likelihood of loose skin?

wheatfats

Hi. I was just wondering whether or not it seems likely that I will get loose skin post-weight loss? I'm 20 years old, 5'2, 130 lbs. I started at 140, my goal weight is 110. I've weighed 120 since early high school, then gained 20 lbs in college, so 20 of the 30lbs total has only been on me for two years or less. Since I'm young and not losing a drastic amount it seems like I should be fine BUT I'm worried because of this guy I used to see.

He was 21 and he said he'd lost 40lbs when he was 18-19, and he was around 5'9 with an average, somewhat muscular body. He didn't have any exactly noticeable loose skin, but it didn't feel right on his body. Also when he was shirtless wearing jeans you could see lovehandles, but it seemed like they were mostly made of skin. Will this happen to me? Currently I'm fatter than I'd like to be but I have a very solid body so nothing's bulging over the sides of my clothing, and I'm concerned that my skin will. I have very thin, dry skin, although I do drink a lot of water. Advice?? please

SueInAz

It's going to depend on your genetics, age and how quickly you lose the weight. A 20 year old going from 140 to 110? I don't think loose skin is going to be much of an issue. It's another good reason to take the loss slowly, though.

DeguelloTex

There's no way to know until you do it.

Aussie_in_PA

140 to 110... nope.

Capt_Apollo

i wish my lovehandles were made of skin. they're not, and his probably weren't either.

focus on losing weight while eating a nutritious and healthy amount of food and exercising and you'll be fine. you're young.

CaitlinW19

I would think very unlikely that you'd experience this with the amount of weight you are trying to lose. But would you honestly let that fear stop you from trying to lose weight? And even if you lose weight and discover you do have this problem...would you decide to put the weight back on? I'm guessing the answer is no to both of these questions, so it's probably a moot point anyway.

FabianRodriguez94

I'm 21, 5'7 and have lost 65 lbs. The only noticeable loose skin is a bit on my arm. My belly however does not really have anything loose, although their still is some fat to be lost.

lorrpb

Since you say your skin is already dry, you might consider using a good hydrating lotion on a daily basis. This should help encourage it to retain elasticity. But you are young & healthy do hopefully not much of a prob. I'm much older than you and have 95 pounds with no loose skin yet. I've taken good care of my skintight whole life. Nothing fancy, but regular with lotions, face moisturizers etc. just off the shelf products from the store.

TeaBea

Age, genetics, how long the skin was stretched, how far the skin was stretched.

Skin doesn't "snap back" instantly either. Sometimes giving it time is all you need.

Kalikel

At 20 years old, you have lots of elasticity in your skin. It should snap back nicely, especially since you don't have much to lose.

But do it now. Don't get old and fat.

daniwilford

Kalikel wrote: »

At 20 years old, you have lots of elasticity in your skin. It should snap back nicely, especially since you don't have much to lose.

But do it now. Don't get old and fat.

^ This and moisturizer, I know new moms who rave about using cocoa butter on their pregnancy belly.

barbecuesauce

Genetics. But I've only recently started to notice it on my thighs and neck--and I'm 15 years older and have lost 65 pounds.

Anyway. If I don't push the skin, it isn't obvious that it's loose. It's certainly nothing that requires surgery. Time is on your side.

wheatfats

I realize that I'm young and not losing much weight so it won't be immediately visible, the root of my concern was that this guy lost a very similar amount of weight (probably less compared to his total body weight) and I noticed his loose skin and found it very unattractive. I never mentioned it to him, though, so I don't know how quickly he lost, how well he ate or if he used lotion. Thanks for the advice, I'll make sure to do those things.