Excess Skin

Arienna

Wasn't sure where to put this, but had a suggestion from a friend of mine who just lost about 150 lbs. :drinker: to her!

She is 33 yrs old and lost the weight, slowly and healthy. She told me that she asked her dermatologist about Skin Firming Lotion and he basically told her that unless you want to spend A LOT of money, you aren't going to get one that is extremely effective but he actually recommended Suave Firming Lotion to her to try out. She tried it out and she said she loved it and noticed results.

It's only about $2-3 a bottle so I think I'm going to give it a shot and use it while I lose weight, maybe that'll help things a bit, but does anyone have any suggestions about this? I am only 26(almost27) yrs old and I've done the elasticity tests on my hand, and it always goes right back, so I am hoping I don't have a HUGE problem, though I do have a lot of weight to lose. Has anyone else lost a lot of weight and had excess skin problems?

Also, I want to note, this isn't a huge concern of mine, I am losing weight firstly to be healthier and happier overall, I was just curious about this issue

Thank you! :flowerforyou:

nehtaeh

No idea, but I would like to know any secrets anyone else had.

I had twins. My belly stretched and its nothing like it once was. I'm hoping if I can get rid of some of the excess belly fat, it won't look as bad. I will give it any help I know of though.

HeatherMN

Jillian Michaels (of Biggest Loser fame) just had an article regarding this issue in one of her email newsletters last week.

Basically, she said that the younger you are and the more moisture you have in your body, the most elastic your skin will be. Obviously, genetics play into it somewhat. For the person who is 26, you most likely have nothing to worry about. Unless you are going to lose 100 + lbs., your skin will mostly likely come back on its own.

Jillian said that some of the contestants on Biggest Loser have excess skin that hangs because they've lost extreme amounts of weight, but that she would not suggest surgery for anyone until they've successfully kept the weight off for over a year.

She didn't mention anything in her article about firming lotions; however, they can't hurt, since they're keeping moisture in your skin. If your friend's dermatologist suggested using one without spending a lot of money, then I'm sure it's okay, just may not be overly beneficial.

Hope this helps!

ivykivy

I have been using Sauve with cocoa butter so I will try the skin firming. I noticed skin under my arm was wrinkly but it has cleared up some. I have some now on my thighs and hopefully it will do the same

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/64981-interesting-post-about-loose-skin

Arienna

I found this article...thought I'd share

Everything You Need To Know About Loose Skin And Weight Loss

Author: Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, author of the #1 best-selling e-book Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle

If you're extremely overweight or if you've been extremely overweight in the past, then you know that getting rid of excess weight is only one of the challenges you face. Once the fat is gone, you are often confronted with an equally frustrating cosmetic problem; Loose skin.

I receive a lot of e-mail from people with loose skin or from overweight people who are concerned about having loose skin after they lose the weight. Just recently, I received this email from a reader of my syndicated “Ask Tom” fat loss column:

“Tom, I began a fat loss program using your Burn The Fat program and it worked so well I got down to 15 1/2 stones (from 19). However, this has caused me a problem: Excess abdominal skin. I didn't crash lose this weight, it came off at the rate of about 2 lbs. per week just like you recommended. Now I'm unsure of whether to carry on, as my abdomen has quite a lot of excess skin - I feel like I've turned into a bloody Shar-Pei! (You know, as in the dog!)

Does everyone go through this? Will the skin tighten up? I was overweight for more than 12 years. Am I going to end up needing surgical skin removal? Can you offer me any advice? I'm a medical student in the UK and my colleagues seem determined to proffer surgery as the only option.”

My answer included 12 things you should know about loose skin after very large weight losses:

1. Skin is incredibly elastic. Just look at what women go through during pregnancy. Skin has the ability to expand and contract to a remarkable degree.

2. Elasticity of skin tends to decrease with age. Wrinkling and loss of elasticity is partly the consequence of aging (genetic factors) and also a result of environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiency. The environmental parts you can fix, the genetics and age part, you cannot. Advice: Get moving and change the things you have control over... Be realistic and don't worry about those things you don't have control over.

3. How much your skin will return to its former tautness depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal.

4. How long you carry extra weight has a lot to do with how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss: For example, compare a 9 month pregnancy with 9 years carrying 100 excess pounds.

5. How much weight was carried has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so much and be expected to "snap back" one hundred percent.

6. How fast the weight was gained also has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so quickly and be expected to "snap back."

7. How fast weight is lost also has a lot to do with how much the skin will tighten up. Rapid weight loss doesn't allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal. (yet another reason to lose fat slowly; 1-2 pounds per week, 3 pounds at the most if you have a lot of weight to lose, and even then, only if you are measuring body fat and you’re certain it's fat you’re losing, not lean tissue).

8. There are exceptions to all of the above; i.e, people who gained and then lost incredible amounts of weight quickly at age 50 or 60, and their skin returned 100% to normal.

9. There are many creams advertised as having the ability to restore the tightness of your skin. None are likely to work – at least not permanently and measurably – and especially if you have a lot of loose skin. Don't waste your money.

10. If you’re considering surgical skin removal, consult a physician for advice because this is not a minor operation, but keep in mind that your plastic surgeon may be making his BMW payments with your abdominoplasty money. (Surgery may be recommended in situations where it's not 100% necessary). Surgery should be left as the ABSOLUTE FINAL option in extreme cases.

11. Give your skin time. Your skin will get tighter as your body fat gets lower. I've seen and heard of many cases where the skin gradually tightened up, at least partially, after a one or two year period where the weight loss was maintained and exercise continued.

12. Know your body fat percentage before even THINKING about surgery. Loose skin is one thing, but still having body fat is another. Be honest with yourself and do that by taking your body fat measurement. This can be done with skinfold calipers or a variety of other devices (calipers might not be the best method if you have large folds of loose skin. Look into impedance analysis, underwater weighing, DEXA or Bod Pod).

Suppose for example, a man drops from 35% body fat all the way down to 20%. He should be congratulated, but I would tell him, "Don't complian about loose skin, your body fat is still high. Press onward and keep getting leaner.”

Average body fat for men is in the mid teens (16% or so) Good body fat for men is 10-12%, and single digits is extremely lean (men shouldn’t expect to look “ripped” with 100% tight skin on the abs unless they have single digit body fat, and women low teens).

Except in extreme cases, you are unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up and literally start to “cling” to your abdominal muscles once your body fat goes from “average” to "excellent." Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and a ton of loose skin is a rare sight.

So... the key to getting tighter skin is to lose more body fat, (and build more muscle), up to the point where your body composition rating is BETTER than average (in the “good” to “great” category, not just "okay"). Only AFTER you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal." At that point, admittedly, there are bound to be a few isolated cases where surgery is necessary if you can’t live with the amount of loose skin remaining.

However, unless you are really, really lean, it's difficult to get a clear picture of what is loose skin, what is just remaining body fat and how much further the skin will tighten up when the rest of the fat is lost.

fit4God

I lost 140 lbs. 3 years ago, and sadly I do have loose skin, the way that I deal with it mentally is by contrast & comparison, meaning while I don't like it I at least I like looking at myself better with loose skin than I did with an extra 140 lbs.!!!

Now I had been overweight my entire life since I was only 5-6 years old, I think that definitely makes a difference. I know of a girl who had just been overweight in her adult years and lost over 100 lbs. and she doesn't really have a lot of loose skin.

Through my weightloss I worked out (walked, did aerobics and lifted weights) and I still comntinue to do so, one of the things that is a constant encouragement to me to continue staying physically active is that when I don't I notice the loose skin much more, because I'm not as toned.

I have tried some of the different firming lotions (at the end of my weightloss, but not really through my weightloss) and they seemed to help temporarily, but not really long term. Using it throughout your weightloss may have a different effect though - if nothing else you'll have really smooth skin and you'll fell better about yourslef because your taking care of yourself!