Weightloss and extra skin?

coacherik

I think this is one of my biggest fears, is how much extra skin will be left when I am done with my transformation. We watch shows like the biggest loser, and after a couple weeks.. they are no longer taking thier shirts off. We never really see what the final results look like.

I have lost 26 lbs thus far, i Know I have at least another 40-50 to go to be what I consider a good weight for me. How much extra skin will be left? I have lost 3+ inches off hips & Waist, and have a little sag... but not as much as I expected.

I guess I am just looking for comments from people who have lost alot, and what they experienced.

Thanks in advance!

coacherik

I think this is one of my biggest fears, is how much extra skin will be left when I am done with my transformation. We watch shows like the biggest loser, and after a couple weeks.. they are no longer taking thier shirts off. We never really see what the final results look like.

I have lost 26 lbs thus far, i Know I have at least another 40-50 to go to be what I consider a good weight for me. How much extra skin will be left? I have lost 3+ inches off hips & Waist, and have a little sag... but not as much as I expected.

I guess I am just looking for comments from people who have lost alot, and what they experienced.

Thanks in advance!

CoderGal

I think this is one of my biggest fears, is how much extra skin will be left when I am done with my transformation. We watch shows like the biggest loser, and after a couple weeks.. they are no longer taking thier shirts off. We never really see what the final results look like.

I have lost 26 lbs thus far, i Know I have at least another 40-50 to go to be what I consider a good weight for me. How much extra skin will be left? I have lost 3+ inches off hips & Waist, and have a little sag... but not as much as I expected.

I guess I am just looking for comments from people who have lost alot, and what they experienced.

Thanks in advance!

How much skin depends on varying factors, including what your diet is like (are you getting enough of everything), exercise etc. If you look at some scholarly articles you'll find the biggest thing is resistance training.

from the following link:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931753-sagging-skin-latex-and-sexy-times?hl=latex#posts-14162921

"Fortunately, this "aging" condition of the skin is directly related to the condition of the muscles and can be reversed to an uplifted shape with proper exercise".

"no amount of cream or lotion can lift the sagging and drooping underlying muscles, which have more of an effect on the condition of the skin than most realize"

Now take for example my butt. My butt with no exercise:

my butt with strength training:


Notice how it moved up in the world. And I have no decent before pictures, but I remember feeling my skin was saggy and thinking God when did I get old? I have butt flaps. Well, I started taking measures and fixed it

Don't worry about it to much. I've seen people loose close to 100 lbs and look fantastic. And I've seen people lose what I did and look droopy. There's a chance it will happen, there's a chance it won't. Eat enough, get all your nutrients, strength train.

mattschwartz01

I'm glad you mentioned it because that is a fear of mine as well and I've got to lose 173 big ones

coacherik

I think this is one of my biggest fears, is how much extra skin will be left when I am done with my transformation. We watch shows like the biggest loser, and after a couple weeks.. they are no longer taking thier shirts off. We never really see what the final results look like.

I have lost 26 lbs thus far, i Know I have at least another 40-50 to go to be what I consider a good weight for me. How much extra skin will be left? I have lost 3+ inches off hips & Waist, and have a little sag... but not as much as I expected.

I guess I am just looking for comments from people who have lost alot, and what they experienced.

Thanks in advance!

How much skin depends on varying factors, including what your diet is like (are you getting enough of everything), exercise etc. If you look at some scholarly articles you'll find the biggest thing is resistance training.

from the following link:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/931753-sagging-skin-latex-and-sexy-times?hl=latex#posts-14162921

"Fortunately, this "aging" condition of the skin is directly related to the condition of the muscles and can be reversed to an uplifted shape with proper exercise".

"no amount of cream or lotion can lift the sagging and drooping underlying muscles, which have more of an effect on the condition of the skin than most realize"

Now take for example my butt. My butt with no exercise:

my butt with strength training:


Notice how it moved up in the world. And I have no decent before pictures, but I remember feeling my skin was saggy and thinking God when did I get old? I have butt flaps. Well, I started taking measures and fixed it

Don't worry about it to much. I've seen people loose close to 100 lbs and look fantastic. And I've seen people lose what I did and look droopy. There's a chance it will happen, there's a chance it won't. Eat enough, get all your nutrients, strength train.

Codergirl,

Dont get this wrong... Nice A**. But really... Thank you for helping my fears a little... At what point of weightloss, to you add muscle building to tone it out? I have been about 90% Cardio for 6 weeks... should a focus more on 50/50 cardio and wight training?

yesiam07

I to had the same fear about the extra skin. I have lost 129lbs so far (still have about 60 left). In all honesty yes i do have extra skin but its not as bad as i thought and the more i strength train the more i see it goes away.

Sarauk2sf

Codergirl,

Dont get this wrong... Nice A**. But really... Thank you for helping my fears a little... At what point of weightloss, to you add muscle building to tone it out? I have been about 90% Cardio for 6 weeks... should a focus more on 50/50 cardio and wight training?

She does have a nice butt.

You should look to do a full body workout 3 x a week and cardio 2-3 x a week if you want to do cardio. This will help you retain LBM while losing weight.

jlapey

Strength train and be patient with your weight loss. Don't cut your calories so severely that you lose weight too fast. Losing weight too fast can also result in loose skin.

MinnieInMaine

Well I've lost about 85 pounds to date and can tell you it's a roller coaster ride. The loose skin is worse in my belly, upper thighs and upper arms. Sometimes it's really saggy then a few weeks later it seems to tighten up, then loosen, etc. Overall it has improved with time, exercise, proper diet (healthy fats) and proper hydration. I've read articles that say it can take up to 2 years from the time you hit maintenance to when your skin fully recovers. While I'm not quite to maintenance yet, I have been plateaud scale-wise for a few months yet I've lost inches in my stomach area and my arms are toning up. I'm happier about those changes than any loss on the scale!

Remember, it's our largest living organ and needs to be cared for as much as any other part of the body. Give it plenty of water and healthy fats and it will stay more plump and elastic. Strength training helps because as you lose, you'll retain more muscle mass and that muscle will help full in the skin as you lose the fat.

Start strength training immediately! There is no need to wait until you lose the fat - that's an old exercise myth. You can't build much muscle on a calorie deficit but doing strength training and eating plenty of protein helps you to retain the muscle mass you have and that in turn helps you to burn more calories. If you lose too quickly and don't eat right/exercise to retain the muscle, you lose it and end up flabby.

Don't compare yourself to people on TV shows - they're on extreme diets and exercise regimines and have nothing to do with the real world. Only use them as inspriation, not examples.

Bottom line, I know I'll never look like a fitness model or rock a bikini BUT I still look and feel WAY better than I did 85 pounds ago!!

CyberEd312

It is going to come down to several factors..... Age, genetics, skin elasticity, how heavy you got and how long did you carry that weight, did you use just cardio to lose all the weight or did you combine both cardio and weight training from the beginning, what calorie deficit did you carry (how fast did you lose the weight).... and probably a few more but that gives you the idea and even after that every single person will probably still be different. I lost over 300 lbs. and did everything as close to the right way that I could but I was left with a bunch of extra skin so for me it was a no brainer, I had to have a circumferential body lift (6 months ago) and I had 17 lbs. of skin removed. the good thing out of it was my resistant training (which I started in the pool at the beginning) help quite a bit with my neck, arms, somewhat of my chest, so I won't need any work done to those areas. If you would like to check out my website I have photographed my weight loss and pre and post op surgery. Go to: www.gettingfit4life.com again like I said everyone will be different but this was my experience with extra skin..... Best of Luck

ItsCasey

I've lost just over 100 lbs, and so far, I do not have a serious problem with loose skin. I do have some stretch marks, so I'm sure I will have some loose skin when I am completely done losing weight (I have 12-15 lbs of fat to lose to get to my ideal body fat %), but right now, in the places where things look "saggy," I feel like it is mostly fat and not just skin, so I am hopeful it will shrink up as I keep losing. But I think strength training and losing the weight slowly are the biggest reasons I don't have a lot of extra skin, although my age helps (I was 27 when I first started losing weight).

I actually did not start strength training until about a year into my journey, and I had lost around 60 lbs at that point. I wish I had started lifting heavy weights a lot sooner, though, because within 3 months, my body had completely changed. Everything was tighter and more compact. These days, I don't do any traditional cardio, and I am still getting visibly leaner, although the lbs are coming off a lot more slowly. It has been 3 years for me, and I can't complain on the skin issue. I know people who lost the weight a lot faster (with surgery or just doing a ton of cardio and not eating very much) who have a lot of loose skin, so I definitely think slow and steady and lots of lifting will make it easier.

CoderGal

Codergirl,

Dont get this wrong... Nice A**. But really... Thank you for helping my fears a little... At what point of weightloss, to you add muscle building to tone it out? I have been about 90% Cardio for 6 weeks... should a focus more on 50/50 cardio and wight training?

She does have a nice butt.

You should look to do a full body workout 3 x a week and cardio 2-3 x a week if you want to do cardio. This will help you retain LBM while losing weight.

This, and thanks haha. Start right away. You lose fat and muscle when you lose weight. The point of strength training on a deficit is to preserve the muscle mass you have. You may lose some, but the more you train the more you'll keep so what you'll notice over time is you'll get slimmer and firmer.

Maximumresults

It will depend on how long you have been overweight, how much overweight, and what you do personally.....weight training will help a lot in certain areas...

I was heavy since a child...and after losing the majority of my weight in 1998-1999 and building out muscle from there...my skin has improved but there are areas that I would need surgery in or just have to live with..

I go through periods of anger and disappointment, but it is what it is..if I didn't change, I'd be dead...I may do the surgery in the future..though find it hard to justify financially...I like being debt free..we will see

HealthyBodySickMind

Codergirl,

Dont get this wrong... Nice A**. But really... Thank you for helping my fears a little... At what point of weightloss, to you add muscle building to tone it out? I have been about 90% Cardio for 6 weeks... should a focus more on 50/50 cardio and wight training?

She does have a nice butt.

I'm just here to also compliment Codergirl's butt.

jzammetti

Codergirl,

Dont get this wrong... Nice A**. But really... Thank you for helping my fears a little... At what point of weightloss, to you add muscle building to tone it out? I have been about 90% Cardio for 6 weeks... should a focus more on 50/50 cardio and wight training?

Start progressively heavy lifting right now. Look at starting strenght, stronglifts or some other heavy lifting program. Trust me - I wish I had started when i began losing weight and the difference it has made in the last 3 months is remarkable.