Can a Dr tell me if this is loose skin or fat? *PICS*

elizner

With all due respect, this is how an eating disorder / distorted self image happens. I had an eating disorder for over 10 years, so I'm saying this with empathy. Do what you can to be healthy, honor your 66 lb healthy weight loss, and groove on the great look and health you have now. Your stomach "issue" is SO MINOR, please don't become fixated on it !!! :-)

MeMyCatsandI

I want to look good naked tho I want to wear a 2 piece out in public & not look gross like this.
I don't think I want kids either.

My sister was 35 before she wanted kids. Now she is 39 and has 2. Don't do something at 24 that you might regret later. And by that I mean, don't let your vanity get in the way of your LIFE!

purpleipod

Take another year off to see if the skin retracts more. From what I see, it's loose skin.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

This. It looks really thin and floppy to me.. I don't mean any offense by that, it's just the only way I can explain what I mean. I'd say it's loose skin, personally.

marieautumn

congrats on your loss.

I've had some cosmetic surgery (implants), so I'm not one of those people who says "Don't do it because you should stay natural"...
but that being said, everyone i know who has had lipo has said it was horrible pain and that they wished that hadn't done it.
Also, it usually comes right back and the results are rarely what you anticipated.
As for a tummy tuck, i would say that if you are sure you don't want kids then go for it. If you may want kids then wait until you are done.

purpleipod

I've heard tummy tuck's are one of the most painful plastic surgeries to recover from.. plus I've seen so many people left with "wings" on their sides from them, which are kind of funny looking.

RonnieLodge

Wow, you have done so well and you look fantastic!

But given you aren't wanting to do surgery, why not just take the money and spend it on a slightly higher cut bikini bottom?

When you are naked and happy, no person worth being naked and happy around is going to think you look gross.

And you look fabulous.

seamonkey789

Just give it time. I lost about 90 lbs back in 2001. The stretch marks faded and you can't even see them any more. If you are worried about the stretch marks and loose skin, just keep with the heavy lifting and maybe just get pure unrefined shea butter to massage in the areas you are worried about.

And about the naked thing, trust me, the person you're with isn't going to be picking your body apart. They are just going to be happy you got naked

Akimajuktuq

Please, consider thinking about health and reducing your focus on appearance. No, I don't mean to stop building muscle, cuz that looks great and is healthy.

One of the big things that is SO wrong in our society is this preoccupation with all things to do with one's appearance. Well, yeah, it sells lots of products, but it does nothing for US. Each and every one of us can choose to stop taking part in the insanity. Not only will we women feel better about ourselves, but we will also be more likely to pass on a healthy attitude and high self esteem to our daughters instead of instilling self loathing and feelings of inadequacy. Haven't we all had enough of that? Do we want that for our daughters?

Please, just be healthy and accept yourself.

sweetchildomine

I have the same EXACT problem as you. From what I've researched it seems that all we can do is keep doing what we're doing and give it time. Since we're young, the skin SHOULD recover. Give it a year and if it still hasn't changed, THEN consider surgery. For now, try to find a bathing suit that comes up a little higher on the belly to hide the bottom part. That's what I do.

danasings

I REALLY hope you do not take this the wrong way because it is meant in a total positive way and with much love, I think you need to build your confidence up before you make ANY big decisions like surgery. Because if what you think of yourself is less then 100% then surgery will only provide a little bit of relief. Good luck to you!! And again, congratulations!!

I agree with this completely. Sweetie, you look amazing. Look at what you've accomplished!! I know we are all brainwashed to think that we're supposed to look like supermodels the second we reach our goal weight, but that doesn't happen, unfortunately. Keep strengthening your body, give your skin some more time to adjust (at least another year), and try to see the beautiful things about yourself. It's challenging for most women to see their beauty over their flaws, but it makes ALL the difference.

nixirain

I had loose skin after losing 70 lbs. On my arms and around my belly. It took about a year for the skin get back where it belonged. I would not worry about it yet. If you stay where you want in a year, then I would do something about it.

Midnight_Sunshine

Try acupuncture.


My mom had it done for that area. In her case it was loose skin and some fat from having babies. It really tightened up the area!

Aviva92

Looks to me like you had a csection? If so the scar tissue is adhered deep and the only so
Itin is a tummy tuck. Where it proud, it is the result of bring life. That is much more to be applauded than some one working out all the time.

errrrr, she never said she had a c-section. this was kinda rude.

oh and also "bringing life" is not something to be applauded. puleeeease, there are enough humans in this world. i'll stick to applauding people who work out.

Kenzieb07

Having been your MFP friend for a long time now, it never gets easier or less frustrating for me to see you beat yourself up. You have done an AMAZING job and look FANTASTIC! 68 pounds lost... are you kidding me?! I don't know how you can be anything but proud! You have a tiny stomach, which will go away in time, and it's only a sign of how much you've already done to transform your body!

PLEASE stop torturing yourself by staring at the areas you want to improve, and be proud of how far you've come, like the rest of us are! You're an inspiration and really need to start looking at yourself as one. Beating yourself up is really harmful to you and those around you.

You've done and look amazing, whether or not you want to believe it... It's true.

MyChocolateDiet

Hi everybody thanks for all the insults about tummy tucks. LOL "wings" "frankenstein scars" geezh! Did it ever occur to any of you that someone who actually had one might read this. Well I think the OP might have been hoping for just that, so here I am.

Yes, you can tighten that area up more than it is now with time. Might it still be floppy? Possibly. Would more time be helpful in determining this, yes too. Will a regular Dr. distinguish fat from flab from skin, not likely. Mine can barely distinguish me from the next patient in my experience. Would a plastic surgeon be able to look at you now and help you predict what will happen to your skin as you do certain efforts? Yes too. A plastic surgeon will touch it, squeeze it, roll it between his fingers, wrinkle his brow, stare at your hubby, b/f, mother whoever you bring with you pensively. Poke and stretch your belly skin and then tell you how much fat he thinks is there and where it is (under skin? under muscle? on organs?) and how stubborn it might be to workouts or surgery or lipo . He will tell you how much result he thinks he can achieve as far as how much skin, fat, removal and may even offer lipo in adjoining areas. Many, many, many of them give free consultations. So it is easy to get LOTS of opinions and then make a choice that is right for you. You don't have to promise never to have children in the future but it is something they make you aware of, not that you can't get preggers after but just that it might ruin your results. But if you have another several thousand dollars to blow and a couple of months time off it's your decision and they will be happy to do it.

You will have to fill out a questionnaire usually beforehand in the waiting room before seeing the dr. asking about this and also other surgeries and in particular cosmetic ones. They are checking if you are a good candidate meaning not going to complain if you have a baby a year later, have reasonable expectations, and/or are some kind of wacky who expects it to change her whole life, or whose had too many surgeries and may be just a little too into the whole thing if you know what I mean...nuts.

Yes, the scar is considerable. Compared to a 3-4 inch c-section which i realize you don't have it is about 3 times as long and will run almost hip to hip inching up at the ends kind of like a smile. Don't take my word for it or mr's "frankensteins" here, google pics yourself the internet is replete with them. I've never seen "flaps", "wings", or "frankenstein" on anyone I know, myself included.

Do yourself a favor don't purposely go looking for mistakes online. It will only scare you and create a negative thing in your brain. Do yourself another favor and only shop reputable places that you deem worthy of your money and your trust. Don't bargain shop, quality shop. I was given references when I requested them and they were all happy to talk to me and send pic's. It is as comfortable a process as you make it and also as necessary or needless as you decide. You are beautiful as evidenced by your pic's. You are strong as evidenced by your weight loss and workout achievements. You are brave as evidenced by your decision to ask a question like this here. Finally, you are intelligent as we will see in the future when you make the right decision for yourself without letting the knee jerk emotional reactions of strangers on the internet decide your fate.

Hopefully you will provide pic's of your new self several months from now no matter which path you choose. Good luck, you're doing great!:flowerforyou: Hope this helps.

RobinV_Seattle

Given your age, you still have a significant amount of collagen and elastin in your skin. You really should just give it time. Just be kind to the skin, keep it moisturized and yourself hydrated.

But the weight loss is phenomenal. You are one amazing young lady.

^^^ This. Give it time - your skin will quite likely tighten up if you treat it right!

shorty35565

Having been your MFP friend for a long time now, it never gets easier or less frustrating for me to see you beat yourself up. You have done an AMAZING job and look FANTASTIC! 68 pounds lost... are you kidding me?! I don't know how you can be anything but proud! You have a tiny stomach, which will go away in time, and it's only a sign of how much you've already done to transform your body!

PLEASE stop torturing yourself by staring at the areas you want to improve, and be proud of how far you've come, like the rest of us are! You're an inspiration and really need to start looking at yourself as one. Beating yourself up is really harmful to you and those around you.

You've done and look amazing, whether or not you want to believe it... It's true.

Thank u Kenzie. I'm sorry I'm so frustrating It's just hard for me to b proud of how fat I've come when I'm just not satisfied. If only I looked perfect *sigh*

^^^ This. Give it time - your skin will quite likely tighten up if you treat it right!

I REALLY hope so! Love ur default pic btw!

alisaprince1

I totally understand where you are coming from, but I PROMISE you, your stomach doesn't look near as bad as you see it. I have this lingering fear of lose skin and I have seen some pretty rough pictures of it but if what you have is the worst I can expect then I will be ecstatic. You look great, you have worked hard don't beat yourself up. Personally I believe it will mostly if not completely tighten up drink lots of water and look for foods and vitamins that will help skin elasticity.lotion lotion lotion....and post me a pic in a few months please,I will be closer then to what you are now:) good luck you are beautiful!