Loose Skin - My Experience

Jennisin1

I seriously have the same pj bottoms and skin issues........

zezelryck

Great post OP you look fantastic. I have lost 12 stone (168lb) and have some extra skin but it is still shrinking. I know it will never be the way it was when I was 17 but hey I'm 46. The most important thing to me is my health. I can't be there for my loved ones if i can't stand up or get around through being so overweight. No one has ever said to me that I need to put my weight back on to hide the excess but many people have said I look great now. So if anybody is concerned about excess skin and use this as a reason not to lose weight then I can promise you life is so much better in every way at least it is for me. Thanks OP for a great post. :-)

purple180

You look Fabulous and thank you for this!

astroophys

Thanks for the post! I appreciate your honesty!! Though, I'm not sure that being concerned with loose skin automatically coincides with valuing aesthetics over health. I'm a bit concerned with loose skin and am choosing to drink lots of water and moisturize. I don't know if that will make much of a difference but trying won't hurt! I think for most people, it's just a concern, not a priority. We're on MFP, not a dermatology forum, which hints that weight loss/health/fitness are the priorities.

Great post!!

Asherah29

So brave for posting! Thank You!

Valeen2013

I've been researching loose skin, and I read somewhere that it takes up to two years for body recomposition to occur and for your skin organ to adjust to less bulk. I would be very interested to see if people who had a lot of loose skin (tricep flaps, belly) had the loose skin disappear after a while. How long did it take? Does anyone still have loose skin after say, 2-3 years?

I wouldnt mind waiting the two years because (A) I'm cheap and (B) Excess skin removal is major surgery.

Songbirdcw

Thanks so much for sharing this. Very encouraging.

vmckinzey

Great post! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm sure loose skin will be an issue for me, but this extra weight is an even bigger issue. Your post gives me the extra motivation I need to keep going and helps me keep things into perspective.

KrissyRawrz

Thanks a lot for sharing! I'm really scared about loose skin, I've never been a "normal weight" even as a child so I'm scared my body isn't going to take the change well but your pictures make me happy to see! such a difference!

Shereewhitney88

Thank you for the post, you are very inspirational and you look wonderful! :drinker:

Snip8241

This is a wonderful post. Thank you for sharing. I am seeing I will have an apron at the end of this, plus a waddle under my chin. I hope it will go away. If not...oh well. I will be healthy and that's all that counts.

Right now I don't eat all of my exercise calories. I also work out a lot. May be time to rethink this.

Thanks. :flowerforyou:

Samstan101

Thanks for sharing OP and you look fab.

I have some loose skin atm especially on my belly. I was getting loads on my arms but that has shrunk back a bit. I am noticing that some bits shrink back quicker than others or more likely I lost loads of weight fast when I started off places like my arms, face and legs but it was slower to come off my belly and bum. So I had loose skin where I'd lost more weight, that's now tightening up some but I'm now losing off my belly & bum so they're looking saggy. I'm hoping that it'll tighten up over time, especially having seen your success.

Allterrain_Lady

This was very well put. All of this is so true.
It is really hard to accept what seems like new flaws and the response of a very ungrateful body to all the work we've put into the change.
But it does get better. It really does, even though it takes time.
Keep taking pictures, you'll be surprised!

bluebirds5

Thank you for sharing! That is amazing work you have done.

Janet72285

Wonderful post! Very inspiring! I too have concerns about ending up with loose skin. Thank you so much!

KungFuDrafter

This is a fantastic post about the realities of weight loss without surgery. It's so fantastic, in fact, that I am replying! I think this is the first post I have every replied to.

I had lost a large amount of weight in 2013 and since it was the first time in my life that I had ever lost weight I was sort of surprised by the loose skin issue. But I went ahead and kept working at it because I was ok with the loose skin situation. Of course you have to realize that I was also ok with myself before losing 150 pounds, so I guess I have an odd sense of self.

At the beginning of 2014 I was down in weight and actively made the decision to increase my calorie intake and ease back on my routine to stop the weight loss, but try and plateau an my then-current weight. I did that for 6-7 months with no other changes. No wraps, lotions, vitamins, or voodoo was involved. And much to my surprise the skin sort of tool care of itself.

Don't ask me where it went or what it did or why it happened. And don't expect to get me naked and see me as tone as the OP's pic. But things are better than they were. So much so, in fact, that I have returned to my weight-loss routine and started strength training. I hope that the skin will continue to do its vanishing trick and if that doesn't work maybe filling some flap with muscle will help.

Just take things sensibly and do now overlook the good of one situation for the "dissatisfaction" of another. And give your body time to catch up. Hell I spent 38 years building the body of a big fat *kitten* so why would I suddenly have the body of a god after even a year of effort? The moral of the story is that change is change and not magic.

- KFD -

jessiruthica

I'm not really worried about having loose skin, I would rather be healthy above all else. But I have to say, your post made me feel a lot better about my journey Thank you!

All of this ^^^

JennyToy

Well I'm happy to be healthy but I do care about loose skin and I'm not afraid to say it But...your post was VERY inspirational. Thank you! I think honesty like this can really help people with their concerns and maybe get them started when they would otherwise have an excuse not to. You look amazing! Thanks for being brave & sharing with everyone.

Slashnl

Thanks for posting!! I'm so inspired!!!

I'm glad that you mentioned that it bothers you when people worry so much about loose skin. I've felt the same way. I'll take loose skin just to be healthier. I'd so much rather have the skin than all of the weight/fat.

You're awesome and I so much appreciate your words!

HellaCarriefornia

Thank you so much for sharing!