be fake.

I only skimmed this post, so someone may have pointed it out, but did anyone see Kate Winslet on Oprah talking about cosmetic surgery? She was so awesome about it...

[Deni81]

I think the problem is that a lot of people expect plastic surgery to change their low self-esteem and their lives. The girl on this week's "I want a famous face" was a great example of this. She even said after the surgery that she still didn't feel confident.

As for me, when I was younger I used to want a boob job. I'm a 34 A. In the last few years I have grown to love my small chest and just accept that part of my body. It just took some time. The only thing I would consider having is a nose job. But I'm not sure yet.

[pisces2473]

I think the problem is that a lot of people expect plastic surgery to change their low self-esteem and their lives. The girl on this week's "I want a famous face" was a great example of this. She even said after the surgery that she still didn't feel confident.
Before you have gastric bypass surgery, you have to undergo a psychological evaluation to make sure you are ready for this life-altering surgery. The same evaluations should be required with plastic surgery...people think it's going to totally change their lives, and it doesn't.

[inuts]

Here's the thing though. You seem to be thinking along the lines that women(and men) are getting cosmetic surgery so that OTHER people think they look good. I don't know if you are understanding that A LOT of people aren't doing it for other people, they are doing it for THEMSELVES.

I could care less if you or anybody else approves of my decision to have surgery done. This is something I want to do for MYSELF.

As for the inside, I think I'm a pretty damn good person. I felt self confidence when I WAS 200 pounds, I feel confident at 155, and I'm pretty damn sure I will feel confident when I'm 125, the surgery is not going to change who I am, it will just get rid of the problem areas. I'm sorry if you don't get that.

I disagree on the grounds that what we think looks good is heavily, consciously and subconsciously, affected by what other people, and society in general, think. As everyone knows, overweight women were the rage many years ago--and women who were overweight felt they looked good because they knew that's what people liked. But the message that they looked good was drilled into their heads, until it was the reality they saw. And after a while, they simply thought they looked good.

The opposite is more true now, but the argument I'm making here is that what we think looks good is drilled so far into our heads, that unless we're really introspective, what we think looks good is largely a byproduct of what we've been told looks good.

I think your situation is somewhat different, but, if being overweight was the rage, would you have lost weight in the first place? I mean really, think about it. If it was drilled into your head, if it was what you had always thought, what you always saw, if it was what you were always lead to believe, would you have really bothered to lose weight? Wouldn't you have rather kept your weight because deep down you knew people thought it made you look better? Wouldn't you?

For those of us who are really introspective enough to know what we want, fine. But I think when it comes to looks almost everyone is far more conditioned by society than they realize. I know that sounds extreme, but when you really think about it, is it hard to believe otherwise?

[GetMeOuttaDC]

If I can chime in... I think Paige "bothered" to lose weight because, unlike a few generations ago when being plump was considered attractive, being overweight is now known to contribute to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, fertility issues, kidney problems, stomach damage, strain on your joints, etc, etc, etc. She may have been thinking of her health and longevity, more than her good looks.

My favorite uncle dropped dead suddenly two years ago of a heart attack at age 57 - he was about 100 lbs overweight. :cry: Same story with my BF's dad 2.5 years ago.

[pisces2473]

Um, I don't think at any time in our generation being overweight/plump/whatever has been seen as fashionable. Maybe 50 years ago!

[wordsmith]

Hah. Or maybe when Titian was painting?

[and1grad]

For the record, the ONLY reason plump was considered attractive was b/c it meant that that person/their family was wealthy enough to always have food, rather than go through periods of practical starvation.

[inuts]

For the record, the ONLY reason plump was considered attractive was b/c it meant that that person/their family was wealthy enough to always have food, rather than go through periods of practical starvation.

No. In addition to it being considered more healthy (which in that day it often was, as being skinny from starvation was obviously worse), it was also considered the more feminine and more natural form. And that wasn't a brief period in history, either. It was like that for many centuries--you only need to look at the different paintings from the different centuries to see which form was most often celebrated. By comparison, thinness as the preferable form has had a very short life span, and it is really only a very recent movement.

But my original argument was that what we find attractive is conditioned by what we are taught and what we are conditioned to believe. And I stand by it. Of course science has improved and we have since learned that being overweight leads to a lot of health problems. And people connect being thin to being healthier, and being healthy is more desirable because it better ensures ours and our offsprings' chance for survival. And we generally find those who better ensure ours and our offsrpings' survival to be more attractive.

Thus I stick to my argument that what we find attractive is largely a conditioned response.

[and1grad]

Hmm. First I've ever heard of that. Also, in some cultures that STILL is the case. Not sure how anyone can dispute that beauty is a social concept but since not everybody finds the same people/things beautiful, i dont really believe its a "conditioned" response.

[paiger81]

I think your situation is somewhat different, but, if being overweight was the rage, would you have lost weight in the first place? I mean really, think about it. If it was drilled into your head, if it was what you had always thought, what you always saw, if it was what you were always lead to believe, would you have really bothered to lose weight? Wouldn't you have rather kept your weight because deep down you knew people thought it made you look better? Wouldn't you?

Here's the thing, I have been overweight my ENTIRE life. I was NEVER the normal weight for my age, and I never cared. I was teased for being fat from the time I was in grade school. Again I never cared because I have always felt good about myself. Don't know if it was my upbringing or what, but I've always loved my body. In fact, whenever people used to tease me, I'd always say that I was just born in the wrong generation, because past generations appreciated heavier women.

The only reason I chose to lose weight at this point in my life was because I WAS starting to show signs of diseases that run in my family--high cholesterol & high blood pressure--that being obese can make worse. I don't want to end up being 30 and having a heart attack or going on meds. And if you look at Weight trackers, to be 125 at 5 feet is still considered overweight, so I'm still saying a big fuck you to society, even when I'm at my goal weight.

Not sure how anyone can dispute that beauty is a social concept but since not everybody finds the same people/things beautiful, i dont really believe its a "conditioned" response.

That's how I feel, too.

[shinyleaf]

Here's the thing, I have been overweight my ENTIRE life. I was NEVER the normal weight for my age, and I never cared. I was teased for being fat from the time I was in grade school. Again I never cared because I have always felt good about myself. Don't know if it was my upbringing or what, but I've always loved my body. In fact, whenever people used to tease me, I'd always say that I was just born in the wrong generation, because past generations appreciated heavier women.
.

Hurray! Let's find a way to package Paige's self-esteem recipe and make it mandatory consumption for every kid. :)

[miss binz]

i just skimmed through this, and saw a few people discussing breast reductions. i can tell you that although it is the most painful thing i have ever been through, it was also the best decision i've ever made. it took me three years to work up the guts to actually go through with it, and now i can't believe i waited so long. at 5'8, 125 pounds and a size 4, lugging around double D's gets a girl a LOT of unwanted attention. there's women out there who increase their breast size to look and feel sexier. but when you're in your early twenties and middle-aged fat bald men half your height are stopping you on the street, staring into your cleavage and hollering "nice rack!!" you don't feel sexy. in fact being treated like that makes you feel like sh*t. as if all you are is boobs and nothing else.

i struggled with the decision to go through with the procedure for a long time. i didn't want to do it just because these random men made me feel bad about myself, i wanted to be sure i was doing it for ME. it didn't matter how many girlfriends were envious, i still felt gross and disproportioned. and shopping for bras in the old lady section at sears didn't exactly help matters.

a year and a half later, i feel so much better about MYSELF. plus i can finally wear a bikini and cute tops. lucky for me, in canada insurance covers it. but if anyone's thinking about doing it, go for it. it totally changed my life.

[lilyflower]

I'm kinda torn on this topic. Basically because I have (what I think is) a pretty prominent gash below my nose on the left side of my face. In reality, it's probably no more than an inch long but I feel people always stare at it. (I've had it forever it was the result of a childhood accident.). Sometimes I think about getting it fixed, not having to carry such a freaking visible stupid scar, but then I think that it's a part of me, it's a part of what defines me and that I'd be untrue to myself somehow to fix it. It's a very weird complicated issue. :confused:

[shinyleaf]

I always find that people who have scars, or some kind of visible anomaly who are confident with themselves, to be intriguing. I think that sometimes people stare at these type of people not out of disgust, but it is just unusual and interesting to see someone who doesn't look "perfect" act like they don't even notice it. Like Joaquim Pheonix and his cleft pallate scar. The more you look at him, the hotter he gets.
I always liked Jewel's "snaggletooth", and how cool she seemed to be with it, because I have one too.

[biodork]

i just skimmed through this, and saw a few people discussing breast reductions. i can tell you that although it is the most painful thing i have ever been through, it was also the best decision i've ever made. it took me three years to work up the guts to actually go through with it, and now i can't believe i waited so long. at 5'8, 125 pounds and a size 4, lugging around double D's gets a girl a LOT of unwanted attention. there's women out there who increase their breast size to look and feel sexier. but when you're in your early twenties and middle-aged fat bald men half your height are stopping you on the street, staring into your cleavage and hollering "nice rack!!" you don't feel sexy. in fact being treated like that makes you feel like sh*t. as if all you are is boobs and nothing else.

i struggled with the decision to go through with the procedure for a long time. i didn't want to do it just because these random men made me feel bad about myself, i wanted to be sure i was doing it for ME. it didn't matter how many girlfriends were envious, i still felt gross and disproportioned. and shopping for bras in the old lady section at sears didn't exactly help matters.

a year and a half later, i feel so much better about MYSELF. plus i can finally wear a bikini and cute tops. lucky for me, in canada insurance covers it. but if anyone's thinking about doing it, go for it. it totally changed my life.

That is awesome. I'm one of the people on this thread who was talking about getting it done. I'm just afraid to because I do want to have kids some day, and while that may be awhile off yet I don't want to have to go through the surgery again later on. But I feel like I need it now. Although I'm not as tiny as you are (5'6, 145 lbs, size 8 or 9) I still feel like they are causing me SO many problems. My breasts just grow and they don't shrink when I lose weight. Can you imagine what will happen once I have kids??? Yikes!!

Good for you though for going through with it. Do you have a lot of scars? That's another thing I'm worried about. I don't want to have a lot of scarring that will make me even more self-conscious than I already am.

[miss binz]

the having kids thing was an issue for me as well, i worried about being able to breastfeed and if my boobs would just get huge again if i ever had a baby anyway, or if they would completey disappear... etc. but i decided to live in the here and now, and the here and now was that i hated them and didn't want to be in my twenties and be so umcomfortable with myself. after i got it done, i felt like i should have always been this size. my friends all thought i lost weight because all of a sudden my waist wasn't hidden anymore. the surgeon took a pound out of each boob.

just to give you an idea, my sister is also a DD and she just had a baby a few months ago. she is still breastfeeding and she is now a size G. no kidding. they never really bothered her before (she is much taller than me and they suit her more) but she is now thinking of getting it done in the future. she also has friends with babies who had it done who were able to breastfeed no problem.

as for scars, they are hardly noticeable and they are really the least of my worries. everybody scars differently however, but i was careful to use a lot of vitamin e when they were healing which seemed to have helped with the scarring. but the majority of the scars are underneath, so you can't even see them. i also worried about scars, but then i decided that it would be a small price to pay to be able to feel normal and wear bikinis, normal bras, tube tops... etc.

hope that helps.

[irish42]

I'm kinda torn on this topic. Basically because I have (what I think is) a pretty prominent gash below my nose on the left side of my face. In reality, it's probably no more than an inch long but I feel people always stare at it. (I've had it forever it was the result of a childhood accident.). Sometimes I think about getting it fixed, not having to carry such a freaking visible stupid scar, but then I think that it's a part of me, it's a part of what defines me and that I'd be untrue to myself somehow to fix it. It's a very weird complicated issue. :confused:


See I would totally and completly consider plastic surgery to cover up the 8.5 thick purpleish horizontal jagged scar across my stomach with a hole at the end of it for an old feeding tube (makes me look like I have 2 belly buttons) I want to fix that soo badly but its a scar that I have had since the day I was born when I recived bypass surgery...and it is the ONLY reason I am alive today--so I am mildly torn but I hate my scar and because of it I cannot get abs and I used to work out 6 days a week 3 times a day as a D1 athlete...but that is the only reason I would ever consider plastic surgery...

[paiger81]

It's ironic that this topic popped up again. Today I had further confirmation that I need a booby lift & possible implant.

Since I got my hair cut on Monday, everyone here has commented that you can really tell I've lost more weight. One of my coworkers asked if I was planning on surgery & I mentioned wanting skin tightening & possible boobs-she looks at my boobs, then straight into my eyes "Yeah. Talk to Carrie(coworker) her boobs used to be little like yours, but she had them done and she breezed through it!"

Gee, even other people can tell my boobs have erased.

[pisces2473]

No Paige, your coworkers suck with making comments about your personal life...like we talked about last night. Tell 'em to STFU!

[GetMeOuttaDC]

It's ironic that this topic popped up again. Today I had further confirmation that I need a booby lift & possible implant.

Since I got my hair cut on Monday, everyone here has commented that you can really tell I've lost more weight. One of my coworkers asked if I was planning on surgery & I mentioned wanting skin tightening & possible boobs-she looks at my boobs, then straight into my eyes "Yeah. Talk to Carrie(coworker) her boobs used to be little like yours, but she had them done and she breezed through it!"

Gee, even other people can tell my boobs have erased.

Are you fucking kidding me? Did you bitchslap them?

[paiger81]

I really wasn't offended, I was more like "Yep, I know, I used to be a 38 full C and now I'm a 34 barely B". The issue is that I have noticed my boobage downsizing for quite awhile, so it doesn't offend me when they notice.

No offense to any A cups, but the moment I go to an A, I'm gonna have to start buying padded bras. I have NEVER been an A before, and carrying around my big ol' ghetto booty, I don't match anymore. :sad:

[biodork]

So I wanted to bring this back up because I'm really pissed about something my mom is planning on doing. She wants to get liposuction. Ok, I know that people get it done, but my dad is really pissed to because first of all she really doesn't exercise and eat right, so she is just taking the easy way out and second, she is saying the plastic surgeon TOLD her that she won't ever be able to exercise and eat right to get down to a smaller size. WTF! I can't believe my mom is falling for this crap. This is so completely a case of a dr just wanting to get her money. She has these pictures of her when she was younger, and a lot skinnier, but you know what your metabolism slows down as you get older and it HAPPENS. You gain weight. She is basically refusing to follow any real exercise plan and has tried (and always never continues) every diet out there.

A GOOD plastic surgeon will tell you you need to lose weight and be healthy before they will operate, which means you get as small as you can and use lipo for the rest that you know will always be there. My dad is so mad he wants to go and meet the guy himself and yell at him. Of course my grandma will pay for it for her if she wants it, because i know my dad sure as hell won't. And the thing is, my parents (and grandparents, as they are involved in the family business as well) are strapped for cash right now because of the business. So she shouldn't be doing that crap anyways.

It just really pisses me off that she'd go and do this because she's basically letting laziness take over. :mad:

[SunDevil]

I'm not commenting on your Mom's surgery specifically, but doesn't lipo permentaly reduce the number of fat cells you have? Now, if you don't change your diet or exercise after the surgery, then the remaining fat cells will just grow bigger again.

[biodork]

I'm not commenting on your Mom's surgery specifically, but doesn't lipo permentaly reduce the number of fat cells you have? Now, if you don't change your diet or exercise after the surgery, then the remaining fat cells will just grow bigger again.
Yeah you are exactly right. So she would have to exercise anyways. But my mom doesn't seem think that matters, she just wants the easy way out for her major "problem areas"

[Kitty]

I've actually heard that the areas you liposuction actually makes it nearly impossible for fat to pocket there again.

I had lipo in my flanks w/ my surgery and I haven't changed my diet or exercise or anything and the fat has not come back at all.

[paiger81]

I've actually heard that the areas you liposuction actually makes it nearly impossible for fat to pocket there again.

This is why it's nice to a have a plastic surgeon in the family(my cousin). Called him up & he says that with proper diet & exercise it is nearly impossible for fat to come back there. However, if a person does not "upkeep" themselves, it is entirely possible that the fat cells would come back.

[biodork]

I've actually heard that the areas you liposuction actually makes it nearly impossible for fat to pocket there again.

I had lipo in my flanks w/ my surgery and I haven't changed my diet or exercise or anything and the fat has not come back at all.
It's not the fat cells that were removed, its any fat cells in any other areas. So say you get lipo in your thighs, but not everywhere in your thighs, so there is still areas with fat cells, then when you gain weight JUST those areas that weren't removed will accumulate fat, so you will look all lopsided.

Basically I'm just saying that my mom is retarded if she thinks lipo is going to solve all her problems, when she isn't even healthy in the first place.

[paiger81]

I completely understand that, bio.

It's like a coworker's wife who wants to have Gastric Bypass, yet she refuses to exercise or eat healthy. Yet she can't understand why her doctor will NOT approve her for the surgery. You have to show you realize that surgery isn't a quick fix.

[biodork]

I swear my mom is the queen of looking for the quick fix. I reallly hope my dad stands up and refuses to let her do it. He actually WANTS to go out exercising with her. And has tried to get her to do it. But all she does is complain.

[SunDevil]

Well, I just had a cosmetic surgery procedure done yesterday. One of my ears was a different shape and stuck out at a different angle from the other one, so I had a doctor fix it. It was about the same experience as going to the dentist. I didn't get put under or anything. I'm sill not sure how much of a difference it will make in my life. At least I have one less thing to be self-conscience about, so that is probably worth the cost of surgery (it wasn't that much, I saved money for it during the past 2-3 months). I'm not sure if it will make me more attractive, but symmetry is what our brains are programmed to detect. And I couldn't have exercised nor done anything else to change this without surgery.

I also wonder how many people will notice it. The bandages were only on for 24 hours, and there are no visible scars (it doesn't hurt either). And I didn't tell anybody that I was going to do this. While I had wanted it done for quite a while, I started seriously looking into it when I started this thread in April.

[Kitty]

Sun,

Sounds like it was pretty minor. I bet that even if people do notice, they won't say anything.

Are you happy with the results?

[SunDevil]

It looks pretty good so far. It did get modified quite a bit, but it is much closer in apperance to my other ear now.

I don't care if my co-workers say anything or not. I'm just waiting for what my parents will say. They probably should have told me that there was a problem years ago.