Loose Skin- the real deal

pmumble

OP, thank you so much for your brutal honesty and exhibition. I grew up obese (6'3" 265lbs) and have been down to 165lbs and have the problem as well (though not as bad). In all my searching on the internet I don't think I've come across a thread as open and honest about this issue as this one.

Thanks again.

dumparump

Trying to figure out where you get your source regarding skin. I've not read studied or known the skin to "detach" from the muscle. O.o the fascia under the skin i suppose could tear away (anything is possible) but certainly it does heal with time and care. The elasticity comes from the collagen in the skin which is mostly genetic but again not entirely out of your control. This is just food for thought as a massage therapist. I commend your bravery and honesty.

CrusaderSam

That is a close up of my arm pit. See that eye lash of skin hanging off my triceps. Lets say when you pull the skin away from your muscle to see what your body fat is with a caliper, normal skin will snap back. Not that flap, it just hangs there and never snaps back on to the muscle. Looking at the fat pic, I think the skin had already pulled away I just didn't know at the time.

greenmonstergirl

Awesome post and what an OUTSTANDING job you've done! Thank you so much for sharing this. I especially like your strong, positive attitude about having the extra skin. I am someone that is struggling with the idea of excess skin and there aren't many people who share their stories about it. I've even sought out a cosmetic surgeon once, but I can't fork out $25,000 to have the surgery. Your post helped make me feel better about myself and the extra skin that I will have left when I reach my goal weigh again.

Thanks for being such an inspiration and keep up the awesome work!!! You're definitely an inspiration to me and exactly what I want to achieve.

^ THIS!!!!

I've had 2 friends who are body builders tell me to look into skin surgery but the money and the pain...uggggg After readying your original post (OP) I think I will just keep going with what I am doing and not worry about the loose skin I have. Congrats on your hard work!!! Great job!

waldo56

you're still young and maybe in another few years it will look much better

I'd love to see some photos of anyone who was overweight for that long and lost that much, even slowly, who ended up with minimal loose skin and an almost flat belly (without surgery). To me, that seems as realistic as the tooth fairy. I'm not saying that to be snarky, that's just the best way I can put it!

So...anyone?
As the OP said: post up some before and after pics or it didn't happen

<- Not that long (was skinny fat before slowly becoming fat, was obese for a little more than 5 years), and not quite that much weight, but my avi has about 90 lbs less fat that when I started.

However I lost 75 lbs then bulked, cut, bulked, and cut before my avi shot was taken, gaining 15 lbs of muscle and losing an additional 15 lbs fat during the bulk-cut cycles.

I have zero loose skin now, but I definitely had the deflated balloon look going on after my initial 75 lb loss.

The first 2 months bulking had an amazing effect on the loose skin that I had (I wasn't terribly lean at the time either, about 20%). Being in a sustained high protein calorie surplus made a huge difference. It isn't just good for growing muscle, all body processes that require growth and repair are supercharged.

Got any pics of when you started the bulk and when you got done with the first one?

This is about the best I've got, started in June, ended in Oct, cut until Christmas:



The loose skin I had never really showed up photographically in a front on shot like this (there was always enough fat that you could never really tell unless I moved certain ways), and I never had it in the arms/chest, but bending over far I had a large pooch hanging down (crazy looking because it sucked in near the body), and sitting/in normal clothes or bending a little I had a pancake flat roll right around the belt line that stuck out a good bit (different than the little roll that everyone, no matter how lean, has when sitting, it was a lot larger and flatter). I always take progress photos the best I can and try to hide flaws, taking shots of the loose skin was not something I was interested in.

It probably helped loose skin-wise in the arms/chest that I was pathetically muscle-free in the upper body even when fat, so it didn't take up a lot of extra space under the fat. The upper body has a lot of growth capacity; I've put on >5" in the chest, >2" in the arms.

Edit, if you look real close you can see the final hints of it in this picture, which was taken a year after I finished my initial weight loss, after 2 bulk cycles (was midway through the cut after the 2nd, had already lost all the bulking fat, but was looking to get a lot leaner than I had been). It was A LOT worse than this after I finished losing.

waldo56

Edit, double post

SapiensPisces

Thank you for posting this.

I've got loose skin issue as well even after just 60 lbs lost. It makes me really self conscious.

Escloflowne

Great work, and I like the confidence to post this!

Momf3boys

You look awesome and congrats on the incredible results. I know what you are going through. Between 2007 and 2008 I lost 130 pounds. I had lots of sagging skin. In 2009 I had it removed. It was by far the absolute best thing that I have ever done. However, in 2012 I got pregnant (never thought I was going to have any more children) and I gained weight. So, now I'm working to get it off but I must say....when I got the skin removed I have never in my entire life felt better than I did at that time. If I had to do it all over again, I most certainly would.

Your progress is amazing and you should be very proud of yourself!

42nFab

what's your height? how quickly did you lose the weight? how long were you obese? etc.

5'11", lost about 1% body weight a week and was obese ever since the 4th grade, so a very long time.

so you lost it all in a year or less and you had stretched out skin for ~20 years?

those are two big factors everyone points to regarding the odds of having loose skin.

you're still young and maybe in another few years it will look much better, but did you talk to anybody about skin reduction surgery? if so, what did they have to say after examining you? did they suggest you give it a couple more years?

I have to say WOW!!!! So inspiring!!
I had gained a lot of weight after having my 2 kids and had so much loose skin that I had a tummy tuck and breast reduction. I used to duct tape my belly and breasts when I went jogging from the pain of the sensitive skin bouncing around.

The surgery was The BEST thing I ever did. It changed my life. My only issue was why I hadn't done it sooner.
That was in 2003. Since the tummy tuck I have went up and down 20 pounds. The skins stays taught and you can bounce a quarter off of my stomach at any time.....but the weight finds another home....aka my back. I still wouldn't change it for the world.

A client of mine recently lost 158 pounds in 1 year and had the skin reduction surgery 2days ago. I'm sure she will be happy with it.
Regardless.....losing so much weight leaves a lot of us with the skin issue. You still look absolutely amazing and you should bask in all of your hard work! Congratulations!!

mgorham13

Dude you are the man. Single digit % body fat wow. That is maximum effort and just a tremendous weight loss. It seems that you have mentally accepted the probably only real consequence of your success and that's great because now you can just let it be.

I once contemplated Skin removal surgery in the future once I was at 15% BF and maintained for 18 months. That was the plan...until I saw cyberEds sugery pics on his blog. (www.gettingfit4life.com). Drains attached to the body, scars, being out of commission and you still don't look like a beach body. I said to myself what's the point then? (Ed was over 500 and I think it was a must for him due to reasons other than cosmetics)

I will never be able to proudly take my shirt off at the beach or pool, no biggie I haven't done then since birth! At 80-90 lbs lost I have a very loose belly, chest and arms with about 75lbs to lose still but a good Nike pro combat compression shirt keeps me snug as bug in a rug.

Thank you so much for sharing, you look great in a tank top and that's all I want. My wife dated me at 400lbs you think she cares if I have loose skin? She cares about having a husband and father around for years to come.

ajanmillie

You look great regardless of the skin. You have done an amazing job. I lost 140+ and have loos skin and it gave me issues, but because of your post, I am going to show my progress. I want people to see the skin actually needs to be surgically removed but life will still go on. I would rather be this size and this level of health with my loose skin than obese and unable to walk or move.

CC_Maam

Great job!

I'm not looking forward to dealing with excess skin so my plan has been to lose weight steadily and slowly. At my highest I was over 280 and a size 24w. In the last year I have missed 7 days of exercising and have gone from 24w, 22w, 20w, 18w, 16w, 16 to 14(same brand and style of jeans) and the scale is hovering at 223. It will be one year the third week of March.

My plan for this year is to lose 50-70 more pounds though the pounds are not what I'm really seeking as I know that muscle weighs more than fat I'm looking for single digit deflation if possible. I'd like to see a size 8 but a 10 would make me way happy. The last time I saw a size 8 was nearly 32 years ago before my 4th child. So while I'm not there yet I can say it isn't to late to get in shape for your health with the side benefit of being able to shop anywhere!

Off for my first session with my coach at the YMCA. I'm so excited!

BrittNelson86

You did an amazing transformation. Great job on the weight loss. Ultimately, your heart, and blood vessels, lungs, kidneys, etc. are thanking you for losing the extra weight. I think too many people are focused on the outside looks and forget that losing weight and getting fit is for us on the inside too. I am sure you feel more confident because of the mental challenge of losing weight and how you overcame that. I think you are inspirational, as I know losing just 5 or 10 lbs can be hard. I am trying to lose at least 70 up to 100lbs. After having 4 kids, including a set of twins and 2 c-sections and being 5'2", I know I will have loose skin, but what I want most is a long, active healthy life where I don't get out of breath just climbing stairs. Keep up the good work.

2stepscloser

Thank you for this post. Excellent job on the weight loss and transformation! For the longest time the fear of loose skin kept me from wanting to lose the weight. I have loose skin and will have so much more when I get to goal. It's about getting healthy from the inside out.

Dottie27

Great attitude and perspective! All of your hard work gave you a healthy body and the daily benefits that go with it. You are an inspiration!

Mols86

Skin gets stretched out, it's not really like it's "not attached" to the muscle anymore. Usually the loose skin is more prominent in large weight loss, fast weight loss, or people who are older (less elasticity).

snrobert

Thats amazing.. I have lost almost 84 lbs and have 16 more to go until I reach my goal and I was hoping that the loose skin would go away with the rest of the weight loss but I will soon have to come to the realization that the loose skin is not as important. Its all about living a healthier lifestyle for the future. You are a true inspiration. It takes a lot to stick to healthy eating habits. Congrats. You have done amazing.

invisibubble

I feel you. I have a skin suit myself. I find it amusing sometimes, depressing others. Still, you look amazing!

Mgregory723

CONGRATS, YOU LOOK AMAZING!! :drinker:

As everyone else has already said, thank you posting! This has been a huge fear of mine and has held me back from really trying to lose the extra 150 lbs that is on my body. I am going to push harder and if I look half as good as you do, I'll be very happy!