Prime worry: Excess skin

tapwaters

So, I recently hit an amazing mark. I've lost 80lbs. I am 5 pounds away from being the thinnest I have been in my adult life, and a short 40lbs from my ideal weight. The last time I was this close, I completely reverted and gained it all (plus twenty) back.

I am not worried about gaining it back this time, my life and weight loss are significantly different than last time.

What I am worried about is... excess skin. I am 5'3 and went from 240lbs to what will, at the end of the summer, be 130lbs. I can't imagine my skin will completely recover from a 110lb drop. Though it seems to have kept up with the loss up to this point, i am worried that I am approaching the point that it won't.

Insofar as I am aware, there isn't anything I can actually do to stop this problem. Obviously, weight traininh and building up the underlying muscles will help some of it, but not all.

After finally getting to a healthy weight and lovong my body for all it can do and had accomplished, how can I love the ultimate end: sagging skin.

KaraAnn1974

This is my second weight loss journey, as I broke my ankle after losing 80 lbs. in 2010. The answer to tighten skin during weight loss- PILATES!!!! I managed a 80+ lb weight loss and had very good, responsive skin. All I did was keep up on my water intake and do a lot of Pilates. Congrats to you!

chulipa

Just hope for the best ive lost 90lbs so far with about 60lbs and im hoping i wont but i guess lose skin is better then fat you can always have it fixed if its to bad but people say to give it 2 years to tighten up

Francl27

I hate my loose skin, but it's better than the alternative. But yeah, I'll never like the way my body looks. But when you think about it... I still like it more than when I was obese, so just getting there is already pretty good.

callsitlikeiseeit

excess skin is better than excess fat

Morglez

I have well over 100 pounds to lose and am pushing 40, so I know that I will have the loose skin. I'm not looking forward to it, BUT in the end I will still be much happier because I will be healthy and will actually be able to get active and move without panting and limping! As of right now, my knees are in bad shape because of all the weight they have to carry. I can't kneel down or squat, so if I get to a point where I can do those things, then I will gladly take the loose skin!
Great job on losing the 80 lbs, BTW!

shinycrazy

I've lost nearly 100 lbs. I have bat wings and saggy side boobs, and a saggy tummy. I still have 60 to go. I'm not going to look good in a bathing suit. I'm 34 and have high hopes that my skin will tighten a bit, but I expect no miracles. I'm not thrilled. But I'm proud of what I've accomplished.

PaulaWallaDingDong

I'm with (almost) everyone else. I have about the same stats as you (height, starting weight, goal weight). I'm almost 80 down and my life has already significantly improved. If loose skin after the years of abuse I've put my body through is the worst side effect I'll have to suffer, that's a damn good deal. I'm over it.

victoria_1024

I'm 5'2.5" and have gone from 212 to 128ish. I'm 33. My skin is surprisingly not bad. My tummy is very saggy and my boobs as well, but after 4 pregnancies and nursing 4 babies it's not surprising. Everything else though like my arms and legs are fine.

skorsk

You didn't mention how old you are. I found its hardest to get skin to bounce back quick the older you are. And a slower rate of loss is more condusive to skin tightening.
There's always plastic surgery if you feel so inclined.

lorrpb

Congrats on your huge loss! If you haven't had a prob so far, I wouldn't worry too much! I've read that skin often continues to tighten for a couple of years into maintenance.

orchidbutterflies

I'm only 22, I have lost about 130lbs from my highest weight & still have about 100lbs left to go (so obviously a much higher starting point than average).

My skin is already really bad. The skin on my arms hangs to double the size of what my arms actually are. I can't wear light coloured or too fitted jeans/pants because the excess skin on my inner thighs would be very noticeable. My stomach and back are also very loose as they deflate. I will have no choice but to have some skin removed due to health issues it is going to cause me.

It really all depends on how you carry your weight as well as genetics etc

Does it suck to have worked so hard and not have the ideal body you imagined? Yeah, let's face it, a lot of motivation for losing weight is vanity driven.

At the end of the day though, we don't get to walk away scott-free from pushing our bodies, health - and skin - to the limits.

Realistically, loose skin sucks, but so does being that overweight.
I don't have to hesitate to know which one I would rather live with.

Spuffz

Hey, I've just gone from 16.9 stone to 13.5 stone in 3 months. I swear by bio oil - I slather it on when I wake up, after my evening bath and before bed too .. couple that with a gradual fake tan like dove for example (colour and suppleness) and I've snapped back pretty much spot on... Still about 30 lbs from goal weight but so far so good... I also swear by my exercise bike and cross trainer, doing 1000 calories a day. Oh and lots of water. Add me if you like people

rosebarnalice

A friend of mine who has maintained a 100+ lb weight loss for more than 20 years told me once that she thinks of her loose skin like a regretted tattoo from youth:

It tells a story of who she once was and what she used to think was of important [namely food]; but it also tells the story of who she is today--namely someone who changed her own life and learned to love herself and her health MORE than food.

And even if it's not a story that she's happy to hear (or see) every day, it's a true story, it's the story of her own life, and it's a story she never wants to forget.

PaulaWallaDingDong

rosebarnalice wrote: »

A friend of mine who has maintained a 100+ lb weight loss for more than 20 years told me once that she thinks of her loose skin like a regretted tattoo from youth:

It tells a story of who she once was and what she used to think was of important [namely food]; but it also tells the story of who she is today--namely someone who changed her own life and learned to love herself and her health MORE than food.

And even if it's not a story that she's happy to hear (or see) every day, it's a true story, it's the story of her own life, and it's a story she never wants to forget.

This right here.

tapwaters

Thank you, everyone. Your words did help a lot. If I can look at my stretch marks as tiger stripes, i can figure out a way to feel empowered by my possible excess skin.

ninerbuff

KaraAnn1974 wrote: »

This is my second weight loss journey, as I broke my ankle after losing 80 lbs. in 2010. The answer to tighten skin during weight loss- PILATES!!!! I managed a 80+ lb weight loss and had very good, responsive skin. All I did was keep up on my water intake and do a lot of Pilates. Congrats to you!

Exercise doesn't encourage skin retraction anymore than sitting would. That's not to say that Pilates isn't a great exercise regimen, but there's no reason to the OP to believe that doing Pilates will reduce excess skin and needlessly have her do it if it's not something she's interested in.
Loose skin will depend on: how much weight someone has to lose, genetics, and age. Some do well and others don't. From my experience of training people, anyone with 80+ to lose usually has some loose skin to deal with.

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