The Dreaded Sag
__Roxy__
Posts: 825 Member
So, I am developing the dreaded skin sag. I've lost 60lbs so far and still have about 75 to go. I practice intermittent fasting, drink lots of water, and know that patience and time will help with the deflated balloon skin. I'm not too concerned, but would like to do what I can to support my body in bouncing back. Any advice on avoiding the sag would be helpful!
I am looking into getting a gym membership and starting a toning plan. I live in a tiny village with a small gym, run by volunteers. There are no fitness classes or personal trainers. Essentially, it's access to a room full of machines and equipment, and I have to have my own plan of action.
If anyone has recommendations for online personal trainers, strength training programs, etc... I think it's time I start building a little muscle tone!
Any other suggestions welcome re: avoiding loose skin.
I am looking into getting a gym membership and starting a toning plan. I live in a tiny village with a small gym, run by volunteers. There are no fitness classes or personal trainers. Essentially, it's access to a room full of machines and equipment, and I have to have my own plan of action.
If anyone has recommendations for online personal trainers, strength training programs, etc... I think it's time I start building a little muscle tone!
Any other suggestions welcome re: avoiding loose skin.
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How old are you? A lot of this is going to be age and genetics. I'm 55 and yes I have some skin issues but it's not as bad as I feared. I've been maintaining since May roughly and they say to give it a couple YEARS. After that you pretty much have what you have.
I've recently started getting serious with kettlebells and Stronglifts 5X5. There's even an app for Stronglifts that guides you along on what to do accompanied with some videos you can watch for proper form. That may be helpful to you in the gym.1 -
Www.bodybuilding.com is full of free programs geared to lose fat, build muscle or transform. Erin Stern's 4 week fitness trainer doesn't require a large variety of equipment (my work gym is pretty limited too). I really like it!!0
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I have a girl friend who dealt with quite a bit of sag after loosing somewhere around 120 lbs. She's kept it off for about 5 years now and while it's better, it's never gone away completely. She used "foundation" or "compression" garments for a while and they helped her get more comfortable with her "new" body initially. Congratulations on your loss, and good luck!1
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Catawampous wrote: »How old are you? A lot of this is going to be age and genetics. I'm 55 and yes I have some skin issues but it's not as bad as I feared. I've been maintaining since May roughly and they say to give it a couple YEARS. After that you pretty much have what you have.
I've recently started getting serious with kettlebells and Stronglifts 5X5. There's even an app for Stronglifts that guides you along on what to do accompanied with some videos you can watch for proper form. That may be helpful to you in the gym.
Yep. It's been been over 3 years since I started losing weight. Still got the sags. It has improved slowly over time. And it's still working on it. Very very slowly. But I don't expect too much more pulling in at this point. There's going to be sag. Too much obese for too many years for there not to be permanent damage.
Get muscles. And keep at it and give it time. It will do what it will do. But I'd rather have the sags than go back to being the way that I was.5 -
Age, genetics, lean muscle mass, and sheer amount of total weight you will lose (or have lost) all play a part in this. Collagen Hydrolysate will help a little as will weight training to build muscle. If you are young, your body and skin tend to bounce back more quickly and be more forgiving of weight gain / weight loss...not so much as you age. The total amount of weight you lose eventually will come into play as well. Using myself here are an example: I successfully eliminated 167 pounds (basically an entire person as I eliminated more than what I currently weigh now) and I've been in maintenance for almost 1.5 years no so I'm at the point where no amount of strength training/exercise, additional tweaks to diet or nutrition or more weight loss (would be unwise for me to attempt at this point as I'm already on the lower end of a healthy BMI) will help or improve the amount of loose skin I'm left with. The only remedy left for me at this point is surgery...probably something along the lines of a lower body lift and/or tummy tuck and yes, I am planning on getting this done either sometime in 2018 or 2019.3
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River_Goddess wrote: »So, I am developing the dreaded skin sag. I've lost 60lbs so far and still have about 75 to go. I practice intermittent fasting, drink lots of water, and know that patience and time will help with the deflated balloon skin. I'm not too concerned, but would like to do what I can to support my body in bouncing back. Any advice on avoiding the sag would be helpful!
I am looking into getting a gym membership and starting a toning plan. I live in a tiny village with a small gym, run by volunteers. There are no fitness classes or personal trainers. Essentially, it's access to a room full of machines and equipment, and I have to have my own plan of action.
If anyone has recommendations for online personal trainers, strength training programs, etc... I think it's time I start building a little muscle tone!
Any other suggestions welcome re: avoiding loose skin.I have a girl friend who dealt with quite a bit of sag after loosing somewhere around 120 lbs. She's kept it off for about 5 years now and while it's better, it's never gone away completely. She used "foundation" or "compression" garments for a while and they helped her get more comfortable with her "new" body initially. Congratulations on your loss, and good luck!
@River_Goddess - I was going to say what @mmultanen said!
When folks do WLS and loos large quantities of weight, one of the first things they suggest is the compression garments. It's not a pure fix, but it keeps the sheer weight of the skin from continuing to be pulled and worsened by gravity and exercising and such. It also condenses the flesh, improves blood flow, and can help to prevent bacteria from catching in uncomfortable places.
Check to see if any area near you (or where you travel regularly or are willing to travel has a bariatric support group or clothing exchange. When folks lose weight that quickly, you burn through closing sizes pretty quickly. Most bariatric patients also have to be on some variation of low carb for life, so you'll likely find like minds there, too.
Toning/trimming and weight training will help...BUT...compression gear will be crucial to supporting that excess sag, though that process IMO (or NSHO...).
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KnitOrMiss wrote: »When folks do WLS and loos large quantities of weight, one of the first things they suggest is the compression garments. It's not a pure fix, but it keeps the sheer weight of the skin from continuing to be pulled and worsened by gravity and exercising and such. It also condenses the flesh, improves blood flow, and can help to prevent bacteria from catching in uncomfortable places.
I didn't know that about compression garments. I have some but I only wear them when I'm planning to run, otherwise the sound of my skin flapping and slapping gets distracting. I find them too uncomfortable to wear on a regular basis.
FWIW my own strategy for dealing with the loose skin is, I'm taking collagen, gelatin, and practicing regular fasting in the hopes that this will help restore some elasticity to my skin and promote autophagy to get rid of the excess. This might be sufficient for my arms and face.
My belly and boobs are a lost cause though, so my alternate strategy is saving up for cosmetic surgery. My thighs, I'm not sure yet. They might improve given enough time, or they too might need a little trim & tuck.1 -
@Steph_Maks - There are moisture-wicking and anti-bacterial or anti-microbal fabrics that really help with that.
There are also many levels of compression. HEAVY compression would be what I'd use for running, but there should be light compression garments that are comfortable for daily wear. You might have to look at medical supply stores to find them at first - or find someone in the know of the terms to search, but you should be able to find stuff.
They mainly help with the bacteria prevention by preventing folds from clinging together in the dark, creating dark, moist, warm environments in which most germs thrive. I have to wear my undergarments in certain ways to prevent as much skin to skin contact as I can...
All those other things help from the inside OUT....these are the general TYPES of things that can help make those internal processes you are doing work more efficiently...
Again, nothing is a magic wand, aside from maybe surgery, but we can all do a number of things that help...
Even something like dry brushing works with lymphatic blood flow and such, I believe....1 -
Thanks all. This is helpful info.0
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Congratulations on your weight loss! You asked for suggestions working out. My advice would be try Hasfit.com they are personal trainers and a guy name Coach Kozak and his wife Claudia do videos. I love them because they are very encouraging and they always have a modified movement you can do if one movement is to hard. They have a bunch of 30 day programs and you can watch their videos on You Tube and do it along with them. They also have a 30 day weight training programs I have done before. I currently am doing their Foundation workout which they change the workouts once you go to a new month. I like the Foundation one because they constantly mix it up between weights, sculpting, and cardio. But they have so many programs you just pick what is right for you. Hope that helps you some.2
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crystalsan726 wrote: »Congratulations on your weight loss! You asked for suggestions working out. My advice would be try Hasfit.com they are personal trainers and a guy name Coach Kozak and his wife Claudia do videos. I love them because they are very encouraging and they always have a modified movement you can do if one movement is to hard. They have a bunch of 30 day programs and you can watch their videos on You Tube and do it along with them. They also have a 30 day weight training programs I have done before. I currently am doing their Foundation workout which they change the workouts once you go to a new month. I like the Foundation one because they constantly mix it up between weights, sculpting, and cardio. But they have so many programs you just pick what is right for you. Hope that helps you some.
LOVE THEM! I'm doing their Motive calendar (intermediate/advanced). They really are very encouraging.
BodyFit by Amy is good for beginners as well. Or Jessica Smith. I have used both. FitnessBlender is good too, but they have no music, and I like music to distract me. Makes it seem like it moves along faster. You could play some of your own. I'd rather click play and get to business than futz around with a bunch of things.
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'futz'...? Is that allowed...?
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baconslave wrote: »crystalsan726 wrote: »Congratulations on your weight loss! You asked for suggestions working out. My advice would be try Hasfit.com they are personal trainers and a guy name Coach Kozak and his wife Claudia do videos. I love them because they are very encouraging and they always have a modified movement you can do if one movement is to hard. They have a bunch of 30 day programs and you can watch their videos on You Tube and do it along with them. They also have a 30 day weight training programs I have done before. I currently am doing their Foundation workout which they change the workouts once you go to a new month. I like the Foundation one because they constantly mix it up between weights, sculpting, and cardio. But they have so many programs you just pick what is right for you. Hope that helps you some.
LOVE THEM! I'm doing their Motive calendar (intermediate/advanced). They really are very encouraging.
BodyFit by Amy is good for beginners as well. Or Jessica Smith. I have used both. FitnessBlender is good too, but they have no music, and I like music to distract me. Makes it seem like it moves along faster. You could play some of your own. I'd rather click play and get to business than futz around with a bunch of things.
Thanks for more suggestions. I will have to check out Bodyfit by Amy and Jessica Smith. I am always looking for new stuff so I don't get bored.1 -
AlexandraCarlyle wrote: »'futz'...? Is that allowed...?
'futz' is for when we get tired of 'kittens.' Oh, wait... WHO gets tired of kittens??!1 -
steph_marks and River_Goddess, I use some undergarments that support lightly so everything just looks smoother under my clothes they help a lot, Spanex available at lots of dept. stores in the US and I would think Canada as well.
My skin is slowly, very slowly improving since I started keto/lchf and doing strength/resistance training, I also eats lot of collagen filled broths and take supplements sometimes as well. I also love working out with jessicasmithtv on youtube, she has some excellent workouts that can easily be done at home. I also do some of the HasFit stuff on youtube.
I would much rather have some saggy skin to remind me why I never want to be overweight again. At 68, I don't think I would do the surgery route. Too much risk being in a hospital these days. I have 4 friends who ended up with super bugs, C diff and MRSA . One was getting tummy tuck and younger than me.3
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