Should I expect saggy skin??

agdeierl
agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
edited September 21 in Health and Weight Loss
Okay, I'm not overweight, but I'm chubby, and I'm planning on losing 10-20 more lbs. (I've lost 5 so far)...so my question is, should I expect my skin to be saggy once I've lost that weight? I don't know how much weight you have to lose before that happens...clueless.

Replies

  • Beebee78
    Beebee78 Posts: 703
    I think age and genes have a lot to do with it but losing 10-20lbs isn't likely to cause loose skin xxx
  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    If you are circuit training and or weight training during your weight loss then you should be fine. If you do it the right way you should be fine
  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
    I have lost 20 lbs ( I too was thick/chubby/whatever you want to call it ) and no saggy skin!! I think thats like when you lose ALOT. If you are worried about it, make sure to add strength training. I think that will help :)
  • sallyLunn
    sallyLunn Posts: 381
    If you stick with loosing a pound a week you might have a temporary sag, but it should tighten right back up.
  • I can almost definitely tell you NO. In the past I went from 160 to 135 and my body looked fabulous!!!
  • IngeS18
    IngeS18 Posts: 36
    Like everyone else is saying: I don;t think saggy skin will be a problem. But if you want to be absolutely sure, get some exercise =)
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    If you stick with loosing a pound a week you might have a temporary sag, but it should tighten right back up.

    Well...that's something else I'm concerned with. I've only been doing MFP for 3 weeks, and I know that at first, the weight comes off quickly. But I'm worried it's coming off too quickly and that that means saggy skin/or that I'll gain it all back immediately. The first week I lost 3.8 pounds...the second week, I ate a big dinner celebrating my birthday with my family and didn't work out to cancel it out, so that week I actually gained exactly 1 pound. then this past week even though i went over my calorie allowance several days still celebrating my birthdya, i worked out a lot and drank tons of water, and lost 2.4 pounds. So i've lost 5.2 pounds in 3 weeks, and i'm worried that's too fast, not healthy.
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    I forgot to mention that I set up my goals to lose 1 pound a week because I know that's what's healthiest/recommended.
  • 00trayn
    00trayn Posts: 1,849 Member
    Saggy skin isn't really an issue if you're younger and losing smaller amounts of weight. I've lost 55 lbs so far and even my skin is snapping back into place. I'm at 160 right now, so I can't say for sure what I'll look like in 20 pounds, but with the amount of weight you want to lose I'd be shocked if you had saggy skin. If you want to do what you can to be sure, moisturize after you shower and make sure to throw some strength training in. My worst area for saggy skin (what I do notice) is my underarms and 3 months of strength training has made SUCH a huge difference. At this rate, I won't have any problems when I'm done losing weight because of it.
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
    No. Just like everyone said, you look young in your picture and 10-20 lbs isn't too large a number. I've been lifting weights & doing cardio, watching my diet since January and have lost 22 lbs and don't have that problem at all and have 18 more to go. :happy:
  • When I lost the weight I mentioned earlier, I lost a majority of it in three months and had no problems.
  • thisischristine
    thisischristine Posts: 7 Member
    Keep well hydrated. Lots of water helps the skin retain elasticity. I think you are going to be fine with 20lbs or less.
  • LuckyLeprechaun
    LuckyLeprechaun Posts: 6,296 Member
    it does go quickly at first, and the 1 lb you "gained" after celebrating your bday was probably due to sodium/water retention than actual weight gain. You'd have to eat a massive meal to gain a whole pound from it.

    You won't be saggy, and the first ten will be much quicker than the last, so enjy the fast progress while it lasts, and keep you chin up for when it slows down. :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    Okay, thanks, guys! I feel more informed now. I am SO not looking forward to those last ten being as hard as everyone is telling me. :noway: I don't know if I have enough determination in me to keep going if it's going to get as hard as you say.
  • MLgarcia3
    MLgarcia3 Posts: 503
    the last 10 won't be a problem if you just stick to your calorie and exercise goal, so don't worry about it! you can do it :-)
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    the last 10 won't be a problem if you just stick to your calorie and exercise goal, so don't worry about it! you can do it :-)

    Thanks! I sure hope so! :wink:
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    Skin elasticity is purely genetic. I know people say water or how fast you lose but it's really about genetics. If your skin stretches without stretch marks then you should be fine but once you break the skin it is hard for it to tighten back up because the skin has broken and stretched to accomodate the fat under the skin. I will admit that if you build up enough muscle where the fat once was that it wont look as saggy or may tighten around the muscle but sometimes the fat you lost physically takes up more room then the muscle you may gain to replace that area of lost fat.

    Fat is larger in volume. Muscle is denser but takes up less volume.
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    Skin elasticity is purely genetic. I know people say water or how fast you lose but it's really about genetics. If your skin stretches without stretch marks then you should be fine but once you break the skin it is hard for it to tighten back up because the skin has broken and stretched to accomodate the fat under the skin. I will admit that if you build up enough muscle where the fat once was that it wont look as saggy or may tighten around the muscle but sometimes the fat you lost physically takes up more room then the muscle you may gain to replace that area of lost fat.

    Fat is larger in volume. Muscle is denser but takes up less volume.

    Well, I definitely have stretch marks. I started getting them when I was 14 or so. I was 100 lbs and went through a growth spurt but was still tiny after. It was more like I was going through puberty and all of a sudden my butt got rounder, my hips and thighs widened. Obviously, they've faded since then. (I'm 23 now.) So you're telling me that because I got stretch marks during puberty, it's likely I'll have saggy skin if I lose 10-20 lbs.?
  • JDMPWR
    JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
    think of skin like this. Have you ever pulled a rubber band to the point where the rubber actually stretches and stays stretched? Well with enough fat or muscle under your skin that will cause stretch marks the more the skins tear. Some peoples skin stretches without stretch marks do to elasticity some skin just reached a point and tears.

    So the longer the skin is torn(stretch marks) with the combination of how much fat or muscle has grown under there applying force to the skin will be the deciding factor as to how much the skin will rebound(tighten back up) if at all.

    The one thing I WISH they would do on the tv show The Biggest Loser is to actually show how everyone looks at the end of the show post weight loss. Some have tons of extra skin and some have little to none. The ones with little to none had the least amount of stretch marks during the show and the ones with the most amount of loose skin are the ones with the most fat lost and the most amount of stretch marks.

    Hope this helps.
  • agdeierl
    agdeierl Posts: 378 Member
    think of skin like this. Have you ever pulled a rubber band to the point where the rubber actually stretches and stays stretched? Well with enough fat or muscle under your skin that will cause stretch marks the more the skins tear. Some peoples skin stretches without stretch marks do to elasticity some skin just reached a point and tears.

    So the longer the skin is torn(stretch marks) with the combination of how much fat or muscle has grown under there applying force to the skin will be the deciding factor as to how much the skin will rebound(tighten back up) if at all.

    The one thing I WISH they would do on the tv show The Biggest Loser is to actually show how everyone looks at the end of the show post weight loss. Some have tons of extra skin and some have little to none. The ones with little to none had the least amount of stretch marks during the show and the ones with the most amount of loose skin are the ones with the most fat lost and the most amount of stretch marks.

    Hope this helps.

    Ok, thanks. This makes me sad, because I am not even overweight now! Makes me wonder if I should just stay looking chubby...saggy skin sounds worse than a slightly flabby tummy. But at least I'm informed now. thanks for the info.
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