hanging and loose skin

pannellkat

So...I've heard that when obese or extremely overweight people lose weight or lose weight very fast, that sometimes they are faced with loose or hanging skin around their arms, legs, and other places.

Is there a way that hanging skin can be avoided during you weight loss process? Basically what I am trying to find out is, are there certain overweight people that are more prone to having the loose skin vs. other overweight people? Does this only apply to extremely obese people? Does it only apply to obese people who lose weight fast, etc.?

LittleSister

I've been worried about this too. I have a friend who had bariatric surgery and lost a lot of weight. She had a tummy tuck to get rid of her abdominal skin, but her arms and legs still look hangy.

I know that when I lose weight, my tummy skin is going to flapping around down by my knees! I've already decided that if that happens, I'm getting a tummy tuck. I don't know how I'll pay for it, but darn it, I'm doing it. The tummy is where I carry most of my weight anyway.

I think it happens mostly with people who are really overweight. Age is also a factor - I've heard older skin doesn't bounce back as well. And of course, good ol' genetics.

DrBorkBork

Wouldn't working out to tone up those problem areas help with the issue? That and eating foods rich in specific vitamins that will help increase elasticity as you lose weight, gradually, over time. Just a thought.

BrendaLee

It's partly genetics, then you take into account how long you've been overweight, how overweight you were, if you yo-yo dieted...Some people have better elasticity in their skin than others- if you don't have stretch marks, that's a good sign that your skin isn't too damaged, and may bounce back. Damaged skin is going to have at least some degree of sagging after weight loss.

I will definitely have problems with it. You, on the other hand, if your highest weight was 175, would have a good chance of bouncing back.

cds2327

I've read, and dr oz talked about this the other night. the whole hyped up loose, sagging skin only occurs on people who have undergone drastic QUICK weight loss (surgery, or biggest loser style). if you lose weight the way you are supposed to. 1-2 pounds a week......not 10, you'll be fine. skin is elastic, it will bounce back.

BrendaLee

I've read, and dr oz talked about this the other night. the whole hyped up loose, sagging skin only occurs on people who have undergone drastic QUICK weight loss (surgery, or biggest loser style). if you lose weight the way you are supposed to. 1-2 pounds a week......not 10, you'll be fine. skin is elastic, it will bounce back.

Hate to disagree, but nope. Sometimes it doesn't matter how slowly you lose the weight, if the skin is damaged, there's going to be sagging. Skin is elastic- but only to a degree. When you get stretch marks in your skin, that's damage- the skin just wasn't able to stretch far enough, and basically broke under the demands.

Shelley130

I saw the Dr Oz episode she's talking about... he was trying to make the point that your skin is alive and can regenerate to a certain degree. Not like a balloon when deflated.

I've read (don't remember where) that 80 pounds seems to be the average number for loose skin. So if you are more than 80 pounds overweight you might have a problem. Of course genetics, age, diet, exercise all play a role in this. Once again the number was based on the average person.

Username1119

If you lose weight slowly and eat properly and do resistence/strength training, your body will be less likely to be loose and saggy. With resistence/strength training, you build new muscle and tone the body so that the skin can adhere to it. It is also important to stay hydrated. Good luck :happy:

wayless

To piggy back off of BrendaLee's response, I have the damaged stretch marked skin she discusses. I've gone from a high weight of 232 and down to 168 and 35 yrs old. I have very toned arms, legs and actually have what appears to be a 6 pack with saggy and loose skin around the 6 pack :sad: I think my weight has come off steady and not too quickly and actually started to push pause every now and then with the weightloss in hopes that the skin would bounce back. Although not my belly is not so bad at this weight as it was 20 pounds ago, it's still there. My chest never bounced back after only 7 months of nursing and quite skinny, so I should have known the same would be the case for a belly that's been stretched for 10 years. As we all know, results my vary.:bigsmile:

pannellkat

If you lose weight slowly and eat properly and do resistence/strength training, your body will be less likely to be loose and saggy. With resistence/strength training, you build new muscle and tone the body so that the skin can adhere to it. It is also important to stay hydrated. Good luck :happy:

Wow! Your so smart..thats great advice. Thanks.

BamaRose0107

If you lose weight slowly and eat properly and do resistence/strength training, your body will be less likely to be loose and saggy. With resistence/strength training, you build new muscle and tone the body so that the skin can adhere to it. It is also important to stay hydrated. Good luck :happy:

I totally agree. I lost over 100 pounds slowly and I have not had that much trouble toning up. I still have stretch marks which oddly enough I see as battle scars. Its all how you look at things. Strength training is a huge help in toning while losing weight. Sometimes some saggy skin is inevitable depending on genetics and where a person gains weight but why should we even care. Its just outward appearance. The main thing is getting healthy. The bodies we are in in now are just temporary. No one is perfect and no ne will ever be perfect and thats ok.

God Bless

BrendaLee

To piggy back off of BrendaLee's response, I have the damaged stretch marked skin she discusses. I've gone from a high weight of 232 and down to 168 and 35 yrs old. I have very toned arms, legs and actually have what appears to be a 6 pack with saggy and loose skin around the 6 pack :sad: I think my weight has come off steady and not too quickly and actually started to push pause every now and then with the weightloss in hopes that the skin would bounce back. Although not my belly is not so bad at this weight as it was 20 pounds ago, it's still there. My chest never bounced back after only 7 months of nursing and quite skinny, so I should have known the same would be the case for a belly that's been stretched for 10 years. As we all know, results my vary.:bigsmile:

I'm still early in my weight loss journey, and I know for a fact I'm going to have saggy skin...as much as I hate to think about it and hate to admit it. I don't want to kid myself into thinking I won't, and then reach my goal, and be like...damn, what's that? lol

I already have the plastic surgeries planned.

artschoolgirl

It depends on how long the skin had been stretched & just overall genetics I think too. I took 4 years to lose my weight, a good pace with good diet & exercise the whole way through. I am going to have a tummy tuck in January because I have LARGE amounts of skin sagging from my stomach. I'm only 23 but was overweight my whole life. I have a bit of saggy skin on my arms as well, but the scar is to severe for the brachioplasty surgery, so I won't be undergoing that surgery & I'm just focused on toning. I'm in the 150's now (good for my height as i'm 5'10") & my surgeon though that he might remove about 10 lbs of excess skin.

I'll be sure to post my blog when it gets closer to my surgery date. Overall, it's more important to lose weight at a slow pace, do it with healthy diet & exercise, and remember, the most important thing is that you are doing this to be healthy & you will look better & feel better in the end!!

Best of luck!