Can you tighten skin and tone up (build muscle) once you've reached your goal weight?

stegeem

Not sure if my skin will snap back, I'm 34 and have had a big belly since i was 5 years old. However, I have lost 20kg and haven't got any loose skin yet, so maybe I'm one of the lucky ones? (it happened very slowly)

AnnPT77

How much more do you have to lose?

Loose skin doesn't show up early in loss, IME. The fat areas get a bit more squishy first. Then later there are floppy/hangy folds for those who had quite a bit to lose. Eventually, most of the fat depletes from a given area, and the loose skin becomes thin wrinkles, like in a medium weight fabric. (Folds of a half inch or more still have fat conspiring with gravity to keep skin stretched.) It's the thin wrinkles that can start to shrink, and that in itself takes time.

Many of us look worse part way through loss than at goal, and worse at goal than a few months down the road in maintenance. I did.

True loose skin (the thin wrinkles) is likely to shrink on its own, as much as it will. Genetics matter, and likely age does, too. That's the hand we're dealt, and it's unpredictable and pretty much unchangeable.

Beyond that, skin is an organ. The things that keep other organs healthy will also tend to keep skin healthy, which means elastic and more willing to adjust. These include:

* avoiding fast loss (because it's a physical stress to lose fast),
* getting good well-rounded nutrition (macros and micros, especially but not exclusively protein),
* getting regular exercise (both cardiovascular and strength),
* managing all-source life stress,
* hydrating adequately (not crazy much, but enough),
* avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol,
* getting adequate sleep,
* specific to skin, also avoiding tanning.

Just my experience/opinions, though. My loose skin kept shrinking at least into year 2 of maintenance. It may've continued longer, but it was hard to tell because the rate of shrinkage slowed as time went on. I lost weight at 59-60, almost 1/3 of my body weight. I don't feel like I look dramatically different now (7+ years at a healthy weight later) compared to other women my age (68) who never were fat. There are some small indications if a person knew what to look for, but it isn't terrible.

I don't think there's a way to predict what will happen for you, unfortunately. I think it's something we discover by experience.

stegeem

@AnnPT77 I want to lose at least another 35kg

AnnPT77

stegeem wrote: »

@AnnPT77 I want to lose at least another 35kg

Early times, then, maybe, for loose skin to start to show up. My advice would be not to let any issues related to that get to you along the way or discourage you from continuing. It may look worse for a while at some point, but if it does, high odds it'll improve as time goes on.

If you take a look at the before/after photo threads over in the Success Stories section, I think you'll see that most people end up in a pretty good place, even after substantial weight loss.

Best wishes!