Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Blog

One old Catch-22 is that to get a job you need experience, but to get experience you need a job. For many people, there's one equally binding: to get a great body, you've got to go to the gym, but to go to the gym, you've got to have a great body. If you find yourself in this bind, you might consider adding a tummy tuck to your plan for a better body in the new year.

Many people are under the impression that tummy tucks, liposuction, and other body contouring procedures are a lazy person's substitute for exercise in achieving the perfect body, but cosmetic surgery alone cannot ensure that you get the look you want, let alone maintain it. If you have had difficulty sticking to an exercise routine because you feel self-conscious at the gym, or find that you get tired too quickly to exercise for a long time, cosmetic surgery may make the difference between your old plans that fizzled out and your new resolution.

Of course, having a tummy tuck means that you won't be able to jump into exercise right away, but this is actually a good thing. One mistake people make in starting a new exercise regime is too much too soon, which often causes people to quit because the routine is such a chore. Dr. Linderman recommends that you begin exercise with leisurely short walks as part of your recovery the week after surgery, which can be gradually lengthened as you heal, then expanded to include running and aerobic exercises after 4-6 weeks. This ensures that you ease into your routine, making it more likely that you will keep it up to achieve and maintain the perfect body you've long desired.