Skin concerns

Apollonia84

Hi everyone!

My story: Four years after graduating college, I've lost 50 pounds and had another 50 to go to get to a healthy weight. Recently, my father had passed away & I gained 10 back. Now, I'm working with a nutritionist and am slowing dropping that 10 and now am hoping to lose an additional 40-50 but one concern I have is the access skin.

I'm turning 29 in January, so I'm young but I'm also not a teenager. I work out about 2-3 times a week, both cardio and moderate weights - so my plan is not just eight right, but moving around. When losing my prior 50, I didn't see any saggy skin, but then again, I had a bit more to lose.

Can anybody share their experiences or advice on the subject?
Thanks and keep on trucking, everyone!!

omma_to_3

No one is really going to give you an answer here. Your age in is in your favor, but it's mostly about genetics. I have some skin issues, but they're not horrible yet. I do think I'll need some surgery at the end, but may or may not actually get it ($$$). In the end, I'll infinitely look better (clothed LOL) thin vs. fat.

itsmyvwbeetle

Ive got issues on my stomach, 5 c-sections and losing weight will do that to you. No amount of time will make it all better (too many stretch marks to shrink). I need a tummy tuck and hopefully will get one once I get back down to goal weight. If not, I still look better naked than I did fat. I still look better clothed than I did fat. Most importantly, I feel better thinner versus fatter. I know we all want to have flawless skin and super bodies, sometimes it works and sometimes we have to love the skin we are in and move on with life!! Dont let this worry you

Snotori

Agree with omma_to_3 in that it's mostly genetics. I have friends on here who are younger then you that hate the amount of skin they have and some twice your age that accept it as a part of losing weight. I myself am 34 and have found some of my skin bounces back but there is still hanging issues and I'm only half done. I too should probably think of having some removed by the end but don't even wanna think about the money to do so but that where it will help to train and get more toned comes in. Toning and other sculpting programs will help in this process and you have to remember 2 things. First you are losing nearly 100 pounds so of course your skin will be looser so don't be too hard on yourself and two you've nearly lost 100 pounds so DON'T BE HARD ON YOURSELF! Let your skin do what it's going to and look in the mirror and think what a amazing, gorgeous, sexy woman you've become. Don't nit pick the small stuff cause trust me I'd far rather the loose skin then the extra weight wouldn't you?

mtnstar

I suggest taking a hair, skin, and nails vitamin that contains biotin, but this shouldn't replace your multi. Fish oil, especially, wild salmon oil, can also help. And drink lots and lots of water, moisturize (I use shea butter). PP's are right that a lot of it is genetics, but you do have age on your side. I think it also helps to lose the weight slowly.

ThaRealNicki

my mom was 430lbs when she was 32, she had surgery and barely any loose skin after all the weight came off (at goal she was about 150-160)

she did have some saggy skin in her arms and tummy but not much

Apollonia84

I like this! Very, very true. No matter what, we'll always be a lot better than before because we're healthier. Thank you!!

Apollonia84

hahaha good point Clothed us will look fabulous!! Good luck with everything!

SueGremlin

At first loose skin was a problem for me, but it's pretty much snapped back into shape after a few months and I am twice your age. I was worried until I lost the weight, then I looked at myself in the mirror and thought "I'd rather have the loose skin than have that weight back".

vabchloser

Hey lady!

I am older - 37. I was overweight from 22-33. My highest weight was 295 (when pregnant), then I settled in at 270. (I'm 5'9") At 32 I started my diet and I am now down to 180.

I have started to notice loose skin under my chin. This is part age, part because I was overweight, I think. I plan to have it fixed because it makes my jaw line look 10 years older than it should. Also, I have a lot of loose skin on my stomach. There is still some fat to fill it out (I have about 25 lbs left to lose before I am mid-average for my height.) When the last of my weight is gone, it's going to be bad. I can see it sag down when I do push-ups now. I hate it. It will have to be fixed. The pain from a tummy tuck scares me, as does the cost, but I see how others are so happy afterward, I'm going to do it.

Good luck. You are young. I've seen some pics on here where younguns just pop right back into bikini shape. It all depends!

TwentyTreize

I was worried about it, but got very lucky and it hasn't been an issue for me. I weight train a lot, perhaps that helps??

Apollonia84

WOW thanks everyone for all of your comments and stories and suggestions! I loved all of them because they were honest and very positive. Congrats to each of you for kicking butt out there and doing so well. All of you have shown promise and it gave me a positive boost this morning... thank you!!!

Roni_M

I had worried about this a lot when I started (probably because of those extreme weight loss shows that show massive amounts of excess skin). I haven't found it too bad so far. I definitely won't be throwing on a bikini... but I'm 40 so even if I could I probably wouldn't! LOL

I have some loose skin, but most articles I have read say it takes a couple of years for skin to tighten up after weight loss. As someone else mentioned, I have massive stretchmarks from pregnancy and they won't shrink. (I was very tiny before each of my pregnancies and carried all in the front... Like a torpedo shaped belly! LOL). I'm in Canada so a tummy tuck is free if you lose over 100 lbs. I've thought about it but probably won't have one done. I may change my mind later on though... I'm kind of taking a wait and see attitude with it. Another factor is that my hubby is the only one who sees me naked and we've been together since I was 16. He's seen it all and doesn't care if I don't look like a Victoria secrets model naked. I definitely get more attention from him outside of the bedroom though (inside was never an issue), partly because I look better and partly because I feel better about how I look.

So in the end... the small amount of loose skin is not really a problem for me. You are a lot younger so will probably bounce back better. If you haven't had kids, chances are even better that your tummy will recover. Even if you have some stretch marks (from weight gain) they tend to be the flatter ones as opposed to the deep grooves you can get from pregnancy. Exfoliate and moisturize to help the skin regenerate.

divacat80

I don't see the excess skin as a true consequence of losing weight, but as a true consequence of being overweight or obese. The person who is left with saggy skin has ALREADY had that extra skin since the skin started stretching to hold all the extra fat layers building in the problem areas.

A lot of people are lucky enough to have the skin reverting back to the original state,and that's great but that's not the norm.

You have to hide parts of your body when you are overweight because you feel ashamed of uncovering them, in addition you're unhealthy and your life is threatened by the extra pounds. Losing weight will make you feel better about yourself and you might still have to hide parts of your body because of the saggy skin but now you have your health back! It's a small price to pay.

If you decide to keep on being overweight because of the possible saggy skin... What difference will it really make? You are already used to hiding underneath clothes, why not just follow the healthy path and focuson being healthy and not on being perfect?


BTW, i have my bingo wings that i will never be able to get rid of, i don't have folds of saggy skin while standing up but my lower belly is really wrinkly, and if i lean over, my skin does sag. I hope it tightens up with time and when i lose some fat that's still underneath. But it all points towards the fact that i'll have to learn to live with them.

But i had the bingo wings all my life and my arms did look a lot worse when i was obese.

I really don't care about them.

The worst part is the boobs,those are rebelling a little bit and they are threatening to leave my body.i might get a boob job in the future if i can afford it, or maybe not. We'll see

smantha32

I've heard it can take up to 2 years for excess skin to snap back so you might need some time.