suggestions for sagging skin after weight loss?
pdwhitlock
Posts: 83 Member
Hi! I've went from 250 to about 195 since the beginning of October. I feel great and I want to say I look better but everything is sagging. I know it takes time, but have any of you had any success with improving the process of firming your skin after losing this much weight? Mostly in my arms, legs, and tummy. I bought Nivea firming gel yesterday and I'm going to try it twice a day as recommended. Anyone ever used this product? Thanks for any tips!
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Replies
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There really isn't a whole lot that can be done externally. Genetics and the amount of time you were heavier has way more to do with how your skin reacts to weight loss than anything else. I mean, hydrated skin always looks better than drier skin, so the lotion will help in that aspect, but no topical things will really get rid of it. Either time or surgery is the only real way to get rid of all the sagging, and sometimes even time won't do enough.0
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There must be some medically know rate at which your skin suit shrinks as well as how much it is capable of shrinking but it does not seem to be widely known or discussed. The best answer seems to be it depends.
For me, I have noticed my skin tightening up lags my fat loss by about 2 months. * based on observation and casual measurements.0 -
Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.0
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pdwhitlock, I've lost 60 pounds twice in the last few years. The first time was solely through diet (South Beach) and the sagging skin and "pouches" under my arms, inside thighs and breast/chest area was truly disheartening. I know exactly what you're talking about. I felt like I had worked so hard to get healthier and look better but in truth I was more self-conscious after the weight loss than I had been before. I felt cheated and betrayed and I believe those feelings contributed to my gaining 2/3 of that weight back over the next year. The second time I lost the weight through a moderate diet and exercise, specifically walking and heavy weight lifting... the weight loss took significantly longer but it made a SERIOUS difference in how I looked and felt during and after the weight loss. Just my experience, for what it's worth
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Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
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What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.0 -
I highly suggest a dry skin brush. You should do a little research to understand how and why this works, and to find out how to do it correctly. I started dry skin brushing over 6 months ago for the health benefits, I had no idea it would minimize the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks, but it did. Also you may want to try a collagen supplement like NeoCell. Buy a really good one that is sourced from high quality animal collagen. After two/three weeks using the collagen I noticed that my skin looked a lot healthier and my joints ached less.0
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You said "to fill in the area."Liftng4Lis wrote: »
What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
Filling in the tummy would be abs, right? She should "lift heavy" to full in the loose skin on her tummy?
I get that you like to throw "lift heavy" into nearly every thread and that lifting heavy can have benefits and even that lifting heavy might, for some people in some circumstances, help with loose skin, but if it's physiologically impossible for a woman to lift heavy enough to fill in the volume left behind by 55 pounds of fat, the suggestion isn't all that helpful.
At least the "be patient" part made sense, though.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
You said "to fill in the area."Liftng4Lis wrote: »
What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
Filling in the tummy would be abs, right? She should "lift heavy" to full in the loose skin on her tummy?
I get that you like to throw "lift heavy" into nearly every thread and that lifting heavy can have benefits and even that lifting heavy might, for some people in some circumstances, help with loose skin, but if it's physiologically impossible for a woman to lift heavy enough to fill in the volume left behind by 55 pounds of fat, the suggestion isn't all that helpful.
At least the "be patient" part made sense, though.
She said it HELPS... not the end all of end alls. OP probably will need surgery if the skin is that bad.0 -
Show me where she said it "helps."DeguelloTex wrote: »
You said "to fill in the area."Liftng4Lis wrote: »
What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
Filling in the tummy would be abs, right? She should "lift heavy" to full in the loose skin on her tummy?
I get that you like to throw "lift heavy" into nearly every thread and that lifting heavy can have benefits and even that lifting heavy might, for some people in some circumstances, help with loose skin, but if it's physiologically impossible for a woman to lift heavy enough to fill in the volume left behind by 55 pounds of fat, the suggestion isn't all that helpful.
At least the "be patient" part made sense, though.
She said it HELPS... not the end all of end alls. OP probably will need surgery if the skin is that bad.
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It really depends on the extent, duration of being stretched, location, and where on the body. You can improve the appearance by increasing muscle mass and keeping your skin hydrated. It can take upwards of 2 years before the skin will completely stop tightening, assuming you aren't re-stretching or losing more. However, for most people who have a lot of weight loss, surgery is the only way to remove it completely. I'd give it a bit of time once you've reached your goal weight and see how you feel about it then. In the meantime just drink a lot of water, hydrate the skin, stay away from tanning, and keep working toward your goal. GL!0
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DeguelloTex wrote: »Show me where she said it "helps."Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
You said "to fill in the area."Liftng4Lis wrote: »
What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
Filling in the tummy would be abs, right? She should "lift heavy" to full in the loose skin on her tummy?
I get that you like to throw "lift heavy" into nearly every thread and that lifting heavy can have benefits and even that lifting heavy might, for some people in some circumstances, help with loose skin, but if it's physiologically impossible for a woman to lift heavy enough to fill in the volume left behind by 55 pounds of fat, the suggestion isn't all that helpful.
At least the "be patient" part made sense, though.
You obviously, for some reason have a stomach fettish going on. AGAIN, she said:
AGAIN, lifting will help the overall appearance of lose skin, by filling in the area with muscle. AGAIN, no one would expect her to fill in the area with 55 pounds and as a matter of fact YOU'RE the only one who suggested that.pdwhitlock wrote: »Hi! I've went from 250 to about 195 since the beginning of October. I feel great and I want to say I look better but everything is sagging. I know it takes time, but have any of you had any success with improving the process of firming your skin after losing this much weight? Mostly in my arms, legs, and tummy.
As for your statement that I like to "throw around" lift heavy, that would be because that is what works for me. In addition to my hours of bike riding and other activities, that help tighten up my body. Perhaps you should look into it as you have no basic knowledge in the area.0 -
BTW I did ask my SO, who is a surgeon, and that was his recommendation. He said being that you're 29, and by the looks of your before and after photos, it is unlikely you'd need the surgical route. The best option again is time and some lean muscle mass.0
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muscle has about 18% less volume then muscle per pound so you would have to add another 10lbs to that 55 lbs of lost fat to create the same volume to fill up the same void, Adding muscle mass can be good for many reasons but adding 18% more muscle then fat lost is not the solution.
Helpful to a degree in certain areas , sure. Aside from surgery it is possibly the only thing you can do to minimize the end result but it doesn't answer the question of how much and how fast skin shrinks or resizes to your new post fat loss size.0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
How would somebody lift to fill in the area under their chin ? Chew more food ? LOL
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That wouldn't be the FIRST activity that came to MY mind...cough*Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
How would somebody lift to fill in the area under their chin ? Chew more food ? LOL0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »
That wouldn't be the FIRST activity that came to MY mind...cough*Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
How would somebody lift to fill in the area under their chin ? Chew more food ? LOL
But I don't want to suck on a tootsie pop. .... Sugar is evil don't Ya know0 -
@pdwhitlock i have a similar weightloss 255 down to 200. the saggy skin mostly my upper inner thighs is embarrassing. and sagging under arms. when i was 200 in my 20s i had none of that. but 35 and 3 kids later and a decade at 255 here i am...
however if its any consolation i did notice slight improvement a few months after i reach a 50 lb loss. its all still there just an improvement. I've read a lot that saggy skin can be mistaken for still additional fat. especially at 200 lbs still I'm hoping losing additional weight which i need to do still will help and its not all *real* saggy skin but just fat still.
good luck!0 -
You do know that "tummy" means "stomach," right? And that "tummy" is one of your bolded words? You seem not to.Liftng4Lis wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
You said "to fill in the area."Liftng4Lis wrote: »
What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
Filling in the tummy would be abs, right? She should "lift heavy" to full in the loose skin on her tummy?
I get that you like to throw "lift heavy" into nearly every thread and that lifting heavy can have benefits and even that lifting heavy might, for some people in some circumstances, help with loose skin, but if it's physiologically impossible for a woman to lift heavy enough to fill in the volume left behind by 55 pounds of fat, the suggestion isn't all that helpful.
At least the "be patient" part made sense, though.
You obviously, for some reason have a stomach fettish going on. AGAIN, she said:
AGAIN, lifting will help the overall appearance of lose skin, by filling in the area with muscle. AGAIN, no one would expect her to fill in the area with 55 pounds and as a matter of fact YOU'RE the only one who suggested that.pdwhitlock wrote: »Hi! I've went from 250 to about 195 since the beginning of October. I feel great and I want to say I look better but everything is sagging. I know it takes time, but have any of you had any success with improving the process of firming your skin after losing this much weight? Mostly in my arms, legs, and tummy.
As for your statement that I like to "throw around" lift heavy, that would be because that is what works for me. In addition to my hours of bike riding and other activities, that help tighten up my body. Perhaps you should look into it as you have no basic knowledge in the area.
You say, "no one would expect her to fill in the area" and you also say "Lift heavy, to fill in the area." Which is it? If 55 pounds of fat are gone and muscle is denser than fat, how do you propose the area be filled in with muscle without adding it in very high volume?
Look, adding the amount of muscle OP is likely to be able to add isn't going to fill in the areas left behind by the fat she's losing. It just isn't. As I said before, lifting heavy has benefits. Filling the area left behind by 55 pounds of fat just isn't going to be one of them because there will simply be insufficient additional muscular volume to do so.
As others have said, moisture, time, and, perhaps, surgery are the likeliest candidates here.
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
You do know that "tummy" means "stomach," right? And that "tummy" is one of your bolded words? You seem not to.Liftng4Lis wrote: »DeguelloTex wrote: »
You said "to fill in the area."Liftng4Lis wrote: »
What ab exercises? No one said anything about adding 55 pounds of muscle. Why would she want to add 55 pounds when she just lost it?DeguelloTex wrote: »
Those must be some hella ab exercises, even apart from expecting a woman to add 55+ pounds of muscle to fill in the other areas.Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
It says mostly from my arms, legs and tummy. Lifting heavy will add muscle all over and reduce the appearance of lose/saggy skin.
Filling in the tummy would be abs, right? She should "lift heavy" to full in the loose skin on her tummy?
I get that you like to throw "lift heavy" into nearly every thread and that lifting heavy can have benefits and even that lifting heavy might, for some people in some circumstances, help with loose skin, but if it's physiologically impossible for a woman to lift heavy enough to fill in the volume left behind by 55 pounds of fat, the suggestion isn't all that helpful.
At least the "be patient" part made sense, though.
You obviously, for some reason have a stomach fettish going on. AGAIN, she said:
AGAIN, lifting will help the overall appearance of lose skin, by filling in the area with muscle. AGAIN, no one would expect her to fill in the area with 55 pounds and as a matter of fact YOU'RE the only one who suggested that.pdwhitlock wrote: »Hi! I've went from 250 to about 195 since the beginning of October. I feel great and I want to say I look better but everything is sagging. I know it takes time, but have any of you had any success with improving the process of firming your skin after losing this much weight? Mostly in my arms, legs, and tummy.
As for your statement that I like to "throw around" lift heavy, that would be because that is what works for me. In addition to my hours of bike riding and other activities, that help tighten up my body. Perhaps you should look into it as you have no basic knowledge in the area.
You say, "no one would expect her to fill in the area" and you also say "Lift heavy, to fill in the area." Which is it? If 55 pounds of fat are gone and muscle is denser than fat, how do you propose the area be filled in with muscle without adding it in very high volume?
Look, adding the amount of muscle OP is likely to be able to add isn't going to fill in the areas left behind by the fat she's losing. It just isn't. As I said before, lifting heavy has benefits. Filling the area left behind by 55 pounds of fat just isn't going to be one of them because there will simply be insufficient additional muscular volume to do so.
As others have said, moisture, time, and, perhaps, surgery are the likeliest candidates here.
I can't even get my head around the idea that you believe she's talking about filling up ALL of the area that 55lbs of fat left. You really think that the skin will not tighten up on its own as well?
I can only imagine what 55lbs of abs muscle would look like.0 -
beamer0821 wrote: »@pdwhitlock i have a similar weightloss 255 down to 200. the saggy skin mostly my upper inner thighs is embarrassing. and sagging under arms. when i was 200 in my 20s i had none of that. but 35 and 3 kids later and a decade at 255 here i am...
however if its any consolation i did notice slight improvement a few months after i reach a 50 lb loss. its all still there just an improvement. I've read a lot that saggy skin can be mistaken for still additional fat. especially at 200 lbs still I'm hoping losing additional weight which i need to do still will help and its not all *real* saggy skin but just fat still.
good luck!
That's a good point. When you are in the process of becoming fatter your fat cells and skin are being stretch which gives the effect of being tight.
When losing especially when you still have fat that needs to be lost the fat cells are not being held tightly any longer and jiggle which amplifies the loose skin effect.0 -
Oh FFS
Ok OP, the stuff that attaches skin to muscles (among other things) is called superficial fascia. It attaches through subcutaneous fat. It will stretch to accommodate this fat (and pregnancies) but then springs back. In loose skin it isn't springing back.
Building up muscle (through a lifting program) increases the volume of the muscle. The extra surface area gives new fascia a new place to cling to and the tightening of the muscles draws in the loosened facia which in turn picks up the skin. All this stuff takes time and the skin might not bounce all back. But that's it in a nutshell why lifting heavy things helps.
Oh, and because of it's density, if you somehow managed to put on 55lbs of muscle it would still be way smaller than 55lbs of fat. But it's unlikely 55lbs of any sort if weight gain is in your future!
Good luck!0 -
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This is all that is needed to be said.hsmith0930 wrote: »There really isn't a whole lot that can be done externally. Genetics and the amount of time you were heavier has way more to do with how your skin reacts to weight loss than anything else. I mean, hydrated skin always looks better than drier skin, so the lotion will help in that aspect, but no topical things will really get rid of it. Either time or surgery is the only real way to get rid of all the sagging, and sometimes even time won't do enough.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Dry brushing does NOTHING to reduce loose skin.I highly suggest a dry skin brush. You should do a little research to understand how and why this works, and to find out how to do it correctly. I started dry skin brushing over 6 months ago for the health benefits, I had no idea it would minimize the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks, but it did. Also you may want to try a collagen supplement like NeoCell. Buy a really good one that is sourced from high quality animal collagen. After two/three weeks using the collagen I noticed that my skin looked a lot healthier and my joints ached less.
It's tissue and unless it's retracting, then surgery would be the next option.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Liftng4Lis wrote: »
That wouldn't be the FIRST activity that came to MY mind...cough*Liftng4Lis wrote: »Lift heavy, to fill in the area and be patient.
How would somebody lift to fill in the area under their chin ? Chew more food ? LOL
Gotta get that protein somehow...0 -
From some dumb article:
The Problem Isn’t Always Loose or Excess Skin
While there are legit cases of excess skin after weight loss, what many people think is loose or excess skin is actually just excess subcutaneous (under the skin) fat. This fat is soft and jiggly and easily mistaken as skin. And in cases of major weight loss, as you get leaner, it can be quite stubborn.
Until you lose that fat, your skin has no reason to return to its former size and tautness. It’s not a swath of passive, inert flesh–it’s a living organ that adapts to its internal and external environments. As long as the fat its attached to remains, it will sag.
A big part of eliminating loose skin is building muscle.... and it goes on.....
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And you are young, so add some muscle, skin adapts, presto. WINNER0
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hsmith0930 wrote: »There really isn't a whole lot that can be done externally. Genetics and the amount of time you were heavier has way more to do with how your skin reacts to weight loss than anything else. I mean, hydrated skin always looks better than drier skin, so the lotion will help in that aspect, but no topical things will really get rid of it. Either time or surgery is the only real way to get rid of all the sagging, and sometimes even time won't do enough.
Wise words. I would only add that age can also affect how your skin reacts. The younger you are, the more likely you will see more tightening in time.
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