Loose skin?

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LemonMarmalade
LemonMarmalade Posts: 227 Member
I have heard so many conflicting opinions on the fast rate of weight loss on a vlcd and loose skin. Many people i have read about who have lost a lot of weight on vlcd claim to have had no problems with loose skin...however others claim it isnt possible to not have loose skin after a large amount lost. I am confused and really don't know what to expect as i continue to lose the last 40/50 or however many more i need to go.

Either way it is not a big deal because i would rather be healthy with some extra skin than carry this last bit around any longer. If it is really bad i can always have it tightened...but it would have to be reallllly bad or completely gross out my husband (lol)for me to go under the knife.

I would like to hear your experiences, opinions and theories please. :)
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Replies

  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    I mentioned this to my hubby on Saturday, "Its time to start saving for a boob job". I've never been flat chested, until now. At least when I'm laying on my back I am, and do not like it! It doesn't make me want to regain anything just to be inflated, lol, but, a little more full would be nice. Oh, and maybe a thigh lift too! These are my own observations on the loose skinny front. Still have some weight to lose before I get to that point, but can imagine I will only be more deflated by then too. I didn't think I would be vain enough, but I guess I am. Where is my piggy bank!
  • LemonMarmalade
    LemonMarmalade Posts: 227 Member
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    I too have been thinking of starting a savings acct for my boobs and thighs. ( Probably tummy too!) Our insurance will pay ONLY if I had bypass surgery or lap band.....ridiculous in my opinion! I know it wont be cheap so probably need to start now.
  • tlmeyn
    tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
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    Drepende on your age and how long you have been big. The older and lenger big, the more flat :( i am going to need a forklift, but that ok. I will look good in clothes :)
  • AngInCanada
    AngInCanada Posts: 947 Member
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    I had a breast reduction, which took 8 lbs total off my chest, 7 or so years ago so thankfully they include a lift in that too. All paid for by medical, woot woot. But now that I'm losing weight, they are shrinking. Momma nooooooooooooooo. LOL. Maybe I could ask for my boob fat back?
  • GSD_Mama
    GSD_Mama Posts: 629 Member
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    I need new boobs, i shall open FundMe account.

    Seriously, i hate loose skins, i keep working on my bat wings and it's very slow moving. I can feel a bit muscle on my triceps, but you can't see it because of the skin/or whatever it is. UGH!
  • ttgrandma
    ttgrandma Posts: 18 Member
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    I lost weight with LCD a couple of years ago and my face sunk and sagged for awhile but it went back to normal as my body adjusted to the loss. Bat wings are another story, don't think there is an answer to that. I guess I will just sag and be healthy!
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,160 Member
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    My jaw skin tightened up better than I expect. I will keep the bat wings in case I need a skin graft perhaps.

    Loose skin is better than strokes, cancer, heart attacks, diabetes 2, Alzheimer's, etc risks in my book any day.
  • greenautumn17
    greenautumn17 Posts: 322 Member
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    I will keep the bat wings in case I need a skin graft perhaps.

    That's right, be prepared! LOL! :smiley:
  • GSD_Mama
    GSD_Mama Posts: 629 Member
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    My jaw skin tightened up better than I expect. I will keep the bat wings in case I need a skin graft perhaps.

    Loose skin is better than strokes, cancer, heart attacks, diabetes 2, Alzheimer's, etc risks in my book any day.

    Right on! But i hate loose skin :(
  • _jayciemarie_
    _jayciemarie_ Posts: 574 Member
    edited June 2015
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    I have TONS of lose skin around my mid section. I read the only way to fix it is to tighten the ab muscles with surgery. I'm saving up for it! As far as my boobs--when I started almost 2yrs ago I was 231lbs and a 40DDD. Today I am 163lbs and a 38DD (almost a DDD). For some reason, my boobs are shrinking at a snail's pace so I'm very top heavy! lol
  • dessiepenn
    dessiepenn Posts: 167 Member
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    I too have loose skin from two babies in less then two years and weight lost. I'm trying a mixtures of castor oil and lemon juice, applying to my loose skin areas for a few weeks. We'll see if I get any results. Just started Saturday. I also really need to start doing planks.....
  • radiii
    radiii Posts: 422 Member
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    I've seen loose skin come up a number of times in reddit progresspics and fitness type subs, the prevailing wisdom always seems the same, there's no evidence at all that any sort of home remedy/lotion/anything will make a darn bit of difference, how your body handles it is mostly based on age (younger is better) and luck (genetics I guess) and of course how much weight was lost.

    I still have 30+ pounds to go but it seems likely I'm going to have some issues with my stomach, which is no surprise to me since I've always carried a disproportionate amount of my extra weight there. I guess time will tell down the road if I'll need surgery or not, but if I do, that will mean that I lost all the weight and kept it off long enough to go down that path.
  • minties82
    minties82 Posts: 907 Member
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    I've got truck loads of excess skin. It's not loose as such, there is just a lot of it especially around my tummy and inner thighs. I think it's hard to avoid excess skin if you have been obese.
  • tlmeyn
    tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
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    tlmeyn wrote: »
    Drepende on your age and how long you have been big. The older and lenger big, the more flat :( i am going to need a forklift, but that ok. I will look good in clothes :)

    Ok.. I am so sorry for that post. I keyboard must have flipped to Norwegian. I didn't have my glasses on when I wrote it. It SHOULD have read " DEPENDS on your age and how long you have been bigger. The older and LONGER big, the more flab." Lol. Sorry
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
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    Sometimes surgery is the finishing touch.

    A personal call.


  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    I think it depends on how much you lose. Not how fast you lose it. Your skin is an organ, if it stretched and grew to accommodate a larger body, it can't just disappear especially if there are stretch marks. That skin is damaged and is scar tissue now.
    Many years ago I lost 65lbs in about 6 months, and even now my belly sags and the skin under my chin is loose, though not too noticeable. I also had 2 C-Sections, so that's not helping my case. At the incision scar, the skin is firm and then above it... Well, it's not pretty... I think I better start a plastic surgery savings too!
  • dessiepenn
    dessiepenn Posts: 167 Member
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    radiii wrote: »
    I've seen loose skin come up a number of times in reddit progresspics and fitness type subs, the prevailing wisdom always seems the same, there's no evidence at all that any sort of home remedy/lotion/anything will make a darn bit of difference, how your body handles it is mostly based on age (younger is better) and luck (genetics I guess) and of course how much weight was lost.

    That might the general consensus on the reddit forms but it is proven that increasing circulation to areas will help to regenerate the cells. Some recommend scrubs. I don't have any resources available right now though. I'm on my phone.
    I'm to chicken to under the knife and prefer a more natural attempt.
  • gerrielips
    gerrielips Posts: 180 Member
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    Interesting topic for an old fart like me...past few days have noticed that I have "old skin"...at least I think so. Lot's of wrinkling in arms...and some "bat wings"...have been losing weight very gradually since February (28 pounds to date) with about 30 more to go. Hoping that the exercise I'm doing will help tighten up my low hanging fruit and appropriate clothing will provide the necessary cover up!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,459 Member
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    I think it depends on how much you lose. Not how fast you lose it. Your skin is an organ, if it stretched and grew to accommodate a larger body, it can't just disappear especially if there are stretch marks. That skin is damaged and is scar tissue now.

    This is what happens, yup.

    In another thread on the general forums, one member suggested losing faster, because that then gives you the "youth" edge for whatever time you've got it. Makes sense to me. On the other hand, some people can't or don't want to lose faster. (I can only handle so much of a deficit, personally.)

    Skin tightening lasers only give a marginal benefit, and the people that benefit most (those with already decent collagen) aren't likely to be the people who most need it.
  • DianaElena76
    DianaElena76 Posts: 1,241 Member
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    It does take time for the skin to tighten back up if it's going to, so after a huge loss I'd give it a couple years of TLC before opting for surgery. That's just me. Of course I think most of it is genetics. After four pregnancies, I have zero expectation that the skin on my abdomen will tighten up (it's full of stretch marks--even during the 11.5 years between my first and second pregnancies, the skin didn't fully regain its elasticity). But had I been a little more aware back then after my first baby (I was 23 when she was born), I would have known my belly would most likely look like my mom's in terms of the stretch marks and such. It does. I'm not upset--this body nurtured four gorgeous healthy babies, and I'm proud of that. (I've never been a bikini wearer anyway.) Now the "bat wings," as y'all so tactfully call them (I've always called it "granny fat," which is much less PC, I suppose)--those have got to go!! They are so distracting when I try to do anything that requires moving my arms. *sigh* I'm working out, so hopefully with time they'll get better/smaller/tighter. :)