Simply put: Even if you achieve optimal mommy makeover results right after surgery, if you do not maintain a healthy lifestyle long-term, you won’t be able to reap the benefits of your surgery for very long.
The best mommy makeover surgeon can do wonders for your figure and your self-confidence. But it’s the patient who has to put in the aftercare effort in order to maintain that positive outcome.
If you’re looking for practical advice on optimizing your mommy makeover results for as long as possible, we’ve got you. Read on for our best tips!
Here’s How to Maintain Your Amazing Mommy Makeover Results
Eat a Healthy Diet
One of the most important things you can do for your health is eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet every day. Focus on getting three complete meals, each of which focuses on protein, some sort of vegetable, and a small amount of healthy fat and whole grains.
If you tend to put on extra weight easily, maintain a steady daily caloric intake, and make sure to get enough protein so that you stay feeling full and satisfied. Gaining an excess amount of weight by eating in a consistent caloric surplus can entirely change the results of your surgery — potentially resulting in excess skin or liposuction revision, etc.
Get Plenty of Exercise
You’ll also want to exercise daily for optimal results. Your best bet is to focus on both cardio and strength training.
Research has found that regular cardiovascular exercise is truly good for your cardiovascular health and preventing heart disease and heart attacks. But strength training is also beneficial for keeping your joints strong, helping boost your metabolism, preventing injury, and of course, looking your best.
Stop Smoking
Mommy makeover patients know that if they are smokers, they must quit several weeks before undergoing any surgical procedure. It’s also important to maintain a non-smoking status during the majority of the mommy makeover recovery period.
Of course, we promote quitting smoking altogether whenever possible. Not only will stopping smoking boost your health overall and help prevent complications surrounding surgery, but it will also keep you looking your best as you age. Smokers tend to get more wrinkles, have more trouble with sagging skin, and develop yellowing of the eyes and discolored teeth.
Monitor Breast Implants
Not all mommy makeover cosmetic procedures include breast augmentation. But if your mommy makeover included breast implants, it’s important to monitor your implants for potential ruptures as time goes on.
Most women opt for silicone implants these days, in which case you’ll need to get a regular MRI scan to check for ruptures. The FDA recommends getting a scan around three years after your surgery. From there, you should get an MRI every two years.
Saline implants are slightly different because if a rupture occurs with a saline breast implant, you’ll know right away. Whether you have saline or silicone breast implants, if you have a rupture in one, you should get your implant removed and replaced.
Use Sun Protection
Lastly, protect your skin from harmful UV rays by wearing sun protective clothing and hats and SPF 50 sunscreen. The reason for this is twofold.
First, especially right after surgery, you’ll want to stay out of the sun so that the UV rays don’t cause your incision scars to become even more noticeable. Being out in the sun with fresh scars can make them highly pigmented, and this may never go away.
You’ll also want to use sun protection in the years and decades following your mommy makeover simply because this will help you have fresher, more beautiful, and younger-looking skin for longer. Those who spend a lot of time sunbathing tend to get wrinkles and sun damage and exacerbate any mommy makeover scars they have.
FAQ: Mommy Makeover Surgery
When will I see mommy makeover results?
Depending on what mommy makeover procedures you choose, you will probably see some of your results right away after surgery. Just keep in mind that much of your ultimate outcome will be camouflaged by bruising, swelling, and the bandages you must wear during your mommy makeover recovery time.
Finally, remember that for some patients, it can take up to a full year to see complete results after a mommy makeover procedure. This is largely due to the extensive swelling that is common after such a major surgery.
If you’d like to see examples of what a mommy makeover looks like after a set amount of time has passed, simply search for mommy makeover before and after images, and specify the time that has passed from surgery.
What do mommy makeover procedures usually include?
Mommy makeovers include multiple procedures. Although you can choose the specifics of your own mommy makeover surgery, most involve some combination of tummy tuck surgery to remove excess skin, liposuction to remove excess fat, and breast surgery (breast augmentation or breast lift surgery) to improve the appearance of the breasts).
How much is a mommy makeover?
Mommy makeover cost largely depends on which breast and body contouring procedures you choose on your mommy makeover journey. Additional cost factors include the pricing structure of your chosen surgeon, hospital or surgical facility fees, what breast implants you choose (if applicable), anesthesia fees, aftercare costs, and more.
Book a Mommy Makeover Procedure Consultation
Whether you choose a tummy tuck and breast lift, liposuction and breast implants, or all of the above for your surgery, you’ll want to know you’re getting the best mommy makeover results. Naturally, that means working with one of the top mommy makeover plastic surgeons.
Board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Dahlia Rice performs mommy makeover surgical procedures regularly at her Chicago practice. Dr. Rice can help you get back to your pre-pregnancy appearance by helping you choose the procedures that are right for you.
Interested in a mommy makeover consultation with Dr. Rice. We look forward to hearing from you!
