Loose skin

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Infatuationist
Infatuationist Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Does this happen when you lose weight?
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  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Does this happen when you lose weight?
    if you lose a large amount of weight too fast.
  • georgie181
    georgie181 Posts: 68
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    agree with above, also if you have had a c-section(s) as I have...I have a horrid saggy tummy, but it is lifting and strength training helps a great deal. My weight loss has been slow and steady and so far my skin has faired quite well, even my stomach, I will just have to see what it looks like once I am done, fingers crossed though x
  • 41degsouth
    41degsouth Posts: 40
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    I haven't noted this as a problem at this stage, though I wondered about it. I was careful not to loose weight too quickly—started in mid January 2012 for the progress reported here. I think Fitnesssocial is exactly right. I heard somewhere that keeping water intake up is helpful with skin issues... not sure if that applies here but it might?
  • PrincessNikkiBoo
    PrincessNikkiBoo Posts: 330 Member
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    save for later
  • mfp116
    mfp116 Posts: 108
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    if you lose weight rapidly then yes you probably will get loose skin from what ive read etc.
  • Ralphrabbit
    Ralphrabbit Posts: 351 Member
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    Yes, sometimes it does.
    However, the alternative is to keep the fat........... no big choice there then!!
  • AbsoluteNG
    AbsoluteNG Posts: 1,079 Member
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    Does this happen when you lose weight?
    if you lose a large amount of weight too fast.

    Sorry but this is misinformation. Skin elasticity greatly depends on the age of the person. The younger you are, the more elastic your skin will be and the older you are the less elastic it will become. You will retain maximum elasticity up until the age of 30 and for every age after 30, your skin will lose some of it's elasticity which is why you tend to start seeing wrinkles in the skin at that age. It's very much comparable to a baby's bottom and a 70 year old man. Pinch a baby's bottom and it will snap right back into place. Pinch an old man's bottom and it will sag for a good bit before adhering back to the body. To get a good idea on how long it takes the skin to adhere back to the body, think of a women who just gave birth. She once had a large stomach and now it's turned into a baby pouch and that pouch can take up to 2 years to adhere back to the body, but again it depends a lot on age. Doing cardio, strength training, and eating a balanced diet can help speed up the process.
  • dawson55510
    dawson55510 Posts: 197 Member
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    As above to much to quick or if the skin has been strectched beyond its limit but i dont think you will have a problem
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Does this happen when you lose weight?
    if you lose a large amount of weight too fast.

    Or If you lose a large amount of weight really slow.. I have been on this journey for 38 months and have lost alot of weight and will be going in for circumferential body lift surgery on the 24th.. I have now choice but to have some intervention at this point. I have posted pictures in my blog, but ultimately this is going to come down to an individual basis and have alot of factors such as age, total weight lost, genetics, how long you carried the weight, etc, etc...
  • Josedavid
    Josedavid Posts: 695 Member
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    I lost kind of 38kg in the last year, the most of it during 200 days and, because I was not doing anything crazy and i was training correctly in my case, and thanks to my body for adapting so well, i dont have that problem...
  • ruggedBear
    ruggedBear Posts: 295
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    Agree on the age/elasticity comments. Here's my experience:

    With almost 70 lbs lost, 2 C-sections and my 44th birthday looming next month, I have loose skin. Eh, what can you do? Spanx is your friend. It's been a year since I started MFP, do all the 'right' things (effective mix of cardio and strength training, water, skin firming lotion, etc) - and have the best possible outcome so far, even if there's still a small layer of fat underneath! I'll live with it for another couple of years and if it REALLY annoys me, I might just have that tummy tuck.

    My only gripe is that I would be a whole pant size smaller if it weren't for the skin - it has a tendency to bunch up and thicken up the waistline if the pants don't have any stretch. But after having been a size 22W (now a 12), I'm used to shopping with a careful eye on what bulges and what doesn't :wink:
  • ravengirl1611
    ravengirl1611 Posts: 285 Member
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    Agree on the age/elasticity comments. Here's my experience:

    With almost 70 lbs lost, 2 C-sections and my 44th birthday looming next month, I have loose skin. Eh, what can you do? Spanx is your friend. It's been a year since I started MFP, do all the 'right' things (effective mix of cardio and strength training, water, skin firming lotion, etc) - and have the best possible outcome so far, even if there's still a small layer of fat underneath! I'll live with it for another couple of years and if it REALLY annoys me, I might just have that tummy tuck.

    My only gripe is that I would be a whole pant size smaller if it weren't for the skin - it has a tendency to bunch up and thicken up the waistline if the pants don't have any stretch. But after having been a size 22W (now a 12), I'm used to shopping with a careful eye on what bulges and what doesn't :wink:

    Im in a similar position - almost 42, 4 c-sections and Im just starting this journey - if when I get to my goals I find that the little extra in my tummy annoys me too much - then I'll go see the doc about a tummy tuck just for that last bit of extra skin. Im hoping all the gym time Im about to start today helps with that. We'll see next spring. 2 inches down - lots to go!
  • Going4Lean
    Going4Lean Posts: 1,077 Member
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    why so many forums on loose skin ?
  • Lina4Lina
    Lina4Lina Posts: 712 Member
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    The amount of loose skin you have is mostly a factor of genetics, your highest weight, how long you were at your highest weight and genetics. The information about losing fast results in more loose skin is false in a sense. Basically if you lose 100 lbs in 6 months or 3 years, you should have the same amount of loose skin at year 3 regardless of the time to lose the weight. Your skin just doesn't bounce back quickly so it becomes really noticeable when you lose quickly.
  • ivoryplume
    ivoryplume Posts: 7
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    I've lost about 15 lb, which I think is a little too early to see this become a problem - but I do always worry about it since I'm hoping to lose about 45 lb more in the future. I'm hoping that I'm losing weight slow enough and that I'm young enough to avoid it. :/ But you never know!
  • jacquirich
    jacquirich Posts: 105 Member
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    I know that age and genetics play a large part, but loosing weight slowly, ensuring that what you eat is nutritious, weight training and applying firming creams can all help
  • aubhob
    aubhob Posts: 25
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    the big difference is the baby will cry when you pinch it the 70 tear old man will smile
  • jazzalea
    jazzalea Posts: 412 Member
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    I've lost a fair bit, and I have to say I'm really happy with the way my skin is coming back...... I moisturize faithfully, which I find helps...... for those who it doesn't thanks for NOT posting.... :) and I work my abs constantly.... giving the skin some muscle to stick to really really seems to help....

    I thought for a long time I was going to have to have something done surgically, I even have an appointment booked with a plastic surgeon for November, but I have a feeling he's going to send me away with a lecture about vanity :)

    Good luck and happy moisturizing :)

    :flowerforyou:
  • californiagirl2012
    californiagirl2012 Posts: 2,625 Member
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    It happened to me because I'm older and my skin is not so elastic anymore. It happens even when you lose weight slowly. Normal healthy fat loss happens faster than the skin adjusts, and it's worse the older you are, but it all depends on your skin. Everyone is different. I talked to a very experienced coach at the gym this morning and he has had lots of clients who have had surgery for it and apparently it's quite painful. At my age I'll just accept the fact that I'm getting older. I don't feel like taking away my precious time on this earth recovering from various surgeries.

    But also you want to give your skin time to adjust after losing weight. Hydration makes it better, drinking water as well as lotion.
  • ipsamet
    ipsamet Posts: 436 Member
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    It's a total crap shoot, too. I'm 25, have lost 70 pounds at a reasonably slow pace with both cardio and weights and I have a good amount of loose skin around my upper arms. It frustrates me, but like another poster said I'd rather have the skin there than the fat!

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