How did you prevent loose skin?, weight loss of 100lb

gemsicles

Hello!

Does anyone have any advice on preventing/limiting excess/loose/saggy skin please?. I have 100lbs to lose and I'm really worried about getting loose skin. I know age can be a factor for skin elasticity, so in case it helps to know, I'm 31.

I have been researching and have found the following advice, if anyone can confirm whether these actually help or not that would be fab and any further advice too please:

*Drink enough water, 1.5-2L a day.
*Lose weight slowly, 1-2lbs a week.
*Moisturise, 2 times a day.
*Body brushing, 3-4 times a week.
*Build muscle/lift weights, 3 x week/30min workouts - Any advice on how to do this to limit loose skin, but not look muscley/become bulky would be great thanks.
*Take Omega 3/fish oil supplements.
*Eat enough protein for your lean body mass.

Also, any experiences would be great thanks.


Thanks!

npc80

Hi hun, I'm in a similar situation. I'm 32 and have 74 lbs to lose.
The best advice I've had is to lose slowly, the slower you lose the more your body (and skin!) has chance to get used to the changes you're making and can adapt. Swimming helps as well but I don't dare to bare in a cossie yet so not going to attempt that until I've lost a few stone!

aquarabbit

All of those things will definitely help. Although I would body brush everyday before you shower. Keep that blood flowing! Here are some tips that I have that are more focused on skincare:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/aquarabbit

Hope this helps! It's awesome that you're doing your research on this now, because as I say in my post, my motto with skin is that prevention is easier and cheaper than repair! Keep in mind that even if you do everything you can, you might have some loose skin, but be patient. It sometimes takes longer for the skin to bounce back. Good luck!

ktsmom430

Everything is relative.
For you younger ladies, it is normal to be concerned about this, and I hope someone can give some good tips for tightening up excess skin.
I, on the other hand, will be 62 in September, and have the attitude that I am extremely happy to just be 1/2 the person I was. There is loose skin, but I will take it any day over the excess weight!
Best of luck to you, it is normal to want to look young when you are young!

BarbellBlondieRuns

That's about all you can do! IMO, losing at a reasonable pace & regular exercise are the most important. Also, your skin will play catch up from time to time. Even well after you're done losing weight. I'm down 70 and am petite so it's really a lot. The only place I'm not happy with my skin is on the very bottom of my belly but that's from my pregnancies and is really not significant. It's worth it for my two beautiful babies

English_Edd

Good idea to check these things out before hand.

No science I know of backs up what I’m going to say :-)

The only advice I can give you is from experience, I lost a lot of weight very quickly due to the fact I was active but eating too much, or more to the point snacking without realising the calories I was consuming, cut the calories by following myfitnesspal totals and drinking 2L of water a day. I went to a BBQ with friends I hadn't seen in the 9 weeks I had been dieting only to be told I looked gaunt, this has been backed up by several others since. I had lost the flesh under the skin on my face too quickly and my skin was 'hanging' a bit from the bone structure. Now the good news, I'm 14 weeks in and I have continued to lose weight and most weeks now are 2lb with some 4lb ones thrown in. My face skin has tightened and I look 'normal' again. I think the main thing that helps me is I keep active and this of course keeps my skin being pulled left right and centre and in my eyes this has the effect of tightening it up. I don’t do anything else, I have done nothing to help my skin as I didn’t realise you should. My stomach has shrunk and pulled up but the skin has moved with it, in fact I can’t think of any loose skin now although I was really worried for a while that I would look like some of the images you see from rapid weight loss.

Slow steady weight loss with a level of exercise would be my advice (although others may correct me)

I’m 42 by the way and currently 48lb lost in 14 weeks. (17st 6lb -> 14st)

Oneal77

To prevent saggy arms, legs, and mid sections, it is good to do ground workout, rotating the arms and legs. Saggy skin is just away of your body telling you that is needs, or is ready for toning. If you have had fat removed by a trained physician, the process would be a litter longer. Keep in mind if you have had sudden weight removal, do not over load the heart with extreme workouts. It is important to let your heart catch up with its new surroundings. There are articles and a video you can watch on this subject at, www.uncommonwebshop.com. Just click on the weight loss link. Good luck!

randomtai

*Build muscle/lift weights, 3 x week/30min workouts - Any advice on how to do this to limit loose skin, but not look muscley/become bulky would be great thanks.

You will not look "bulky" lifting heavy weights. It will tighten your skin as well.

Sunshine2plus2

No advice bc I have loose skin but its better than being 330 pds!

Brad805

It will be what it will be. Lose it fast, lose it slow, it doesn't matter much so long as you do what you can to hold onto as much muscle mass as possible (ie good nutrition and some weights). Hydrate, and goop stuff on if it makes you feel better, but the reality is we all did a lot of damage to our skin by getting fat. The degree of obesity is the leading factor to predict the extent of the problem. Some get very lucky, but many of us do not. I managed to stretch my gut dimension by more than 10" and kept it that way for a lot of years. It sucks, but I have some stretch marks and two little flaps that only el doctoro can fix.

On the flip side, going to the doctor and making him self conscious about his own health was cool. His following with the comment I was ridiculously healthy and jokingly saying I was not doing my part to make work for him was just icing on the cake.

I suggest you start working on getting over this and concentrate on the important part.

Good luck.

rmwinters

Sleep in a tub of coconut oil! Jokes aside, I heard its good for stretch marks...that and cocoa butter. I use it every night after shower and it seems to be working better than my usual bath and body works (also loaded with chemicals).

CyberEd312

All the advice above is good but I always like to be the voice of reason.... You may do all the things above and it just may not be enough. But you really have to weigh out the pros and cons of being 100 lbs. over weight or living with some loose skin and being healthy and probably living a longer life...I had a 78 inch waist at 560 lbs. I knew going into this weight loss there was absolutely no way I was not going to have loose skin and a mentally prepared myself for that and also prepared for the fact that I was going to need some surgical intervention... So I started early searching for a plastic surgeon that I want to do the work and met with him a year before my goal weight range to talk things over.. Last September I went in for a circumferential body lift and had 17 pounds of skin removed from my torso.... I have loose skin in my inner thighs, chest , and arms but I am content with it and will probably not have anything else done... My waist went from 78 inches to currently 36 inches and if I had to do the surgery again I would in a heartbeat.... If you care to look I cleared it with MFP when I created the site to allow me to post a link to my website where I documented everything with blogs and you tube videos and pics...... Best of Luck

www.gettingfit4life.com

PikaKnight

All the advice above is good but I always like to be the voice of reason.... You may do all the things above and it just may not be enough. But you really have to weigh out the pros and cons of being 100 lbs. over weight or living with some loose skin and being healthy and probably living a longer life...I had a 78 inch waist at 560 lbs. I knew going into this weight loss there was absolutely no way I was not going to have loose skin and a mentally prepared myself for that and also prepared for the fact that I was going to need some surgical intervention... So I started early searching for a plastic surgeon that I want to do the work and met with him a year before my goal weight range to talk things over.. Last September I went in for a circumferential body lift and had 17 pounds of skin removed from my torso.... I have loose skin in my inner thighs, chest , and arms but I am content with it and will probably not have anything else done... My waist went from 78 inches to currently 36 inches and if I had to do the surgery again I would in a heartbeat.... If you care to look I cleared it with MFP when I created the site to allow me to post a link to my website where I documented everything with blogs and you tube videos and pics...... Best of Luck

www.gettingfit4life.com

^This. And wanted to add in a link from stroutman81's thread
http://www.burnthefat.com/loose_skin.html

Trueray

Well for me was to lose the weight at a slower pace so that the skin can adjust as time goes on. Also lifting weights help tighten things up.

reverendzor

After over 100lbs lost here and all I can say in regards to keeping off the loose skin is that it overall comes down to the roll of the genetic dice. Some people will show no signs of it, while others (like myself) will look good with clothes on, but a bit of a mess with them off..

For the record, all of my loose skin is currently located at my stomach and chest area.

I lost my 100lbs + over the course of about 2 years at about 1.5lbs per week on average for the first 70 or so, then at a pound a week for the 20 following that, with the final little bit coming off much more slowly than that. I don't consider that progress to rapid, but some suggest it was.

I maintained a calorie deficit in accordance with MFP the entire time, eating back most of my exercise calories near the entire journey; my exercise consisted of primarily the elliptical and exercise bike 5x a week, with some light upper body strength no more than twice a week. I maintained a decent level of protein intake most of those 2 years, at least shooting for MFPs daily default goal of 15% of your calories. None of this helped with loose skin.

After I hit my weight goal I have tried the following for loose skin with no real results:

- started with various skin cream creams (bio oil, coco butter, etc) and lotions along with skin brushing to help.. no real results after 8 sustained months of doing so.

- Been on D3 and Fish Oil/Omega 3 supplements near my entire weight loss journey

- Started taking MSM supplement along with 1 gram of Vitamin C once a day after reading some studies that suggested it would aid in the repair of damaged skin due to the effects of stretching during pregnancy

- Increased the amount of time I spend in the sun to see if it would help tighten things up (i.e. go from a pasty white skin complexion to a smooth tan). I am nicely tanned now (enough time in the sun to lighten the shade of my hair) and still have the same problem areas.

- continued to loose further weight after reading that obviously the loose skin is attached to body fat, because it is not like there is a vacuum behind it; it just shows the remaining body fat easier because the skin was stretched I managed to go 10lbs lower than my goal body weight and it never looked to be improving.

- Did strength training while in maintenance or on a calorie deficit. Sure I got stronger up to a certain point, but I still looked like rocky the flying squirrel with my shirt off.



All of that previously being said, I have had luck with one single thing.... That being doing strength training while eating enough calorie to fuel new muscle growth (i.e. caloric increase beyond your TDEE). This seems to be working somewhat for me. the wife and I took notice that the once hanging loose skin of my upper arms and upper thighs is no more, now the area appears filled with muscle. I know I still have a long way to go, but I hope to one day have enough additional muscle volume in my chest to make up for at least some of the additional skin there.

NOTE: I have heard some good things about MSM cream as well for skin reapir for loose skin, but have yet to try it myself since no place local seems to carry it

jadedone

Strength training early and often. Don't wait until you are close to goal. Do it now!

phoenixgirl81

I'm 32 years old and have lost 64 kg (141 lbs) since March last year. I have been over 100 kg (220 lbs) since before I was 18 years old. I don't have much loose skin now at all! A little on my belly and some of my thighs and upper arms. NOWHERE NEAR the amount I thought I was going to have. I was seriously convinced I was going to have an "apron" but I managed somehow to not be left with one. I even think that with a bit more strength training and ab-work that I will have tightened up most of the skin I have loose.

I lost weight slowly.1-2 lbs/wk.
I drank plenty of water (1.5-2 litres every day)
I exercised (cardio to start out with, strength added about 12 months ago). I don't lift HEAVY but I lift enough for me.


I didn't moisturise.
I didn't body brush (whatever that is)
I didn't take fish oil
I didn't use bio oil/vitamin e cream/etc

Honestly, I think genetics and skin elasticity has a lot to do with it. You could do everything "right" and you may not get the result you want. But it's better than being overweight!

My doctor also told me that my skin will continue to change over time so that once I've reached my goal weight, it could take up to 12 more months for my skin to "settle".

Although, even if my skin doesn't change from where it is now, I honestly wouldn't have NOT lost the weight in order to prevent loose skin. NOTHING feels as good as being healthy.

ninerbuff

Lose slow. Have patience.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Nissi51

Surgery...

Some of it won't..if the elasticity is gone, then your option is to "buy" it back!

Otherwise: slow, lift, patience. You will see lots of improvement

I lost over 100...

kazsjourney

I have lost 180 pounds and do have some excess skin. A lot of it comes down to genetics, age, how overweight you were and for how long. Eat well, stay hydrated, get enough sleep, strength train. I have lost my weight over nearly 7 years (with another 45 pounds or so to go) whilst I do have excess skin its not too bad considering how much weight I have lost

Anna8880

I am a nutritionist in Washington State. I find most people in this country are utterly misinformed about health. I suggest anyone who is interested in REAL HEALTH read this article. Toxic overload, lack of micronutrients and heightened emotional stress are the cause of inflammation and oxidative stress. These are the two prime components to all disease, including obesity, thyroid malfunction, and aging. You can count calories for the rest of your life, or you can repair your body naturally.

http://www.truearthskincare.com/truearth-news/reverse-aging-naturally/

getyourbeans

I think a lot of it is genetic.

I am 29 years old (30 at the end of this month). I have never been hugely overweight, but during my 20's fluctuated between a low of 135lbs and a high of 182lbs. I have a little loose skin on my arms, but not enough to justify surgery there. My worst area is my outer thighs/butt. I have decided to get a "reverse abdominoplasty" (aka a butt lift) at the end of October. Strangely, my tummy isn't too bad.

I've had three surgery consults and they've all said the reason my skin is lax is genetics, pure and simple.

It is what it is - I would rather be thin with loose skin and scars than overweight and lumpy any day!

ninerbuff

I am a nutritionist in Washington State. I find most people in this country are utterly misinformed about health. I suggest anyone who is interested in REAL HEALTH read this article. Toxic overload, lack of micronutrients and heightened emotional stress are the cause of inflammation and oxidative stress. These are the two prime components to all disease, including obesity, thyroid malfunction, and aging. You can count calories for the rest of your life, or you can repair your body naturally.

http://www.truearthskincare.com/truearth-news/reverse-aging-naturally/

Well, opinions from "naturalist" sites usually don't hold up well to scientific scrutiny. As soon as I saw "alkaline water", I knew it was pseudoscience. Probably need to learn a lot more about nutrition if you actually believe that stuff makes a difference.

A.C.E. Certified Group Fitness and Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

hearthwood

According to some internet articles, it really depends on "how long" you were at a big size, that will determine how much loose skin you'll have after you lose the weight.

Regardless loose skin is covered with clothes, but you sure as heck can't cover up a 100 pounds if extra weight. So don't let the worry of loose skin put a damper on your life style change.

kade_cando

My doc said loose skin is going to be an issue no matter how slowly you lose the weight, and age & genetics plays a big part. Having some excess skin is better than type 2 diabetes and all the other death consequences for obesity and there's always plastic surgery.

hacobz

Hiya, I have just lost almost 100 pounds, and I have some excess loose skin, but it is not as bad as you may think, and it can take up to a year for your skin to adjust to your new body weight - so I was told!

Jazz_2014

*Drink enough water, 1.5-2L a day.
*Lose weight slowly, 1-2lbs a week.
*Moisturise, 2 times a day.
*Body brushing, 3-4 times a week.
*Build muscle/lift weights, 3 x week/30min workouts - Any advice on how to do this to limit loose skin, but not look muscley/become bulky would be great thanks.
*Take Omega 3/fish oil supplements.
*Eat enough protein for your lean body mass.

All of these are great. I HIGHLY recommend drinking plenty of water. But honestly all are good, so why not do them all. Don't overwhelm yourself. You don't have to do all of them at once, I didn't. Changing too much at once can be daunting.
But water transports the nutrients in your body all over. Good for the brain, muscles, ligaments, organs (skin), etc..

Everyone is a bit different but for me even in doing all this I have days of self evaluation that I feel like "maybe" all my efforts are not giving the results. And then there are days I get people that don't see me on a daily basis and they tell me I'm looking better and younger. That's good, but as others have said, the healthy side of this is the major plus. This list you have for taking care of your skin, is really a good list to go by for the whole package. You deserve to take care of yourself, so demand the best for yourself.

Serah87

Lose slow. Have patience.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Mostly this......but I do dry brushing, moisturize, drink water, weight lifting and protein, etc. I believe it has helped, will it make it totally disappear, probably not, but I am always hopeful, LOL.