my story, looking for advice

ritualsilence83

Back in 2002 I got pregnant. I went from 125lbs to around 200 thanks to depression.
After the baby I ballooned up to 286lbs and finally(2008) said enough is enough and made drastic changes to my life style.
In 2010 I weighed 145lbs. Went from not being able to find jeans at layn Bryant in my size to a size 8 and I felt great.

During my weight loss I made a conscious decision to focus on weight lifting. My theory was if I was going to have lose skin I may as well fill it with muscle. The result was my being strong, and thin, but the skin on my thighs jiggled every time I walked, the saggy skin under my arm wasn't attractive. And the sag around my mid section was disgusting.
I started to gain the weight back. Partly due to life changes and also due to my discouragement of how my body had turned out.

Gaining back up to 190 in less then a year I realized how important it was for me to be consistent and keep at it. Struggled for a few years until I found MFP.

Now since finally saying enough waiting for tomorrow and make to day the day I've lost 3lbs. With my goals and motivation I know I'm on the road to success. I'm just wondering how to handle things again when I get to the point I was at before.

What can I do about my skin? Like before I'm aiming for the slow loss to help prevent sagging skin. I'm not sure what else to do. I know I'll never have tight skin like before the weight gain. I just want it more manageable then before.

Since plumping out its hard to tell what is fat and skin. I'll have a better idea in 25lbs.

irridia

Age is a huge factor here. So that would be my first question. Additionally, do you smoke? What does your vitamin D and E intake look like? Those two vitamins can help tremendously. Also I found a crème that seemed to help. It had retinol and seaweed. I got it from Amazon. Also make certain you are drinking enough water. Remember to add more if you take meds that say you should drink plenty of water. And add more based off exercise and environmental factors. I.e. if it's hot, or you are working out, drink more water.

I had the same problem after I lost a lot of weight, including the depression and gaining some of it back part. I had my gallbladder removed which interferes with uptake of fat soluble vitamins. I have enzymes that help, but had ended up with a different brand that didn't have lipase in it. My research also indicates that CoQ10 is also supposed to help.

Just to put everything into perspective for you, I'm 53, had my last baby at 45 and dropped the weight the last time at 51. It's harder to get the skin to behave when you are older.

Oh Estrogen plays a part in skin elasticity as well. I've added soy milk back into my diet and may see about getting some evening primrose oil as well, but if you are younger, that might not be appropriate. Except for the Soy. Barring allergies Soy is actually good for you and the study that said it caused breast cancer was erroneous, according to new information. Oh and it might sound weird, but make certain you get enough fat in your diet, keeping in mind that it's really important when eating leafy greens.

Hope that helps some.

qxana1969

Thank you both for sharing your experiences. I'm finding myself quite disheartened to be tackling one problem to gain another. I have lost 90 lbs. in the last 15 months, do cardio and weights but find that loose skin under my neck, belly and legs are terribly unattractive. I am 46 and do keep in mind age is a factor. I just read somewhere that your body needs time to adjust to it's new body but, what can I say, I'm impatient.

I will definitely look into the things mentioned in the post above. Thank you!!

Best of luck on your journey! And depression is an evil mistress - I wish you the very very best!

Amy

irridia

Read something today about aloe juice affecting collagen production. Thinking of trying it. Reduction in collagen is greatly impacted by aging so this could be of real use.

ritualsilence83

Thank you guys for the help and advice. I had my baby when I was 20yo. At my heaviest I was around 25. Lost all the weight and was my lightest around 28. Then gained it back and am now 32.

I've started drinking silk in the past few weeks while trying to try new things and I love it.

Darcy53538

Have you ever Heard of It Works and those Crazy Wraps? They are an plant based wrap that helps to tighten and tone and hydrate your skin!

gothchiq

I'm starting to think I'm stuck with the bingo wings and loose tummy and legs forever. I'm 46 and only had 30 lb to lose. Lost the last of it in November 2014 and yet there has been zero improvement in skin regardless of all estrogen RX and water and nutritional supplements. I take mondo supplements, too. I think if ur over 40, it's just... doom. I hope I'm wrong but that's what's happened so far.

SuzlynnBruton

First you have to learn how to love you right where you are. You have to learn to fight back when u want to give up. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting, positive Polly kind of friends., follow people on social media that keep u inspired, start a page of your story on social media so u can continue to get encouragement and encourage other people by sharing your weightloss/transformation journey plus it will give you a lot of accountability, stop giving urself room for excuses to eat how u want , resist as much as possible but reward urself also. I post all my workouts and inspiration attached to it your more than welcome to follow me>>Countrygurlfit on instagram. Just keep trying, don’t give up, when u mess up on one meal start over on the next meal not the next day or next week the next meal that will keep u on track . Find things to be proud of daily that you have done, celebrate every step of the way>>don’t wait until u reach ur goals celebrate as u are reaching ur goals , change ur mindset and u will change ur results and direction. Know ur not alone and trust the process and Gods recipe for YOUR LIFE & have fun with it because it’s a lifestyle , take ur time there is no rush, have faith, believe and do the work and let God do what u can’t do