If you still look a bit pregnant despite having your baby long ago, your eyes undoubtedly head straight for your tummy bulge every time you get stand in front of the mirror.
If staring at the paunch were enough to get rid of it, you’d be back to your old silhouette. And while you knew that approach was never going to work, surely a strict diet and hard-core regime of abdominal crunches would – but it didn’t.
After pregnancy or significant weight loss, many women find that having an abdominoplasty is the only way by which they are going to move beyond the over-stretched, saggy skin and slack, separated abdominal muscles. But when is the right time to think about surgery?
Are you at your ideal weight?
A tummy tuck is not a means of losing weight. Indeed, as Essex surgeon Mr Maisam Fazel explains to his patients, a good candidate for surgery is someone who is at or near her ideal weight. During an abdominoplasty, your surgeon will tighten and reposition your abdominal muscles and remove excess skin, leaving you with a taut, smooth finish.
Further fluctuations in weight will undermine the aesthetic results. So if you have some way to go, postpone any tummy tuck plans until you have shed those extra pounds.
How are your stress levels?
While a tummy tuck is a relatively straightforward procedure requiring just one night in hospital, the entire process will require physical, mental and emotional strength.
When patients attend Mr Maisam Fazel’s Essex tummy tuck clinic, he advises them to consider the timing of their procedure carefully, avoiding times of great stress, such as the breakdown of a relationship or moving house.
To help you achieve the optimal results, you will need to give yourself plenty of time and space to heal – are you in a position to make that commitment to yourself?