Loose skin?

cynthiamm67

I've been watching a lot of the shows about us (my 600 lb life, fat doctor) and one of the things I've noticed is that almost everyone needs skin removal during or after weight loss. Is this only for people who lose fast due to bariatric surgery? What do people do who lose weight more slowly? (I'm losing less than 1 lb/week). I'm 47. Will my skin keep up, or do I need to think about saving for a tuck? Ideas?

wennim

I can really only answer one of your questions and that is that no it isn't just people who have weight loss surgery who end up with loose skin. I have been losing 1-2 lbs a week on a good week and I have loose skin on my arms already. I am going to watch this thread and hopefully we get a few more inputs on it but from what I have read it is hit or miss whether or not you will have loose skin. Some people have really good genes and others don't. I have read so many things on how to reduce it but then I read just as many that those things don't work. I don't think I will ever be able to have surgery to remove it due to cost but in my opinion I would rather deal with unsightly skin than carrying around all the extra weight.

julieworley376

I talked to a Doctor about this in my 20's.. I already was going to need a tummy tuck then having had a 12lb baby. It depends on how much elasticity your skin has in it, if you have stretch marks your skin is probably damaged beyond at that point. The younger you are the more elasticity you are likely to have as you lose that as you get older. They do say to wait a while after weight loss because your skin does spring back some, however, I think if you have a lot of weight to lose then loose skin is probably inevitable.

The way I am approaching this is to get the weight off and keep it off first, then look at what surgery I want and how on earth I am going to pay for it. I wish insurance companies covered it for people who have lost large amounts of weight.

TheSatinPumpkin

mine seems to be in the upper thigh, upper arm pit area and waist. I see them as battle scars and its nothing that some clothes can cover.

NoMoreBlameGame

I talked to a Doctor about this in my 20's.. I already was going to need a tummy tuck then having had a 12lb baby. It depends on how much elasticity your skin has in it, if you have stretch marks your skin is probably damaged beyond at that point. The younger you are the more elasticity you are likely to have as you lose that as you get older. They do say to wait a while after weight loss because your skin does spring back some, however, I think if you have a lot of weight to lose then loose skin is probably inevitable.

The way I am approaching this is to get the weight off and keep it off first, then look at what surgery I want and how on earth I am going to pay for it. I wish insurance companies covered it for people who have lost large amounts of weight.

I didn't know this. So if stretch marks are present, that usually means there will be loose skin, and if stretch marks are not present, chances are likely it will bounce back (or at least "hug" your new body better than if stretch marks were there)? IF this is true, it gives me massive amounts of hope. I have zero stretch marks on my lower belly (the biggest part of my body) but I have them everywhere else. I don't mind if I end up with loose skin on my arms or my thighs (won't have surgery regardless of where I get loose skin)....but the thought of having loose skin hanging on my underbelly just really....seriously....severely bothers me greatly. That sounds so silly to me because loose skin is covered by jeans in that area...and right now I have this huge belly overhang over my vajayjay (sorry to be blunt)....and *Surely* loose skin will look better than this atrocious thing...but still...yeh, I'd like my tummy to be free of loose skin when this is all said and done. IF it ever gets said and done. I lost a whopping 1 lb this week. grrrrrr.

persistentsoul

I am not blessed with stretchy skin, My whole body got covered in stretch marks the moment i hit puberty. My middle looks like i must have had many children but i have never been pregnant.
I went from 295lb down to 180lb within 8 or 9 months 5 years ago and was very worried about my skin.
i had a bit of loosness on lower abbdomin, upper arms and upper thighs but nothing scary, I think it would have improved over time and maybe with some toning up. That was in my late 20's. I imagine because i am a little older and stayed bigger for longer this time that it might be a bit worse but time will tell. I aim to save some money up in case i am left with something i would rather have corrected. It was my upper thighs that i was most worried about last time but i am very pear shaped and that is where i carry a lot of wieght. I won't let it put me off shifting the weight but i might choose to remain curvy to an extent rather than say go down to 130lb and have more loose skin but not a problem i will be faced with any time soon i imagine.

QuillensMom

I don't think it would matter if you had surgery as not, as the surgery is just a tool to help people lose. I was 384 and lowest I got was 253 and already was quite flabby even though I worked out. I plan to have surgery once I'm done having kids and get to a healthy weight. I envision it as a motivation because when your skin is very flabby it isn't comfortable and losing 200 pounds I know the loose skin will be very debilitating in certain activities and also have read about others' having rashes and such due to loose skin.

carostad

This one gets me where I live.

First off, we have this completely unrealistic idea that people don't "normally" have loose skin. Guess what, they do. That's why you see so many celebrities getting neck tucks, and face lifts, and "liposuction" or whatever. Our bodies are not always going to be taut 18 year old nubility.

I remember in my 20's, I was overweight, but maybe only about 25 pounds. My stomach was larger than I would like it to be, but it was smooth and taut. Then, I had babies. And, unfortunately, they came by cesarean section. So, those muscles got cut in half and that nice round line from my pubic bone to my belly button got bisected horizontally by a scar. It will always overlap my pubic area. Nothing I can do about it short of surgery. Skinny or not, it's part of me forever. And, it's not just the surgery that did that. I remember noticing about 2 years into my marriage that I had some red squiggly lines on my stomach. I was mortified when I realized that they were stretch marks! All of my own doing. No babies involved yet. Me just gaining too much weight. I still didn't have the "dunlop" yet. (that's what my Dad called it, where you belly dun lop over your belt, lol).

After all the work I do to get skinny, I suppose I could get it "taken care of" but why? It's ME. It's an indication of where I've been, the birth of my babies and a reminder that I don't want to "fill that skin in" ever again. It's already looser than I'd like, but the alternative carries lots of risk. Surgery requires anesthesia, the risk of infection, rejection, bad healing, more scar tissue, and of course, PAIN. Lots and lots of pain. Even more if it doesn't heal properly. All for the aesthetic? No thank you. I've asked an awful lot of my body over the years, and to put my poor body through the stress and risk of surgery for the sake of vanity just doesn't make sense to me.

I know this is a personal choice for everyone and not all people will like what I say. I mean no judgement on anyone else's decision, but surgery is a HUGE undertaking. And, the results are not going to be an 18 year old taut body even under the best of circumstances. I think it's horrifying that our society has inflicted these images on us, that bodies can only look one way (malnourished) to be beautiful. I will proudly wear my sagging skin in defiance of societal expectations.

Look up Brooke Not on a Diet and read about what she went through with Shape Magazine. Pretty awesome, imo.