The thought TERRIFIES me!

sthomse5

Hey everyone, I have just started losing my 80 extra pounds and feel like I am doing a great job of keeping myself motivated and seeing the big picture. However, I have this almost debilitating fear of ending up with excess skin...I know it is slightly unrealistic, but I keep asking myself, why go through all this trouble if I may end up hating my body even more in the end?! I am 23 so I'm hoping that will help a lot. I guess its more the thought of not knowing what to expect that has me freaking out so much. If anyone has any advice or anything to say that could help, I am all ears!!! I know I cant be the only one that feels this way....

Captain_Tightpants

You're only 23 so your skin elasticity should be more than capable of handling it. The elasticity only deteriorates with age.

Check out the success stories board and look at all those happy young folks with no excess skin.

shyandemily

Try to not be in a huge rush to lose it. I know the faster it comes off the more you increase your chances of excess skin. I will tell you this. I have excess skin from my pregnancy and probably a little more from the weight loss. No, I'm not too fond of the extra skin, but I love my body soooooooo much more being skinny extra skin and all.

NYCDutchess

Weight train as well. It helps a lot.

sarah44254

great comments here

hydration
weight training
patience

you are ok to lose 2 lbs a week, and if you try for even less your body will have more time to adjust to what is going on

but really, holy crap weight training is awesome

Christine1110

Drink lots of water...and lose slowly & I bet you will be fine. I have lost 75 and I'm 50 now, and really havent done to bad.

kimdembrosky

Don't worry!! You are young, and your skin will eventually shrink back down. It will probably adjust slower than your weight loss, so expect it. If you get to your goal weight and it's so loose that it really bothers you, you can always get a tummy-tuck to smooth everything out. But you probably won't need one.

jazzie2421

I had gastric bypass and dropped 145lbs in a year. I have some excess skin but it's not disgusting. I'm really the only one who ever notices it. Its also slowly catching up to my new size. If you're only dropping 80lbs, you'll be just fine. Relax. Its ok.

amyy902

80lbs thats like 37 kgs i think. in my experience working with people that have lost weight within this ball park they dont tent to be left with excess skin. only 1 lady was and even that was very little and she was 60. so long as you do a mixture of cardio and resistance it should offset it. im 99.9% sure you will not hate your body!

gomisskellygo

I completely understand. However, I really don't think there is anything you can really do to prevent it/cause it. It may or may not happen. There is no to know. I would lose weight slowly, weight train, and understand that you are doing this for your health first and foremost. When I had my first baby, I gained 55 pounds. After he was born and I worked out, my stomach looked better than it ever had. This time, I have the same weight to lose but I am 10 years older, so who knows! It's kinda like stretchmarks, use the lotion, but I don't think it really helps. You get them or you don't.

Just remember, take care of yourself and don't let this fear derail you.

lwoods34

Hey everyone, I have just started losing my 80 extra pounds and feel like I am doing a great job of keeping myself motivated and seeing the big picture. However, I have this almost debilitating fear of ending up with excess skin...I know it is slightly unrealistic, but I keep asking myself, why go through all this trouble if I may end up hating my body even more in the end?! I am 23 so I'm hoping that will help a lot. I guess its more the thought of not knowing what to expect that has me freaking out so much. If anyone has any advice or anything to say that could help, I am all ears!!! I know I cant be the only one that feels this way....

I hear your concerns...thats why its going to be very important for you NOT lose weight TOO quickly. If you lose weight too quickly you will also be losing lean muscle mass. 1-2 lbs per week is good rate of weight loss. Even 1/2 to 1 lb per week is great. When people have a lot of weight to lose they just focus ONLY on cardio. You want to make sure that you are doing strength training as well. That way you are keeping your lean muscle which will help you lose the body fat. When people have excess skin from major weight loss it is because they only did cardio. You want to make sure you are doing BOTH!

Hope that helps.

sthomse5

Thanks so much everyone! I definitely am not trying to lose too quickly, mostly because I know you are more likely to keep the weight off if it's lost at a slow rate. I will definitely be looking into starting weight training asap!!!