Can a Tummy Tuck Help You Regain Your Pre-Baby Body?

A recent survey revealed that 61% of expecting moms said that they planned to lose their pregnancy weight by their child’s first birthday. But that same survey reported that 60% of the moms with 2-year-old children were still carrying extra weight.

Does this sound painfully familiar? If you’re reading this blog, the odds are good that the answer is a resounding yes.

Losing weight after having children is hard. It’s actually worse than hard. It’s frustrating and often disheartening.

We have been performing plastic surgery in Toronto for over 20 years and we have encountered a lot of frustrated moms. They are hardworking women that have done everything in their power to lose their baby weight, but they’re still dealing with extra pounds or inches.

In a lot of cases, we have recommended the tummy tuck for these women. It’s a safe and proven way to help you finally trim the always-stubborn stomach area and help you regain your pre-baby body.

Of course, tummy tucks aren’t just for women. Check out what TPS has to offer for male tummy tucks.

What is a Tummy Tuck?

The Tummy tuck (also called abdominoplasty) is one of the most popular plastic surgeries in North America, with well over 123,000 successful procedures performed in 2019 alone. It has also grown incredibly popular over the last 20 years, as the number of annual procedures has doubled since the year 2000.

Women between the ages of 40 and 54 accounted for roughly 43% of all tummy tucks in 2020. This is typically the age that most women know they will not be having any more children. They’re also old enough to have a few years’ worth of failed diet and exercise experience.

A tummy tuck procedure removes the excess skin and fat on your core area to tighten the appearance, while also restoring weakened or separated muscles. It can also help you address unwanted stretch marks.

The exact steps your surgeon will take will depend on what type of tummy tuck you get.

There are a few different types:

•   Mini Abdominoplasty / Modified Abdominoplasty
•   Standard/Full Abdominoplasty
•   Extended Abdominoplasty

It’s important to discuss the difference between a full and mini tummy tuck with your surgeon so you can understand all of your options. The full abdominoplasty is probably the most popular option for women following pregnancy, or any sort of significant weight loss that has left them with lax stomach muscles and loose skin. Your surgeon will skillfully remove your unwanted skin and fat (both below and above the belly button) while tightening your loose abdominal muscles.

On the other hand, a mini tummy tuck procedure could be better if you are just about where you want to be, but still have a few extra pounds or inches that you can’t seem to shed. This procedure can be performed under local anesthesia or simple oral sedation. It also leaves a barely perceptible scar.

Meanwhile, the extended abdominoplasty is aimed at people who are frustrated with extra fat and skin that extends beyond their stomach area onto their hips and back, also known as the dreaded love handles.

What Does the Procedure Involve?

Your surgeon will start with a small incision. The amount of fat that will be removed and your skin type will dictate where that incision is positioned and how long it will be.

Next, your surgeon will skillfully remove the abdominal skin to address any deteriorated abdominal muscles. Next, they will trim your unwanted skin and stitch it together. They will also strategically create a new opening for the belly button to give it a natural position.

After your surgery, you will be moved to our very comfortable recovery area and stay overnight under the care of our dedicated recovery nurse. Patients can usually go home the following day.

Do I Want a Tummy Tuck or Liposuction?

If you’re dealing with a stubborn core area, you might be debating liposuction vs a tummy tuck procedure. What’s the difference?

Think of it this way: Liposuction can help you remove fat from your stomach area. However, a tummy tuck can help you remove fat and loose skin, while also helping you tighten your stomach muscles.

Yes, many different types of liposuction treatments can help tighten your skin. However, if loose skin is a big problem and a major priority, the tummy tuck will most likely give you the results you’re looking for.

At the same time, the tummy tuck obviously focuses on the tummy area. But if you’re looking to remove fat from any other part of your body, you will probably want to go with a liposuction treatment.

You can get liposuction on your:

•   Stomach
•   Back and hips
•   Upper and lower legs
•   Upper arms
•   Chest
•   Neck or chin

The use-cases for liposuction are more diverse.

How Much is a Tummy Tuck in Toronto?

The price of your procedure can vary, based on what type of procedure you get and how much work needs to be done by your surgeon.

Generally speaking, prices will start at about $8,999. We also offer procedure financing options to make things even more affordable and attainable.

If you were going to go with liposuction treatments, it would possibly cost you a bit less, with prices starting between $4,999 and $6,999.

There are more affordable non-surgical procedures available, such as:

•   EMSculpt
•   Evolve
•   CoolSculpting
•   Vanquish
•   Sculpsure

Many of these non-surgical options can give you great fat removal and skin tightening results, with no pain or downtime.

What’s the Difference Between a Tummy Tuck and a Mommy Makeover?

Simply put, a tummy tuck is a part of a mommy makeover.

The mommy makeover isn’t an actual surgical procedure, per se. It’s a customized combination of multiple procedures designed to help moms get their old bodies back.

It has been known to include:

•   Breast augmentation
•   A tummy tuck
•   Liposuction procedures
•   Fat grafting to the buttocks
•   Laser hair removal
•   Stretch mark reduction
•   Cellulite treatment

What’s great about this procedure is that it’s designed to address the most common body complaints that moms have, and it’s customized to meet your specific goals.

Simply put, the tummy tuck is part of the mommy makeover. It’s not about choosing one or the other. It’s about choosing a tummy tuck, or a tummy tuck combined with other procedures to form the mommy makeover.

If you’re only looking to address your stomach and core area, the tummy tuck could be your best bet. But if you’re looking to address more parts of your body, you might consider the makeover.

How Much Does a Mommy Makeover Cost in Toronto?

The cost can vary greatly because there are so many possible procedures involved.

Generally speaking, you can expect prices to start at $16,999.

Where Can I Get a Tummy Tuck in Toronto?

Our clinic proudly offers one of Canada’s most respected surgeons and tummy tuck experts.

Dr. Thomas Bell a proven history of providing the highest level of care, while helping his patients achieve some truly remarkable outcomes. He is widely known as one of Canada’s most experienced Bodytite liposuction experts.

Why is it So Hard for Moms to Lose Weight?

We clearly don’t have to tell you how hard it can be for mothers to lose weight. But why is it so hard?

Of course, your metabolism will slow down as a natural (and unfair) part of the ageing process. You will basically find that losing any weight gets incrementally harder after each birthday. In fact, it’s been reported that your metabolism will slow down by about 2% every year after the age of 25. We’re sure a lot of people read that line and said, “Yeah that sounds just about right.”

However, in most cases, the difficulty of losing weight doesn’t come from the many physical changes your body goes through after giving birth. It’s more about the many lifestyle changes. And there are so many things in that category working against you, it’s hard to even know where to start.

1. Your Sleep Schedule

A recent study revealed that new parents will lose an average of 109 minutes of sleep every single night after having a child. Many will lose much more. At the same time, just under half of the parents with babies said that they only get about 1 to 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Parents that got a full 8 hours of sleep were basically unicorns and they only made up about 5% of the respondents.

The proper amount of sleep is easily one of the most underestimated parts of your physical health, and a crucial part of weight loss. Getting your proper 8 hours of sleep is incredibly important. You know how your brain feels like it’s moving in slow motion when you’re sleep-deprived? Your metabolism can feel the same way.

A recent study revealed that dieters who cut back on sleep over a 14-day period saw the amount of weight they lost decline by a stunning 55%, even though their caloric intake was exactly the same.

2. Your Diet

We don’t have to tell you how easy it is to make bad dietary choices when you’re exhausted from a long day. Who wants to cook anything when you can just order a pizza? Or, as you inch closer to bedtime, you feel like the healthy hummus and veggies you have in the fridge won’t cut it. You want something more. You end up basically having an entire meal, instead of just a snack.

But this is not your fault. Your brain will actually crave more fatty and calorie-dense foods when you’re sleep-deprived. At the same time, a lack of sleep will also trigger the reward center in your brain.

These two things combine to make it almost impossible to make healthy choices. You will have an overwhelming sense that a burger will simply be far more rewarding than some hummus, and you will certainly feel that you have earned it.

3. Your Workouts

You’re facing two major barriers when working out:

1. You have less free time than you’ve ever had before
2. When you do have free time, working out is probably not how you want to spend it

You might be one of those incredibly lucky people that have a gym in their office building, or right down the street. These people can just pop in for a quick workout on their lunch hour, or just before work.

The rest of us are not so lucky. We have to make time to work out and remove all the barriers that can get in our way. Getting to the gym is often considerably harder than anything you do in the gym.

You could stop into the spin class on the way home from work, but you’re tired and just want to put your feet up. You could go for a run outside, but it’s so nice and warm inside. And you could go in the basement and use the Peloton, but this is the first chance you’ve had to relax all day and you would much rather wear pyjamas.

Working out almost never wins in these situations.

Are You Ready to Learn More?

We have helped countless moms like you regain their pre-baby bodies with the help of body contouring procedures like tummy tucks, liposuction procedures, or mommy makeovers.

“The experience was great from start to finish. Starting with Paulette – who I absolutely loved because of her honesty – she tells you how it really is and what to expect. To Dr. Bray’s attentiveness and care for making you feel comfortable with the surgery and after. The entire team was fantastic!” – A 5-Star tummy tuck + liposuction review at Realself.com.

Our surgeons have been performing the tummy tuck surgery in Toronto for over 20 years. And we would love to show you what we can do for you! If you’re ready to see what the new you can look like, we’re ready to show you!