Worried about excess skin

Nothing will help the skin you have. Genetic play a big role. Lose slowly, do strength training to have muscles under the skin. Drink plenty of water, using a nice lotion.

I have load of extra skin but if I have to choose between being fat or healthy with extra skin, I will take the extra skin. It is a lot easier to hide extra skin.

I agree with some of these folks. I've been at this for a little over 2 years. I've lost 108.8 pounds, so far, I'm 33 and I have no excess skin, Why? You may be asking yourself? 2 things. 1 I've been losing it slowly. and 2. Since the beginning, I've been strength training 4 times a week and while I still have 71.2 pounds to go, and I still have a ton of fat on my body, I have no excess skin and I am stronger and stronger everyday. Do some squats and if you are not a gym person, grab some Kettle bells or some weights. It will help you immensely.

I've had some experience with this and with folks I've trained, you may have some even with steady loss and exercise, but if you do, continue the moisturizer w Vitamin E and it will adjust over a period of time, how long really depends on how much. But I can tell you from experience its a better problem to have than the alternative. So ruck up and hti the trail, success is right there at the top o the hill.

Ditto, I too have at least 5 stone to lose. I'm also concerned that I maybe will be left with loose skin.

I have my goal set for a year, losing 1lb a week. Here's hoping :flowerforyou:

honestly- keep drinking losts of water, and moisterize your skin. You will be fine.

I've lost 5 stone and am age 35 so quite similar to you. The only place I seem to have problem skin is the tricep area but I'm hoping that with continuing strength work the muscle will pull it in. Even then, it's not really that bad and my arms look 100 times better than they did 5 stone ago.

Good that you are losing the weight at this age rather than leaving it later in life when your skin might not be so forgiving.

Best of luck with it all x

I agree i was talking about this yesterday that i was worried about excess skin do to the fact of trying to loose 201 pounds


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Take the weight of slowly and it should not be so much of a problem

COPIED from GET-FIT Guy website

Different layers of your skin have different types of cells, and though the skin cells on the outer part of your skin (the epidermis) are constantly being lost and replaced with new cells, the skin cells under the epidermis are a bit more permanent. These layers of the skin, called the dermis and subdermis, are made up of elastic connective tissues, fibers, blood vessels and all sorts of components that can stretch or contract depending on how they’re treated.
What Happens to Your Skin When You Lose Weight?
When you lose weight, and especially when you lose weight very quickly, these elastic components of your skin not only lose the layers of fat that keep them stretched out over your body, but they also don’t have much time for their elasticity to adapt to your new shape.
In addition to weight loss, age, poor nutrition, dehydration, excessive sun exposure, and smoking can all affect the elasticity of the skin and give you that elephant-like appearance you probably don’t want.
How to Tighten Loose Skin After Weight Loss
As you lose fat and your loose skin begins to appear, the first rule is: don’t panic! Because it is a living organ, your skin will slowly return to a shape that fits your new body. But since that process can take up to two years, here are steps you can take to make your skin tighten more quickly:
Tip #1: Don’t Lose Weight Too Quickly
In addition to weight loss, age, poor nutrition, dehydration, excessive sun exposure, and smoking can all affect the elasticity of the skin.Crash diets and excessive amounts of time spent exercising can rapidly shed both muscle and fat, resulting in a double-whammy on your skin--the supportive underlying muscular structure that holds skin against your body is lost, as is the fat that keeps the skin stretched out. Quick and dirty tip for not losing weight too quickly: Aim for 1-2 pounds of fat loss per week, and make sure your weight loss program includes weight lifting so that you do not lose lean muscle. Check out more weight lifting and strength training tips here.
Tip #2: Stay Hydrated
Attend to your hydration needs. Water is a crucial component of maintaining skin elasticity. From both food and drink, you should be taking in at least two liters of water each day. A wonderful resource for learning more about proper hydration is this article from Nutrition Diva: How Much Water Should I Drink?
Tip #3: Eat Properly
Two necessary ingredients that keep skin plump and elastic are collagen and elastin. Protein-rich foods such as cottage cheese, milk, legumes, tofu, beans, seeds, nuts, and fish all contain collagen and elastin forming components, as well as oils to help maintain healthy skin. Quick and dirty protein tip: For optimum absorption, squeeze 100-200 calories of these protein sources in immediately after your workout. For more on what to eat when working out, see my article on what to eat before and after exercising.
Tip #4: Take Care of Your Skin
Nourish and care for your skin. Daily exfoliation can help to remove dead skin cells and increase skin circulation. A hot bath with sea salts and minerals can improve skin tone. Skin tightening creams with herbal formulas and ingredients such as aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, yeast extract, soy protein, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin A can help to hydrate and increase collagen and elastin formation in skin.
Stay away from harsh detergents, such a sulfates in soaps, shampoos and dishwashing liquids, limit your sun exposure and stay away from tanning booths, and limit your exposure to hot and chlorinated water—all of these things will decrease skin elasticity. Quick and dirty tip: If you swim for fitness, use soap and shampoos that are specially designed to remove chlorine.
When to Consider Surgery for Loose Skin
Skin can only be stretched so far before it looses some of its ability to snap back. If you’ve had a 9-month pregnancy, then you’ll be able to tighten your loose skin. But if you’ve carried a hundred or more extra pounds for many years, you may be a candidate for plastic surgery to tighten and lift loose skin. This fix should only be used in extreme cases, and I should warn you: my clients who have undergone this operation have actually gained more fat afterwards while they were rehabilitating from surgery!
Bottom Line
As mentioned earlier, elasticity of your skin will naturally decrease with age. Though you can address issues such as not losing weight too quickly, staying properly hydrated, eating the right foods, and caring for your skin, you simply have no control over your age! Quick and dirty tip: Rather than letting age stress you out, you should focus on the things over which you have control—like exercising and eating right—and you’ll find that you always look good.
Whether you have a kangaroo pouch, an orangutan chin, or elephant legs, you can use the tips in this article to tighten loose skin or prevent loose skin in the first place.

hey kaylou
i too have just over 5 stone to lose and am veeeery worried about loose skin. I have been on steroids, high doses, on and off for years and this has already damaged the dermis layer of my skin and left me with stretch marks covering my thighs, arms, belly, lower back, chest. Im worried they will get even worse as the weight comes off its pretty miserable!
This is what Im doing to try and help minimise the loose skin (I can already pinch about a cm of very thin skin on my chest and thighs)
1. Drink plenty water
2. Bio oil on stretch marks
3. Nivea firming moistursiser, pretty much everywhere
4. losing weight slowly, aiming for 1.5lb per week
5. Strength training (weights and resistance exercises) interspersed with all the cardio
6. Wishing very hard!!!
7. Remembering that even if I get the dreaded loose skin, i will look better in clothes than before, and no worse naked than before!

Chin up, keep going, good luck

^^ LIKE

I have the same problem, have lost 66 lbs and boy do I hate the loose skin on thighs and stomach. But #7 above is helping me to feel better about it until it tightens up some ( I hope at least some, haven't done anything with weights yet Guess it's time to start) and I do look better in clothes now, I tell my family and friends they just can't see what underneath LOL)

Wishing you the best!

YES MA'M I think that is good advice to us all:)

It is certainly a concern for me, too. I lost about 50lbs since last november and there is extra skin where my love handles (now a little smaller) are and I hope a more steady weight loss will help. but in other parts of my body, my skin is doing a great job at staying tight. Well, wait and see...