Excess skin below arms and on face

150poundsofme

Hi, Just lost 35 lbs. Need to lose 60 - 90 more. 5'2" currently 215. Oh yea, 60 years old.
Definitely seeing loss on body around waist, thighs, tush. This was a bit drastic overnight - seeing a droop, if that is the correct description, on my face - like from the side of my mouth to my chin and I also think the area where the side of nose cheeks line has become more defined.
Everyone has said I never look my age (because of my plump face). Only wrinkles I have is those two little lines between your eyebrows and maybe one forming on forehead. I did just read in a magazine that some actresses will choose to be real slim and then there faces look sunken in and others will keep the few extra pounds on to have their face look good. I have never ever been vain. I want to lose all my weight need to be healthier, move more easily, less meds, enjoy life.
Was wondering if there are any creams etc. that you have found helpful to firming or even getting rid of the droop? I basically have never done much of anything beside an occasional face cream.

On a similar note, I do have the excess loose skin, a lot of it, underneath the arms. I know at this age, it will always be with me. Went to the gym the first time yesterday, after a 3 year absence. Did a class where you do different exercises at stations. Doing the one where you lift a 11 lb. round disc, arms down, then bring elbows up, then over your head and then behind your head. When I was done, the instructor commented that my arms were still flapping away and moving during the set. My batwings. She actually seemed very nice until that comment. Are there any arm exercises just for the excess loose skin? I am pretty sure the answer is no but oh well. I will have to accept me imperfections and all.

Thank you!

ninerbuff

You CANNOT affect loose skin by any exercises, creams, wraps, etc. Skin is an organ and it reacts to stimuli (IE if you gain weight, it expands and if you lose weight it will retract TO AN EXTENT). Your best bet is to just lose all the weight you desire then either wait it out for up to 2 years to see if skin retracts back enough or consult a plastic surgeon for other options.

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

L1zardQueen

To add to Ninerbuff, the fitness instructor may be correcting your form not your excess skin.

Just keep going, if the instructor says this again to you ask her to explain what she means.

LovesDogsAndBooks

Hi, I'm in my early 50ies and have lost 30 lbs so far. I've been exercising all along, and my arms and legs look good, they never were huge, since I carry most of my weight around the mid-section. That has gotten softer, though, and by the time I'm done with losing, it'll be even more so, but luckily that's a part of my body that doesn't get exposed. My face, however, has thinned out, and the skin on my cheeks has become looser. I've never been big on facial creams and won't start now. I imagine this is what I would look like anyway if I had never been heavy. Everybody I know who has lost weight later in life looked older after the weight loss, so I'm trying to just get used to it. As to the arm flaps, this comes up every now and then here, and the consensus seems to be that there isn't that awfully much you can do, short of skin removal once you're down to your goal weight.

AnnPT77

Tricep muscles (upper back of arm) are slack and mobile ("flappy") when relaxed or not fully engaged.

Many women mistake their relaxed triceps for fat or loose skin. Even in those who do have some fat or loose skin, part of what they call "bat wings", "bingo wings" , "arm flaps" (or some other ugly name) turns out to be nice, relaxed triceps muscle, in any woman I've ever discussed this with.

Even quite fit, slim women can make their upper arm flap around in certain positions. While I'm not saying I'm a poster child for "quite fit, slim", I can make my upper arm flap all over the place if I want to, but I don't see a bunch of movement there if the triceps are flexed, as in my profile picture (and that's not even a fully engaged tricep).

I wonder if your instructor was trying to get you to better engage your triceps muscles, which are important in the exercise you describe, but was not communicating effectively about it. Sometimes lifelong-fit fitness instructors are not as sensitive about how we'll hear things when we're not lifelong-fit students.

At age 59-60, I lost 50+ pounds. The loose skin kept shrinking well into my second year of naintaining weight. There is hope! I think if you go over into the "Success Stories" part of the forum, and look at lots if before/after photos, you'll be pleasantly surprised by how little visible loose skin people tend to have, even among those of us who are older, or have lost large amounts of weight, or both.

There are no magic tricks for reducing loose skin. Things that keep you and therefore your skin healthy are your best bet: A sensibly moderate weight loss rate, good nutrition, adequate sleep, drinking enough (not crazy much ) water, and - for sure - regular exercise, especially strength-building exercise.

Best wishes!

natasor1

About creams... The best advice is retinol serums of high concentration 3% or more (prescription streangth) at nite, vitamine C high concent 30% in the morning, firming body lotions with amynophiline, cofeine, coconut, cocoa.
Some instrumental esthetitian procedures: RF, termage, cavitation, pumping vacuume massage, limph drenage
massages. Honey massage.
Very big thing is firming those spots target exercise.
Be realistic, the skin in your 60 after all those yoears of streaching, is not gonna shrink back. Very expensive, but most effective is do skin reduction plustic sergery.

nowine4me

The face is actually the easiest and least expensive to correct. Get some Botox in the “1 1” lines between your eyes and they do fillers in the others to plump them back out. if you care to go that route.

Body skin — on the other hand — requires massive surgery to remove and leaves large scars. Some of which are visible, some are not. Most research states that a woman should get to 20% body fat and THEN stick it out a year or two. At that point, what’s there is there and you can choose how to deal with it.

alicebhsia

pomegranate juice is supposed to help stimulate collagen production in your skin which is what makes it elastic. i don't know if it will help but it might be worth a try. as far as creams or products, i know shiseido and avon's anew line both carry lifting serums or firming creams. i haven't tried them though. they are pretty pricey but all the anew stuff i've tried has delivered as promised and i am currently using a shiseido eye cream which is working wonders. also, if you look online there are face exercises you can do to help firm up the problem areas on your face. my mom does these and it really seems to have made a difference. she also uses a retinol cream and massages it on her face once or twice a week. (she gets it from Puritan's Pride.)

lorrpb

She means your arms were wobbly or moving in and out and your elbows were sticking out. It has nothing to do with flab. All fitness instructors know the difference between flab and form!