Excess skin, are there any solutions besides time?

SunnyDayzMomma

I've lost 50 pounds now (YAYYYY!!) and have 40 to go. I'm pretty sure I'm developing excess skin, and will definitely develop a lot more by the time I'm at my goal weight. Do the creams and wraps and compression clothing actually work, or are they a waste of time and money? If they work, can you share exact brands? If they don't, dies anything else help? Beside surgery I mean. I don't want to go the surgical route. I didn't think I'd care about this, it's a badge of honor, better than being obese, etc. And while that's all TOTALLY true, I am finding it upsetting enough that I'm willing to try and prevent more. Tips? Advice?

penrbrown

Are you weight training? I've heard weight training helps to keep the skin tight BUT I've also heard that a slow loss keeps the skin from getting too saggy. I have no idea if any of those are true though.

On an aside, congrats on your loss!!!!

ninerbuff

Waste of time and money. Skin is tissue. No amount of wrapping, applying a topical cream, compressing of it will reduce it because it's not being reduced by volume.
So if you have loose skin, your options are:
waiting it out (2 years) to see if it retracts enough
surgery
acceptance

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

mandykent111

pretty much what he said. You can try Vitamin E, but if you have a lot of loose skin - BRAVO for you, you did it and kept it off.

One of my co-workers lost 100 pounds over 11 months (no surgery). She wound up having a dermolipectomy a couple years later. She was our OR coordinator so she basically had free surgery, but it was a lot of skin. The bonus to her was she got breast aug at the same time. You cant even recognize her now!

Asher_Ethan

If your excess skin is thicker than the skin from the back of your hand then you still have some fat to lose. I wouldn't worry about it until then.
I have some excess skin above my belly button where I used to have it pierced (after having 2 baby boys both over 9 pounds my belly was stretched out a lot) and I went for a co2 laser resurfacing consult for all my stretch mark and the doctor said that the resurfacing would help with that excess skin above my belly button.

ninerbuff

penrbrown wrote: »

Are you weight training? I've heard weight training helps to keep the skin tight BUT I've also heard that a slow loss keeps the skin from getting too saggy. I have no idea if any of those are true though.

On an aside, congrats on your loss!!!!

Not true. Weight training inflames muscle tissue temporarily (known as the "pump") and pushes up against the skin, but resides after an hour or so after exercise is stopped.

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

pitcherday

I lost 120lbs. ninerbuff is right. I ended up getting an abdominoplasty, I was a total apple shape before the loss, and even after my loss, I was still wearing clothes to camouflage my middle. I could not accept it. I don't want to dash any hopes (and I do not know what is the extent of your extra skin), but please do not waste your time and money on creams and wraps and even non-invasive treatments like thermage, which supposedly uses radio frequency to tighten the skin and costs over $1,000 but not as expensive as surgery. mandykent111, a LOT of women get a breast augmentation the same time as the tummy tuck because it saves on anesthesia costs. They call it a "mommy makeover." lol there is a website where people do reviews of plastic surgery techniques (and things like wraps & thermage) with before and after pix and stuff. It's a good place to see the extent of peoples' befores and see what they used as a remedy. It also has helpful message boards like these. You might find something less invasive that worked for someone else that you didn't know about. It's called Real Self.

scolaris

I've seen a little loose skin around my upper arms/armpits after losing about 22 lbs officially, closer to 30 unofficially. I was doing nothing, but dry brushing with a loofah each night and moisturizing with coconut oil after baths and showers has improved the appearance of my skin. The 'plumping' that occurs is temporary & purely cosmetic but it really happens. My skin looks better & I feel more comfortable exposing my arms this way.
I have more to lose, so we'll see if there's a point of diminishing returns.
On an aside: I have a facial scar I had thought had healed quite well, but as I lose weight it is more pronounced! I guess it was being plumped by facial fat :-/

jemhh

ninerbuff wrote: »

penrbrown wrote: »

Are you weight training? I've heard weight training helps to keep the skin tight BUT I've also heard that a slow loss keeps the skin from getting too saggy. I have no idea if any of those are true though.

On an aside, congrats on your loss!!!!

Not true. Weight training inflames muscle tissue temporarily (known as the "pump") and pushes up against the skin, but resides after an hour or so after exercise is stopped.

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

My theory is that weight training gives people something other than their skin to obsess about so that, after a couple years of mostly focusing on lifting, they look up and say "hey, my skin shrunk up!"

scolaris

Also, I'm O.L.D.
lol