You lost 100+ lbs w diet exercise & then need skin removal?

lmhbuss

I've lost 89 lbs so far and don't really have tooooo much excess skin, but I figure that if I have the grit to accomplish 89+ lbs of weight loss and maintain it...I totally have what it takes to save up for a skin reduction surgery IF I decide that I really want one.

anewlife1980

I lost weight through the normal diet/exercise and have a lot of excess skin. Belly, upper arms, and inner thighs mainly like another PP said. But I have overall loose skin everywhere unfortunately, even though I have a lot of muscle in my arms, shoulders and thighs. The excess would definitely have to be removed via surgery. It's unfortunate because the excess skin, for me personally, I feel doesn't reflect the true weight I've lost and true results I've achieved.

I feel the same way. I've lost 105lbs in the past yr without surgery & I still find it hard to get clothes because you can see it all bunched up under my clothes! I feel like I still need to hide. Swimsuit shopping was HORRIBLE, all of the skin pushed up & came out any openings in the suit, I nearly cried in the fitting room. When I see pics all I see is the bulges of hanging skin under my clothes. My stomach & around my bra line is the worst. My arms too but I can get over that. The skin on my stomach is heavy too, so while I have 40lbs to reach my goal, its prob less then that if the skin was gone. I have a consult with plastics in 2wks but insurance won't cover it so I won't be able to afford it.

WaterBunnie

I've lost over 100 and still have a way to go yet but will stop at the point where I feel I can cope with what I'm left with. I'm fit-fat now, have a lot of muscle tone below the fat from a varied exercise regime but yes I do have loose skin, but is it really any worse than the intensive scarring would be from skin removal surgery? We're never going to be able to completely erase our pasts. Might be better to accept we'll look better in clothes than out of them once done and be happy with that?


.

willdob3

I've lost over 100 lbs the old-fashioned way - by diet & exercise. I will definitely need skin removal surgery. Whether I'll get it remains to be seen; I'm still losing.

It does not really have to do with weight loss surgery vs natural methods. It has to do with many other things like genes, skin elasticity, how big one was & for how long, age, etc. The suggestion is that weight loss surgery causes loose skin because of extremely fast weight loss but even slow & steady weight loss tends to result in loose skin if you lose enough fat. Those who are young & not overweight for that long are less likely to end up with loose skin.

Loose skin is much, much better than tight, stretched skin filled with excess fat.

_Zardoz_

I've lost 139 pounds via diet and exercise and yes I have a wee bit of loose skin but nothing drastic. It can take up to two years for your skin to retract anyway I have another couple of stone to go but even with that I won't need surgery and I'm pretty confident that it'll retract quite a lot more. Most of it's down to genetics and it's almost impossible to predict how much if any loose skin you'll get. The myth about the speed you lose weight affecting the amount you have is that a myth all it means if you lose it slower is you wont notice it as much as your giveing your skin more time to retract through the weightloss. The comparison I always give is a balloon it doesn't matter how fast you let the air out the saggy balloon is still the same at the end.

A wee bit of loose skin is preferable to the health problems and shorter life span being 100 pounds over weight will cause IMO.

lots2lose51

Hi everyone i read a post here saying to prevent saggy skin eat foods rich in ingredients to let your body produce as much collagen as it can. This is really all yo can do to make things better. so a collagen producing rich foods i am looking for now!

chargraves

I lost over 100 lbs in my 40s and the last 130ish lbs in the past 18 months (now in my 50s) through diet and exercise and I have 35 – 45 lbs left to lose. My upper arms are the worst closely followed by the amount of loose skin on my thighs. My stomach is not too bad so far but it is also the last place I seem to be losing. With the amount of weight that I had to lose (250+) loose skin was going to be a problem even if I had been smart enough to lose it earlier in life.

I did cardio from almost day 1 and started light weights with multiple reps a few weeks later. My muscle tone is really good but the loose hanging skin is not pretty. I’ll never say never but at this point I am not considering skin removal surgery. Maybe I have watched too many shows like “My 600 lb life” where some of the patients sail through their bypass surgery but develop some sort of complication from skin removal surgery that keeps them in the hospital for weeks or months. I am sure that this is not typical but if the skin doesn’t cause me any medical issues, I plan to cover it up and keep enjoying my new life!

Edited to add that I had been heavy my entire life which was another strike against my skin's ability to rebound.

Froody2

I'm almost 52. I do have some loose skin, but it's not as much as I thought it would be. Do I jiggle a little? Yes! It's still better than being morbidly obese though. What I have learned is that I should have started in the weight room at the gym when I started to lose. The consensus seems to be lifting weights is the best way to help with the loose skin.

But it's not true... I'm the living proof of that. It's genetics.

Absolutely agree that it's not true. And it doesn't tighten up over time, either. My genetic inheritance sucks in terms of saggy skin




.

Pamelicious1988

I have a masseuse come in every two weeks and do deep-tissue work on my whole body, for stress and mild arthritis. I got her to switch from using almond oil to coconut oil, which is reputed to help tone the skin. She even massages my stomach (love that abbreviation, FUPA = fat upper pelvic area), and she says that will help, and that my skin will tighten up well with gradual weight loss. I do have good genes, but still, I'm 55 and it would be great not to sag. In the end, like other posters here, I'll take some saggy skin any day over the 100+ extra pounds I've been lugging around for most of my adult life.

SharonNehring

This varies from insurance to insurance, but if you can demonstrate the loose skin is causing issues other than cosmetic, your insurance may well pay for it. Typically, it's fungal rashes/ infections in the skin folds that are not controlled with topical treatment.

But you must go to the doctor and have it documented multiple times in your records to prove it's a long standing problem and what treatments have been tried. I see many patients who have their tummy tuck covered by insurance and pay out of pocket for the additional costs to do their arms or thighs at the same time. It's much cheaper than doing separate surgeries.

SapiensPisces

It varies, as you can tell, depending on your genetics and age.

I do have some loose skin on my belly from weight loss and pregnancy and on my inner thighs and underarms from weight loss.

That being said, I'll take a little saggy skin over being obese any day. No body is perfect, but being healthy and fit is worth it.