Looking for Insight on loose skin
Lora2380
Posts: 195 Member
Was wondering about people’s experiences with loose skin and how much ( if at all ) it tightened up over time after hitting maintenance.
I lost 40lbs in 5-6 months and have lost about 7lbs more over the past 6 months and have had my stomach tighten up quite a bit but still a ways to go. I know it will never be perfect as I have had two very large children and lots of stretch marks but was wondering if anyone else had skin still still tightening over time or if you think I’ve pretty much hit the end of the road.
I’ll never regret loosing the weight as I feel healthy and fantastic and cloths fit amazing now but am still working on the loving my imperfections part of this journey (or at least coming to terms with what my body is capable of).
I lost 40lbs in 5-6 months and have lost about 7lbs more over the past 6 months and have had my stomach tighten up quite a bit but still a ways to go. I know it will never be perfect as I have had two very large children and lots of stretch marks but was wondering if anyone else had skin still still tightening over time or if you think I’ve pretty much hit the end of the road.
I’ll never regret loosing the weight as I feel healthy and fantastic and cloths fit amazing now but am still working on the loving my imperfections part of this journey (or at least coming to terms with what my body is capable of).
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Replies
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My skin improved immensely after 2 years of maintaining my goal weight but I understand it’s not easy to be patient
you just gotta give it more time. 6 -
You can try intermediate fasting to fasting 2/3 days each week. If IF make sure you still get your maintenance calories for the day. If a couple days a week, add the missed days calories to your feeding days to even out.
You can look into it, but the basic premise is that after a certain number of hours in fast, approx. 14-16, your body begins eating weaker, less important cells. This includes fat cells and excess skin cells. It's more beneficial to stay in this state as long as you can (2/3 days), than in IF with just a few hours doing 18/6 or 20/4. I'd say doing the weekly one would be easier as well to get enough calories within the feed window.
Up to you if you want to try it. Results won't be instant of course, but it would be faster than not doing it at all.
There are plenty who fast on this site, if you want to ask for advice in the matter.27 -
I went from nearly 16stone down to 9stone and after having a kid aswell I’ve got a lot of loose skin 🤣 I just keep doing my exercises (elliptical trainer and treadmill) and drink plenty of water, I’ve only been in maintenance since about August so I know it will take agessss to start tightening up but I think patience is the best thing.2
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Lift hard and heavy...3
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I lost 110lbs in a little under a year and the loose skin is a real problem for me too. Definitely don't regret losing the weight, but I'm really looking forward to when things start tightening up.3
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I think my skin really improved after about 2 years in my goal weight range. Right after hitting my "goal", my upper arms and belly felt a lot looser and fleshier than they do now. Still not perfect, but better. I also noticed that my face looked pretty gaunt and I definitely had a bit of veiny turkey neck happening in the first year or so and that's really improved with time. I think everyone has their problem areas. Mine are belly and arms. My thighs and knees look great with no loose skin. I have a friend who lost a similar amount to me and her arms look fabulous but she will never bare her legs because of loose skin. You can't really control it 100% even with targeted weight training in my opinion (she does that, I have not).
I am now almost 5 years at roughly the same smaller size and believe I've reached the point where I will remain and that's okay with me. I still have bingo wings and a spare tire but they're small and easily hidden by clothing. In form-fitting clothing, I don't feel as self-conscious with a spare, say, bicycle tire versus my previous semi truck tire around the belly! haha I am never going to run around in tank tops & very short skirts, but I never did before, either, so I don't care.
For reference, I am 42 but weighed around 250-270 lb for almost twenty years (with a couple of years at 300) before losing the weight I am now (169) at age 36. Not a lot of yo-yo dieting and no pregnancies etc. Just got very big and then lost the excess weight and this is how I've fared.10 -
After losing 90# (a bit less now), I had very loose skin on my arms, UPPER stomach and thighs drooping. After 2 years in and around maintenance, my arms have tightened up and look decent, my stomach looks good (tiny ab outlines) when I’m at or below 20%bf, and my thighs still look pretty bad. Fingers crossed it’s working it’s way from top to bottom.5
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I think without surgery, it really only tightens up a little bit. I lost 75lbs about 2 years ago, and have maintained that loss for about 2 years. I have some areas I’ve been able to build more muscle, so it’s less flabby, but other areas I’m still trying to decide if it’s worth it for plastic surgery.1
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DamnImASexyBitch wrote: »I think without surgery, it really only tightens up a little bit. I lost 75lbs about 2 years ago, and have maintained that loss for about 2 years. I have some areas I’ve been able to build more muscle, so it’s less flabby, but other areas I’m still trying to decide if it’s worth it for plastic surgery.
Much depends on age, genetics, and amount of time a person was overweight.1 -
I am maintaining a 100 pound weight loss for 20 plus years and found that while time does improve things, I have had to help things along by hitting the weights. Building muscle is a good way to tighten up loose skin. Also, something to look forward to is as one gets older (I am 51) everyone has some loose skin. So, it all evens up in the end. :-)3
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simpsonsfantoo wrote: »DamnImASexyBitch wrote: »I think without surgery, it really only tightens up a little bit. I lost 75lbs about 2 years ago, and have maintained that loss for about 2 years. I have some areas I’ve been able to build more muscle, so it’s less flabby, but other areas I’m still trying to decide if it’s worth it for plastic surgery.
Much depends on age, genetics, and amount of time a person was overweight.
it also depends on the elasticity in ones skin and how fast they lost the weight. and if they gained quickly or not as well. stretching out the skin quickly can end up with skin that wont bounce back.if after a few years it doesnt bounce back then I would say the chance if it happening are slim to none.2 -
Larkspur94 wrote: »You can try intermediate fasting to fasting 2/3 days each week. If IF make sure you still get your maintenance calories for the day. If a couple days a week, add the missed days calories to your feeding days to even out.
You can look into it, but the basic premise is that after a certain number of hours in fast, approx. 14-16, your body begins eating weaker, less important cells. This includes fat cells and excess skin cells. It's more beneficial to stay in this state as long as you can (2/3 days), than in IF with just a few hours doing 18/6 or 20/4. I'd say doing the weekly one would be easier as well to get enough calories within the feed window.
Up to you if you want to try it. Results won't be instant of course, but it would be faster than not doing it at all.
There are plenty who fast on this site, if you want to ask for advice in the matter.
IF is NOT going to make any difference in saggy/loose skin. can I ask you where you got the above info? if you mean this link,then you misunderstood their concept and it has nothing to do with saggy/loose skin https://news.usc.edu/63669/fasting-triggers-stem-cell-regeneration-of-damaged-old-immune-system/
not to mention what I posted above is an article and not scientific proof1 -
I lost about 130 from my highest weight about 3 years ago. I still have loose skin in my upper arms, lower belly and thighs. I did have loose skin on my back and neck. My neck tightened up completely, my back has a tad, but its not really noticeable. I think the worst area for me is my lower stomach which no one will ever see because even a low rise waist band would hide it. My arms bother me a bit but if I just gained some arm muscle it probably wouldn't look that bad.
It does take time, can be years, to tighten, but it will never completely go away without surgery. I have thought about it - I mean, if money were no object, but still, and I don't think I'd want to endure that painful procedure...3 -
Thank you for all the responses! It is really encouraging to here that there is still time. I’m a patient person as the road this far has been anything but quick, I’ve wanted to loose this weight for 13 yrs, waiting another year or two to see how it improves is fine by me. I’ve recently started weight training and am enjoying it emencly.
I’ve never expected to look “normal” but a little less droopy would be fantastic. I’ve embraced the stretch marks so perhaps with time I’ll also come to terms with the skin if it doesn’t tighten to where I want.
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IF doesn't affect the dermis that way. The retraction of skin is more due to elasticity and genetics and NOT how you eat.Larkspur94 wrote: »You can try intermediate fasting to fasting 2/3 days each week. If IF make sure you still get your maintenance calories for the day. If a couple days a week, add the missed days calories to your feeding days to even out.
You can look into it, but the basic premise is that after a certain number of hours in fast, approx. 14-16, your body begins eating weaker, less important cells. This includes fat cells and excess skin cells. It's more beneficial to stay in this state as long as you can (2/3 days), than in IF with just a few hours doing 18/6 or 20/4. I'd say doing the weekly one would be easier as well to get enough calories within the feed window.
Up to you if you want to try it. Results won't be instant of course, but it would be faster than not doing it at all.
There are plenty who fast on this site, if you want to ask for advice in the matter.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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Mine kept shrinking well into year 2 of maintenance, after losing 50ish pounds at age 59-60.
One thing: True loose skin is thin wrinkles, like wrinkles in fabric. Things that are like 1/2"+ wrinkles or rolls still have some subcutaneous fat that conspires with gravity to keep the skin stretched. It's the thin stuff, IME, that shrinks pretty well.
Recomposition (maintaining weight, gaining muscle) can help with that remaining subcutaneous fat, as can more weight loss (if that's healthy at one's current weight). Surgery is also an option, and I've seen several folks here who had surgery report that what was removed was some fat as well as just skin.4 -
There are lots of factors that contribute to how much loose skin you end up with, as has been mentioned. I didn't end up with as much loose skin as I thought I would but I was pretty anxious about it when I first started losing weight. I too am covered in stretch marks, so genetics really weren't on my side in that regard. I had five children in 10 years, a couple of huge ones, was 220 at my heaviest, and 126 in these photos. It's really anyone's guess, but I think strength training helped me a lot as well as a slow rate of loss.
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Most of my stretched skin is due to 3 pregnancies within 5 years. My total weight loss was only 35lbs, and I've only been in maintenance since September.
I told myself I'd wait 1-2 years, and the consensus on this thread seems to say 2 years. I can say in a few months it's already better, but I will probably still buy high waisted swimsuit bottoms for a while.
I can understand it may be more distressing if it's more of your body though. I think the secret is maintaining and genetics. I also lift heavy.2 -
Odd that the body would leave all those skin cell calories on the table while dropping 40 pounds, and then suddenly decide during a period of no 20 hours with no food "well, let's finally crack these calories open". Pretty sure people who have been literally starved still end up with loose skin.Larkspur94 wrote: »You can try intermediate fasting to fasting 2/3 days each week. If IF make sure you still get your maintenance calories for the day. If a couple days a week, add the missed days calories to your feeding days to even out.
You can look into it, but the basic premise is that after a certain number of hours in fast, approx. 14-16, your body begins eating weaker, less important cells. This includes fat cells and excess skin cells. It's more beneficial to stay in this state as long as you can (2/3 days), than in IF with just a few hours doing 18/6 or 20/4. I'd say doing the weekly one would be easier as well to get enough calories within the feed window.
Up to you if you want to try it. Results won't be instant of course, but it would be faster than not doing it at all.
There are plenty who fast on this site, if you want to ask for advice in the matter.
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I’ve been researching this for a few weeks. There are too many answers and they all vary. Too really know if you have loose skin or just squishy fats is to lower your body fat percentage. Loose skin is really just wrinkles. Loosing more than 2lbs a week, you’re for sure going to get it if the weight loss is rapid. People think that loose skin is saggy bellys, I thought this too, came to realize that it’s squishy fats. Stubborn squishy fats.. Lower the body fat percentage, eat more lean foods, healthy protein, etc. do lower abs workouts. Leg lifts, butterfly kicks.. it won’t be an over night we but we all can never pull an overnight we with fat.
That’s my opinion and I’m keeping to my word. I’m on that journey right now. Down 4 milestones and need to be more cut to even see the mommy belly vanish.
Hopefully what I said was understandable. Pretty tired from a long day.8 -
I’ve been researching this for a few weeks. There are too many answers and they all vary. Too really know if you have loose skin or just squishy fats is to lower your body fat percentage. Loose skin is really just wrinkles. Loosing more than 2lbs a week, you’re for sure going to get it if the weight loss is rapid. People think that loose skin is saggy bellys, I thought this too, came to realize that it’s squishy fats. Stubborn squishy fats.. Lower the body fat percentage, eat more lean foods, healthy protein, etc. do lower abs workouts. Leg lifts, butterfly kicks.. it won’t be an over night we but we all can never pull an overnight we with fat.
That’s my opinion and I’m keeping to my word. I’m on that journey right now. Down 4 milestones and need to be more cut to even see the mommy belly vanish.
Hopefully what I said was understandable. Pretty tired from a long day.
I haven't seen evidence that true loose skin (the thin wrinkles kind) is actually worse (permanently) after fast weight loss. But, since loose skin shrinks more slowly than fat is lost, it may be that losing fast will give the appearance of more loose skin.
This is oversimplified, but if some limited skin shrinking can occur during weight loss, then slow loss may let that start happening sooner, so things don't look quite as bad at goal weight; with fast loss, the skin shrinkage has very limited opportunity to keep up. But are results worse after 2 years at goal, comparing fast to slow loss? I haven't seen any sound evidence either way.
I suspect, but have no proof, that since losing too fast is unhealthy, and healthy skin may be more elastic, there could be some relationship there between fast loss and skin shrinkage, too. But that's a comparison that might also be a difference between someone who loses with good nutrition (healthier) vs. really poor nutrition?6 -
That might be the case for some individuals, but I'm pretty confident that there are people, particularly ones that have been severely obese, that will genuine have loose skin and a pooch regardless of their actual body fat percentage.I’ve been researching this for a few weeks. There are too many answers and they all vary. Too really know if you have loose skin or just squishy fats is to lower your body fat percentage. Loose skin is really just wrinkles. Loosing more than 2lbs a week, you’re for sure going to get it if the weight loss is rapid. People think that loose skin is saggy bellys, I thought this too, came to realize that it’s squishy fats. Stubborn squishy fats.. Lower the body fat percentage, eat more lean foods, healthy protein, etc. do lower abs workouts. Leg lifts, butterfly kicks.. it won’t be an over night we but we all can never pull an overnight we with fat.
That’s my opinion and I’m keeping to my word. I’m on that journey right now. Down 4 milestones and need to be more cut to even see the mommy belly vanish.
Hopefully what I said was understandable. Pretty tired from a long day.
The idea of stubborn fat as I've heard Lyle use it is a different phenomena with a different presentation.
I also don't think the ab workouts are really that much of a difference. The kind of engagement of the abs in heavy compounds is going to do a lot more muscle building in the core than unweighted high rep activities like the way most people do leg lifts or kicks.2 -
I’ve been researching this for a few weeks. There are too many answers and they all vary. Too really know if you have loose skin or just squishy fats is to lower your body fat percentage. Loose skin is really just wrinkles. Loosing more than 2lbs a week, you’re for sure going to get it if the weight loss is rapid. People think that loose skin is saggy bellys, I thought this too, came to realize that it’s squishy fats. Stubborn squishy fats.. Lower the body fat percentage, eat more lean foods, healthy protein, etc. do lower abs workouts. Leg lifts, butterfly kicks.. it won’t be an over night we but we all can never pull an overnight we with fat.
That’s my opinion and I’m keeping to my word. I’m on that journey right now. Down 4 milestones and need to be more cut to even see the mommy belly vanish.
Hopefully what I said was understandable. Pretty tired from a long day.
then you must not have seen people with enough loose skin who have to have it cut off,its not squishy fat,its skin that has been stretched too far. losing more than 2 lbs a week for those over 400 lbs is fine short term. I have a friend who was over 500lbs hes down to close to 300 and he has saggy skin,its not fat if skin stretches too fat and you dont have enough elasticity it can tear(causing stretch marks) or it can just be stretched out(sort of like a shirt with a stretched out neck) too far and there is no bouncing back. its not fat.
as for lowering body fat its not going to matter if you have a lot of loose excess skin and all the healthy foods and workouts in the world is not going to help with loose skin. a person can get down to a very low percent of body fat and still have a lot of loose skin. losing weight fast can be the cause but not always the case. There is a difference between loose skin and squishy fat.if its fat it eventually comes off (some small percent made need lipo or something along those lines) if its loose skin and hasnt bounced back then surgery will be needed to remove it if the person wants to go that route.because it wont bounce back. genetics,age,etc all play a part too2 -
I lost over 100 lbs in 6 years and I still have loose and wrinkled skin 2 years later.I'm 64 and since I'm not a model by any means it no longer bothers me.1
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I want to accept this part of my journey, but it’s hard.
I thought a thread of photos might encourage others, but it’s just not pretty. 😣😛
I’m just entering maintenance/recomposition. I’m interested to see what 2 years does.
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I think, to my mind, the bottom line is that if you have lost a large amount of weight (100 lbs +), what you have left when you reach a healthy BMI may well be a combination of actual loose skin and "stubborn" subcutaneous fat, but in my own experience it's unevenly distributed such that most of your body will be extremely lean, even gaunt, and you'll still have these big rolls of skin hanging off. So, yeah, theoretically you could continue to starve yourself down until you're Holocaust-survivor-esque and maybe there'd then be a small enough amount of residual fat left inside the rolls that maybe it would stand a chance to shrink significantly, but, um... I suppose some people are up for that, but I'm sure not and I don't think it's a reasonable suggestion for most people who have lost massive amounts of weight.
I'm at a good place weight-wise, some parts of me are even leaner than I would like (my neck is kinda scary looking, I think!), but as I head into maintenance the reality is that I still have rolls of skin/fat hanging off my ribs, apron belly, upper arms, and inner thighs and have no doubt gravity is going to keep them from shrinking very much ever. Either I'll just live with them, or I'll get them surgically removed. Not sure just now which way it will go. But I've got to admit I find the whole "if you just keep going until you've got no body fat left at all your skin will shrink!" advice more annoying than anything. Might be true for very young people who have not had to lose very much weight at all, but for a middle-aged woman whose lost 150-ish... yeah, nope, not for me.9 -
@sgriska That’s what I’m running into right now. Parts of me are starting to look gaunt, I’m dropping in performance, and my energy levels are low. It’s time to stop trying to lose the loose skin (et al).2
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I think, to my mind, the bottom line is that if you have lost a large amount of weight (100 lbs +), what you have left when you reach a healthy BMI may well be a combination of actual loose skin and "stubborn" subcutaneous fat, but in my own experience it's unevenly distributed such that most of your body will be extremely lean, even gaunt, and you'll still have these big rolls of skin hanging off. So, yeah, theoretically you could continue to starve yourself down until you're Holocaust-survivor-esque and maybe there'd then be a small enough amount of residual fat left inside the rolls that maybe it would stand a chance to shrink significantly, but, um... I suppose some people are up for that, but I'm sure not and I don't think it's a reasonable suggestion for most people who have lost massive amounts of weight.
I'm at a good place weight-wise, some parts of me are even leaner than I would like (my neck is kinda scary looking, I think!), but as I head into maintenance the reality is that I still have rolls of skin/fat hanging off my ribs, apron belly, upper arms, and inner thighs and have no doubt gravity is going to keep them from shrinking very much ever. Either I'll just live with them, or I'll get them surgically removed. Not sure just now which way it will go. But I've got to admit I find the whole "if you just keep going until you've got no body fat left at all your skin will shrink!" advice more annoying than anything. Might be true for very young people who have not had to lose very much weight at all, but for a middle-aged woman whose lost 150-ish... yeah, nope, not for me.
If that's what I seem to be advising, then I'm failing to communicate what I intend (something that happens way more than I'd like, despite my efforts
).
I mention the subcutaneous fat issue because sometimes people think, part way to goal, that they're looking at loose skin, when it's more than that. (Some of us look worse at "part way" than at goal, let alone long after.) Appearance can change on the way to goal, and at goal. The actual (thin) loose skin may have a decent chance to shrink more after goal weight; IME, the other parts not so much.
I want to be saying that people should stop losing at a healthy goal weight, not madly pursue losing every last pocket or pouch of fat, which would be grossly unhealthy.
I didn't do that "lose every fat flap" thing myself. I have fat on my inner thighs and abdomen that keeps things stretched out, even at goal weight. I had more locations with that sort of thing part way to goal, and it looked worse. I stopped when I got to a rational overall goal weight, considering all factors (pretty much none of which, in my case, have to do with appearance). At goal, my abdomen and thighs, but especially my rear, had very noticeable droopy thin wrinkles of skin, too. Over 2 years, those shrank pretty well, even at age 59-60 (I may have good genetics; no way to know . . . but it's possible this can happen for others).
Once at a healthy goal, there are a couple of possible options for further progress (not necessarily perfection).
One is the long, slow process of recomposition, which adds muscle mass, and ever so slowly continues to shrink body fat, while staying at the same weight. There are examples of people here who achieved further improvement (again, not necessarily perfection) that way. (Some of them have lost very substantial amounts of weight.)
The other option is surgery, something I would not do myself in my personal case, but it's the best answer for some, certainly those with medical complications from the excess skin, but even for aesthetic reasons. There are also examples of people here who've achieved further improvement (still not perfection, typically) via that route. Some of them have also lost very substantial amounts of weight.
(There's also the "bulk and cut" option; but I think that's less likely to help in this kind of scenario, and I haven't seen as many good examples of large weight loss + bulk/cut. They may exist: Dunno.)
I still think it's important to tell people how to assess their personal situation: Thin wrinkles, good chance of shrinking; thicker wrinkles, not as good odds. I don't intend that to be an exhortation to lose body fat to an unhealthy or extreme state. That would be wrong.6 -
AnnPT77, I’m sorry. I was speaking from frustration at hearing that advice bandied about pretty much every time “it’s not really loose skin!” comes up on the internet, not in specific response to your post. But I’m glad you elaborated and explained because this is all good and I agree. Certainly, my skin looks a lot better at this point than it did halfway through, and I’m actually pleasantly surprised it’s not in a lot worse shape than it is. Yeah, it sags, but it’s not truly redundant, no problems with hygiene or skin breakdown or anything like that you often hear about. So it is really important to stick with it and see where things land when all is said and done.4
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AnnPT77, I’m sorry. I was speaking from frustration at hearing that advice bandied about pretty much every time “it’s not really loose skin!” comes up on the internet, not in specific response to your post. But I’m glad you elaborated and explained because this is all good and I agree. Certainly, my skin looks a lot better at this point than it did halfway through, and I’m actually pleasantly surprised it’s not in a lot worse shape than it is. Yeah, it sags, but it’s not truly redundant, no problems with hygiene or skin breakdown or anything like that you often hear about. So it is really important to stick with it and see where things land when all is said and done.
I appreciate your initial comment (and this second one, as well). I do post about this issue on various threads (I think people earlier in the process tend to catastrophize beyond probable reality about loose skin, too often).
Your comment has helped me understand that I need to be really, really clear that "ultimate extreme weight loss" is not the answer, and not a healthy goal. Rather, it's about knowing about the time horizons for change, and about how to assess one's personal situation semi-objectively as one moves through the process. In my very strong personal opinion, health should always be the core and guiding goal, even when aesthetics are in the picture for some people.
Thanks! :flowerforyou:4
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