Loose Skin - Opinions

gilbertfun

Hi there! I'm currently 17stone. I'm 22 years old and have been overweight most of my life. I'm around 5"7/8 and have previously lost about 3 stone a few years ago but have put it back on and more since.

I'm currently in the flat few days of trying to lose weight again and over the last year or so I have started to get stretch marks on my stomach which j have never had before. This has led me to wonder whether I will have loose skin when I lose weight.

What do you guys think? At only 22 it's really something that's worrying me.

I've attached photos so you call can see.

Thanks in advance!

pinuplove

You'll likely end up with some, but you have youth on your side. The only way to know is to get there. Is loose skin a reason to hold yourself back from getting to a healthy weight?

Incidentally, at 21 I had a baby and was gifted with a ton of stretchmarks during my pregnancy. It's not the end of the world. Almost everyone has them.

k8eekins

gilbertfun wrote: »

Hi there! I'm currently 17stone. I'm 22 years old and have been overweight most of my life. I'm around 5"7/8 and have previously lost about 3 stone a few years ago but have put it back on and more since.

I'm currently in the flat few days of trying to lose weight again and over the last year or so I have started to get stretch marks on my stomach which j have never had before. This has led me to wonder whether I will have loose skin when I lose weight.

What do you guys think? At only 22 it's really something that's worrying me.

I've attached photos so you call can see.

Thanks in advance!

Loose skin issues concerns ALL ages, when having to drop weight, working towards the healthy weight range to start. Unfortunately, you'll have to be mindful of the essentials, for youth isn't a guarantee, generally speaking@damage control issues:

• Your nutrition (Hit your ratios, conscious of your proteins: fats)
• Your hydration
• Your resistance training
• Your skincare protocols (Exfoliation/Protection)
• Your genetics
• Having to consider if you're on any medication and its likely effects on your skin
• If you do consume alcohol and/or smoke and its possible consequences
• ETA: If you're inclined, a full body massage course treatment on a weekly basis for example.
• From what I've seen, I doubt that you'll have loose skin issues from your body composition and its potential

tess5036

Your age is in your favour, and even if you do end up with some loose skin, remember;

1. It may be only for a short time, fat is lost at a much faster rate than the skin can shrink back. Skins continues to shrink back over a several years
2. Loose skin is very thin witout fat in it, so won't show up much (it's the halfway stage when there is still some fat and it looks like a deflated balloon when it is most noticable to you, other will not notice)
3. Loose skin is preferble and much more healthy than excess fat.

elisa123gal

That doesn't look like loose skin.. just looks like you need to shed some more pound.., (please take no offense)..but your skin does not look loose at all.

Fflpnari

You might have loose skin. Eating healthy and weight lifting will help.

Im 24 and my skin is starting to look a little sad. Still with 35 pounds left to lose. I am happy to have loose skin and not carry an extra 110 pounds around.

Nanalove2018

Hey I'm 22 as well and after a 130 pound weight loss I didn't have much loose skin except for my arm got a slight bat wing thing going on. Trust me, its normal and you'll learn to accept it. It's much better than being overweight. I admire that you started at such a young age, It brings so much life into you!

AnnPT77

To be blunt, not meaning to be harsh: We have no way of knowing. Most people end up with (I believe) less loose skin than they expect, once they reach goal weight and then allow some extra months for the loose skin to shrink. Part of how much this will occur is genetics, but youth helps. The stretch marks are irrelevant to whether your skin will shrink or not (and, after you lose weight causing the stretching, they may fade with time - again, genetics and youth.)

I'd suggest you go over to the Success Stories part of the forum, and find posts by people who have lost very large amounts of weight. I think you will be surprised, and mostly pretty happy, seeing how they look, after some time has passed, especially. They may have some loose skin, but it usually is not a huge amount (compared to what people expect at the start), and it's rarely noticeable when they're wearing clothing. You will find photos over there where people are wearing less clothing (bathing suits, for example), showing the loose skin in detail.

I'm going to post exactly what I wrote on another thread recently:

For folks still somewhere in the middle of the weight loss process: For quite a few of us, things look discouraging part way through, because skin shrinkage happens slower than fat loss, and can't happen in a major way until enough fat is gone that it is no longer conspiring with gravity to keep the skin stretched out.

Forgive the analogy, but we start out like a water balloon that's totally full of water: Plump, rounded, almost firm fat mass. As we lose, the fat cells can deplete anywhere in the fat mass, so the fat areas get more squishy, and even droopy, like a water balloon with some water removed (but no air added). The skin can't much shrink, because the remaining squishy fat is pulling it down and keeping it stretched.

This is a point where people sometimes get discouraged, think this is loose skin (or that it will look like this permanently, anyway), and sometimes give up. Don't!

For a lot of us, things look worse part way through weight loss, but improve as we get closer to goal, and for quite some time beyond goal.

As a previous post helpfully showed, true loose skin is thin wrinkles, like wrinkles in fabric. (Note, You can see these specific photos in this thread: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10711416/is-this-excessive-skin, in the "spoiler" items in a post about halfway down page one.) That kind can shrink more readily, but it's slower than fat loss. Thicker wrinkles or rolls, like 1/2 inch plus, still have some subcutaneous fat. Most folks will see more of the "thin wrinkles" stuff, and gradually less of the "thick wrinkles/thin rolls" squishy stuff, along the route to goal weight. Then, the thin wrinkles skin can keep shrinking for months to years (mine was still shrinking well into year 2 of maintenance.).

At goal weight, we can still have some of the area with subcutaneous fat pulling on skin in some areas. Continuing exercise, especially strength exercise (during loss and at goal), can really help minimize this over time, by increasing muscle mass at the same steady weight (which implies a very slow loss of fat, because it's the same body weight, right?). Exercise (all sorts) and good nutrition may also keep skin healthy and more elastic. Also, some people find that the residual small amount of fatty tissue rearranges itself a bit in maintenance, whether through the skin shrinking despite the gravitational effect, or something else.

I'm not trying to say "no one should ever have loose skin removal surgery". That's an individual decision.

What I'm trying to say is that if the results midway through loss are worrying to you, try to step back and recognize that things will very likely improve as you continue down the path of loss and maintenance. Don't get discouraged, don't give up: It gets better!

nowine4me

I’ve lost 75# and have loose skin. It’s a way better option in the long run, trust me.

gilbertfun

Thanks for all the help so far everyone - It's not deterring me from losing the weight, I still want to get fit and healthy. It's just something that was worrying me. I'm aiming for losing 2lbs per week and doing it through healthy eating and exercise.

When I previously lost weight (went from about 15 stone to 12 stone) I didn't have any loose skin, however I was around 16 at the time and I have a lot more to lose this time.

Just fingers crossed hopefully

AnnPT77

gilbertfun wrote: »

Thanks for all the help so far everyone - It's not deterring me from losing the weight, I still want to get fit and healthy. It's just something that was worrying me. I'm aiming for losing 2lbs per week and doing it through healthy eating and exercise.

When I previously lost weight (went from about 15 stone to 12 stone) I didn't have any loose skin, however I was around 16 at the time and I have a lot more to lose this time.

Just fingers crossed hopefully

That's good news, that you're not deterred!

One comment, from the perspective an anxious, granny-type li'l ol' lady (age 63), who loves to see people stay strong and healthy while achieving their goals:

Two pounds a week is fine, at the aggressive end of fine, for your current weight. As you get below 200 pounds (around 14 stone), I'd strongly suggest dialing that back a bit (as an actual loss rate - what you're seeing, on average, on the scale).

I applaud that you have fitness and health goals, not just weight loss goals. Keeping weight loss rate on the sensible side will help you balance all of those goals. (Losing too fast stresses our bodies, which is bad for health; and undercuts developing our fitness, because we need sound nutrition and adequate calories in order to make fitness progress.)

Many people around here think it's a good plan to average no more than 1% of current body weight loss per week, and probably slower than that (especially for smaller people) within 50 pounds of goal. Of course, slower than the max is always fine, if that's more sustainable. (A routine you can stick with long term is really the key to losing weight and staying at a healthy weight permanently.)

I lost a little too fast at first by accident (MFP underestimated my calorie needs), when I was about 13 stone. I got weak and fatigued, and even though I corrected as soon as I realized, it took several weeks to get back to normal. I don't want to see anyone else go through that!

You seem like a pretty sharp young woman, so you may know all of this already. But as that anxious granny-type, I worry that people may've gotten unrealistic/not-sensible ideas from weight loss reality TV shows and extreme weight loss IG-ers and blogs.

Stay strong!

imxnianne

gilbertfun wrote: »

Thanks for all the help so far everyone - It's not deterring me from losing the weight, I still want to get fit and healthy. It's just something that was worrying me. I'm aiming for losing 2lbs per week and doing it through healthy eating and exercise.

When I previously lost weight (went from about 15 stone to 12 stone) I didn't have any loose skin, however I was around 16 at the time and I have a lot more to lose this time.

Just fingers crossed hopefully

I think 2lbs a week is too fast for skin to keep up. To avoid loose skin, heard it’s 2lbs a month max weight loss? Build that muscle mass and less body fat to see where you’ll be at with that problem