Excess skin

littletdogg

So I have a lot of excess skin since losing 100 total pounds. Although I feel great physically. The skin is making me emotional because I see it and I still see the fat me because of the skin. I am looking for advice on how to get rid of it! Ultimately I would love to get skin removal but can't afford it, unless any of you know a way to get it done that won't break the bank. But mostly trying to figure out a way to tighten or reduce it naturally. Thank you in advance!

DivaDavis14

Have you tried the crazy wrap thing?

Meganthedogmom

DivaDavis14 wrote: »

Have you tried the crazy wrap thing?

Don't waste your time or money on gimmicks like this.

Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot you can do but wait it out. How long has it been since you lost the weight? Some of the skin should snap back after a while. There will most likely always be some excess skin. But it's better than being fat! Other than that, you can start saving for surgery.

Meganthedogmom

P.S. Congrats on your weight loss! That is a huge accomplishment and you should be proud.

mommazach

Cool sculpting is a new treatment option out there. Not seed too much yet, but it looks very good. Not sure what other things to tell you, but my sister lost 150lbs and had skin removal surgery. She struggled for years to get it though.

jemhh

Outside of surgery, once the damage has been done, the only thing you can do is wait for a few years (1+ definitely, quite possibly 2-3) to see how much it will shrink. How much it shrinks is dependent on how big you were, how long you were big, genetics, age, and how much yo-yoing you did weight-wise.

Creams, wraps, lifting weights, losing slowly, etc. do not help shrink up skin. Creams will keep your skin moisturized. Wraps will help dehydrate the area and may tighten it up temporarily but not permanently. Lifting weights will make you stronger and will help your physique and give you something to obsess over and think about. Losing weight slowly will help minimize how much your skin shrinkage rate outpaces your fat loss rate. But none of these things will prevent loose skin or increase its shrinkage.

kandeelopez

Skin is very very thin. It is there because there is still fat underneath it. Add weightlifting if you don't do it already. Keep your diet on point. As you lose the fat, it will go down.

jemhh

kandeelopez wrote: »

Skin is very very thin. It is there because there is still fat underneath it. Add weightlifting if you don't do it already. Keep your diet on point. As you lose the fat, it will go down.

I think it's important to recognize that while it does shrink as the fat goes away, there are many of us who do end up with permanently stretched skin, beyond the "it sags when I do a plank" kind of stretched skin. It might not be the majority of people who end up with this but it certainly is an issue for many people.

ninerbuff

kandeelopez wrote: »

Skin is very very thin. It is there because there is still fat underneath it. Add weightlifting if you don't do it already. Keep your diet on point. As you lose the fat, it will go down.

The epidermis is thin. But you have way more dermis than epidermis. When one experiences loose skin from high weight loss, it's because the skin had grown along with the high weight loss in the first place and reducing fat stores doesn't reduce skin cells.

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

jemhh

ninerbuff wrote: »

kandeelopez wrote: »

Skin is very very thin. It is there because there is still fat underneath it. Add weightlifting if you don't do it already. Keep your diet on point. As you lose the fat, it will go down.

The epidermis is thin. But you have way more dermis than epidermis. When one experiences loose skin from high weight loss, it's because the skin had grown along with the high weight loss in the first place and reducing fat stores doesn't reduce skin cells.

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

@ninerbuff, how thick is dermis? (If you happen to know, that is.) Just in the past month I have been coming to realize (probably more like coming to accept) that my stomach's state is in good part due to stretched skin rather than excess fat. It's really hard to find good info about this though. I find plenty that says that if you keep losing fat you'll eventually get just the super thin excess fat and then I get a lot of sources that talk about how a panniculus can really only be rid of through surgery because it is excess fat cells and "other tissue." I'm assuming that the "other tissue" is the added skin tissue but I haven't found anything that specifically says that.

littletdogg

I lost 70 in one year the other 30 I lost prior to that year. I have kept the weight off for a year and a half now but the skin is refusing to change. It's my arms, stomach, and inner thighs that I have the issue with. Right now I hate the way my body looks but am extremely proud of my accomplishment. I Know some of my issue stems from having had 3 c-sections with my kiddos and when I was younger I was on steroids to keep me breathing. I gained 100 pounds in 3 months time on the steroids and my body never recovered. I just want to like the skin I am in and want to look as good on the outside as I feel inside. Thank you everyone for the support and advise!

rankinsect

For skin removal, you can see if insurance will cover it. Some will if a doctor thinks there's a medical need (from irritation on the loose skin). Other than that, find ways to set aside a little money each month and dedicate that money to the surgery.

jemhh

OP, you've come such a long way. I very much understand the feeling of wanting your body to match how you feel. It is very hard to make so much progress and then realize that there's this issue that no level of healthier behaviors (i.e., eating better, exercise, etc.) will fix.

I told my husband the other day that it feels like punishment for doing a dumb thing (becoming overweight and staying that way for a prolonged period.) It's like if you got yourself into major credit card debt and every single day, every time you changed your clothes or took a shower or looked in the mirror, your credit card balance showed up, written in red, before your eyes.

It really does suck and clearly I have many thoughts about it and a long way to go toward moving past it myself. Anyway, long story short, I completely get where you're coming from.

tamaraworrall

I used to hate my excess skin so much when lost the weight and still do but now I think considering how much I've lost and the fact that I've had 2 kids it's not that bad

a_candler

My issue is slightly different, lost the weight and lost my boobs with it! I too dislike how "boyish" I look now and have slowly saved up money to get a boob job. Perhaps a consult for the skin removal would give you more information and another goal to work towards if that's the direction you want to go? You might find it more reasonable than you think and therefore more attainable. Good luck on your journey to peace with your new self.

Myheartstrue

depending on age, when I was 36 I lost 195 lbs sad to say I gained it back and am losing it again, but I used vitamin e and a and d lotion every day after shower and did weight training and the skin snapped back also so took vitamin a,d,e orally, it took three years for it to go back but it went.

kaye300

As for cost, teaching hospitals where a board certified plastic surgeon shows new Dr 's the procedure can save you on cost of surgery. Plastic surgery is a specialty done after med school is completed.