Tummy Skin...

missprincessgina

The only way to permanently remove stretch marks is by a laser. I went and had a consult with a cosmetic surgeon. It takes a few sessions and I haven't decided if I want to have them removed or not. I don't have kids so no comment on the loose stomach skin.

missprincessgina

If I end up going with cosmetic surgery, I'll probably get the laser stretch mark removal as well....might as well deal with all the imperfections at one time.

Cosmetic surgery was the best decision I ever made for myself. I think it is a very personal choice. I know from my experience, I am 100% satisfied with my results. I had breast implants (after losing weight) but haven't made up my mind about having my stretch marks removed yet. Good luck with your decision.

_beautiful_disaster_

honestly, coming from a kids perspective, if my mom didn't complain that she wasn't beautiful or that she thinks shes fat. then I wouldn't be in the place i'm at now. my mom is a single mother of 3, and we live pay check to pay check, she complains all the time that shes not good enough or that she's fat. but i love her for who she is, and as a person, shes my best friend and when I talk to her about my my weight, she gets upset. but i get it from her. and when I become a mom, I want my kids to see my stretch marks, because it makes me who I am! but i'm changing, how would you feel if your daughter or son was in your position and wanting to get surgery? you would say no, you're perfect the way you are. wouldn't you? I mean, you are who you are and only YOU can change that.

GaglianiGirl

I think it depends on how big you were and for how long. I've read that it can take up to 2 or 3 yrs for your skin to settle in it's final position agter losing weight. The older you are, longer you carry the weight, and heavier you are, the less likely it is to bounce back. There is a breaking point, where your skin is too broke down and stretched out to bounce back, but that is different for everyone. Give it time after reaching your goal weight to see if you may need surgery or not. I have look up tips for " helping" it out as much as possible. They included things like, losing weight more slowly, exercise, lots of water, eating certain foods that increase cologen and elastin, such as almonds, not tanning bc that dries out the skin, trying not to be in chloronated water too much, lotions to help with moisture, and fighting gravity by wearing something like spanx... I know I will need surgery on my arms for sure. My arms look like I was 550lbs and lost 300. I have never seen anyone my size with such aweful arms. It makes summer hell. I don't feel pretty no matter how good I'm looking, with rolls of fat hanging out of my sleeves, but I still have hope for my stomach, back and thighs. Good luck!

HulaHips83

honestly, coming from a kids perspective, if my mom didn't complain that she wasn't beautiful or that she thinks shes fat. then I wouldn't be in the place i'm at now. my mom is a single mother of 3, and we live pay check to pay check, she complains all the time that shes not good enough or that she's fat. but i love her for who she is, and as a person, shes my best friend and when I talk to her about my my weight, she gets upset. but i get it from her. and when I become a mom, I want my kids to see my stretch marks, because it makes me who I am! but i'm changing, how would you feel if your daughter or son was in your position and wanting to get surgery? you would say no, you're perfect the way you are. wouldn't you? I mean, you are who you are and only YOU can change that.

Sweetie, while I sympathize with you to a degree, I'm the way I am because of my mother as well. But it's from the other extreme. My mother was always the hot mom. She rocked a bikini better than my friends and I did in high school. She weighed about 95 lbs when I was a teenager, had/has long jet black hair, giant brown eyes, and gorgeous dimples. She is hawaiian and drop dead beautiful. It was always frustrating that the guys I went to school with talked about how hot my mom was. With that said, up until I had kids, I was thin and hot as well, but not 95 lbs. I hovered around the 120 lbs mark. I do not think it hurts kids to want to look good. I also don't see anything wrong with cosmetic surgery if that makes you feel better. I say that if it boosts your self esteem and makes you feel good, then go for it. There's nothing wrong with doing something for yourself. Women all want to feel pretty and sexy. What it takes to feel that way varies from one woman to the next. For me, a hot body is what it takes.

meganlynn0103

Hi ladies,

That has been one of my biggest fears and my reasoning for not losing the weight...didnt want my tummy to sag and look ugly. I am 27 and only have 1 kid. I weigh more now then what i did 9 months prego with her. I started my journey at 257lbs and down to 237.4lbs and the thought is still in the back of my head. Will i be pretty, will i be able to wear a swim suite and look good in it, will my tummy be flat, will i still have 2 big rolls, etc...you never know but i can honestly say that right now i rather have sagy skin then be the fat girl forever. I have been told that if you have enough dairy in your diet it will help with the elasticity of your skin in all areas not just the tummy. But your genetics do play are part. My mom had 7 kids and not matter how much weight she has lost she still has a sagy tummy and a round tummy at that. I am hoping that i have better luck since i have only had 1 baby. A friend of mine had the gastric bypass and she was 280lbs and her skin isnt sagy from what i can tell. she probably needs to tighten it up which she is working on but she still looks dang good. I say if you want the surgery to fix it, then have it but think about it...it wont change who you are and it may not make you feel better about yourself. Be proud of the stretch marks. You have beatiful babies from them. and if you can cover them up with tanning then tan your butt off to hide them just dont go changing yourself to please other people. do it for you.

joybedford

I have this problem too I have lost 24 lbs so not a huge amount compared to some people but have a huge amount of excess skin that just hangs there. I really hate it and at times become a little depressed about it. Mine was caused by pregancy one baby weighing 9lb5 he is now 16 and then twins who were 7lb4 and 7lb now 8. As you can imagine i was huge and the skin stretched a lot. I still have a little weight to lose and am reallly concentrating on toning. Hopefully it will improve I have seen patients after tummy tucks and i have never seen one that looks nice yet plus it is major surgery and we couldn,t afford it anyway. My kids were worth it and my husband loves me and finds me sexy so its fine i suppose.

ericarae33

It will tighten up some, but never go away without sugery, ...I have a couple mom's on my friends list that look amazing however without surgery!! One has 6 children!

sweetNsassy2584

I have one son and I had a c-section. Lose skin sucks *kitten* but its the price we pay for having kids and/or gaining so much weight. My tummy continues to get tighter and tighter. I'm convinced that it wont be 100% tight like it was before I had my son but my tummy looks pretty good. Besides my son was worth it.

Jenjaz1910

I know what you mean I'm only halfway to my goal but I've seen some improvements to my mummy tummy (if you go on my profile and into my threads you should see my mummy tummy thread with pics) x

barefootbridgey

My experience with belly skin is....it doesn't go away. I'm a curvy girl and I plan to stay that way, so even though I'm still in the 180s, my goal weight isn't very far away (175). When I look in the mirror now...40 some pounds down (that's nearly 80 lbs down from pregnancy 4 years ago)...I'm pretty happy with everything. Legs, arms, face, butt...most of it is to my liking, all in all. But my belly...oh, another story. I can see that it is smaller, but the skin has NOT snapped back at all. It hangs. I don't care about the stretch marks...they're there, no biggie. Stretch marks are COMPLETELY cosmetic. Hanging skin is entirely another thing. When you bust your *kitten* to lose weight and tone up and can't seem to make it to that next pants size because of the skin...well, for me, that becomes a mental health thing. LOL. I'm losing weight, in part, to make clothes shopping easier, to be able to wear the things that I like, not just the things that happen to look decent on me. I can do that now to a degree, but I still have a big belly and still (occasionally) get asked if I'm pregnant! It's smaller now and it does look better, but not "better enough". I'm not a perfectionist and don't expect a perfect body, but for me, Id like my stomach to match the rest...by which I mean, be curvy (I'm not 17 anymore, of course), but mostly proportional...so, at 175, I expect a bit of a belly...I don't want the hangy skin that keeps me from jeans, dresses and shirts I love!!! Surgery is for me....I wish that wasn't the case, but it is.

jennifer52484

This might sound weird.. but my trainer suggested putting Preparation H Cream on the area. I'm not sure for how long.. but it is suppose to help tighten the area. also, Wear tight clothing to hold the skin close. I used the cream on my stomach for a few weeks.. I think it worked, it is not a fast miracle cream but over time, I saw small results. He called it an "old bodybuilding trick".