How to deal with loose skin after weight loss?

I think sometimes if a person loses A LOT of weight quickly it will sag much easier. My mom had lost about a 100lbs on the Slim Fast diet. She was about 40yo. She only walked, no strength training, nor was the diet healthy. She had terrible saggy skin once she got older in her arms and neck. That was also from years of losing and gaining. I guess my point is, don't try to rush it. Work hard, eat well, and take care of yourself. It will come off, but it's best to gradually lose weight.

Many issues got into excessive skin. Age being the biggest one. Yes, from time to time weight training can help tighten up excessive skin...also known as skin sag. For me, my WLS surgeon said nothing but plastic surgery will help. I'm 50 and have lost 104 pounds...with 57 more to go.

I am going to start weight training on a BowFlex. But I don't have much hope of it tightening up my skin. There is no way weight training will tighen up all the skin sag I have.

He is 25yo male. I think his skin still has plenty of resiliency left. Unfortunately, age does decrease the collagen in the skin. Honestly, If I lost a ton of weight and was very unpleased with excessive saggy skin, I'd make the leap and save money to have it removed.

When I had my surgery there was very little fat... the apron of skin was removed, the broken muscle repaired and I was only 3 pounds lighter when all was said and done. I didn't have excess fat... only excess skin. Even after regaining some weight and losing it again I haven't had a return problem of excess skin, but I only regained 17 of the nearly 70 I'd lost before I had the surgery. I also waited 2 years after losing and keeping it off, plus doing everything else that had been suggested to me to help reduce the problem before deciding on the surgical option. It isn't cheap, but I saved up the money and my sick and vacation time at work and I am very happy with the result. It wasn't a short cut... it was a last resort, but one that I feel was 100% worth it.

When I had my surgery there was very little fat... the apron of skin was removed, the broken muscle repaired and I was only 3 pounds lighter when all was said and done. I didn't have excess fat... only excess skin. Even after regaining some weight and losing it again I haven't had a return problem of excess skin, but I only regained 17 of the nearly 70 I'd lost before I had the surgery. I also waited 2 years after losing and keeping it off, plus doing everything else that had been suggested to me to help reduce the problem before deciding on the surgical option. It isn't cheap, but I saved up the money and my sick and vacation time at work and I am very happy with the result. It wasn't a short cut... it was a last resort, but one that I feel was 100% worth it.

what did the surgeons tell you before having the surgery? did they say it was never going to go away without the surgery? if so, was it because of your age? or any other factors??

i am curious about this subject since there is not much about it online. it's hard to even find before/after photos of people who have had the surgery. from what i've seen on that Extreme Makeover show, the argument in favor of the surgery is always that the excess skin is causing skin rashes and getting in the way of exercise, but i don't recall them ever showing a doctor saying that surgery was the only way to get rid of the loose skin, just the fastest way.

My family doctor and I had long discussions about it both during and after my weight loss. Both she and the surgeon agreed I had done all I could to improve the situation on my own and if this loose, hanging apron of skin bothered me, surgery would be the only way to get rid of it. Part of it was just plain genetics and the rest circumstances and age. I was 57 when I had the surgery, but truly the issue started at 19 after I had my first baby and got worse with each following pregnancy and then after that big weight loss. For SOME women, the abdominal muscles cleave due to pregnancy. No exercise will repair that. My mother weighed 105 pounds and had that apron of skin and broken muscles. My sisters both have it. I had it and chose to deal with it. I never got rashes, but it was very embarrassing for me. Could I have gone on like that for the rest of my life? Sure! It wasn't going to kill me, but it was something, like losing weight, that I could fix, if not by exercise then by having surgery. I am a very self-confident person in every way, but doing this for ME gave me even more confidence, especially when I found myself off in the dating world again. I think it's a personal choice when all other options have failed. I did a lot of research online... lots of before and after pictures.... what the procedure entailed.... what it would achieve and what it wouldn't. It's not for everyone, and as I said, I feel all other options should be attempted FIRST.

Editing to add that if you google "tummy tuck" or "abdominoplasty" you will see examples of what some women deal with and why they chose this procedure.

I also have excessive skin around my knees and right before my knees that's the only thing I am mad about after having gbp. I am scheduled to see a plastic surgeon in January because no matter what I am having the hardest time losing the weight there and everytime someone looks at me thats the first place they look (I get MAD!!). They comment on me having biig thighs but I know I am gonna have biig thighs but not biig knees. I still cant wear shorts or short skirts because Im self concious about that part of my body.

I talked to my doctor about this last week. She agreed with the weight training and drinking adequate water, but also suggested something I haven't heard anywhere else. She said that eating at least 30% of calories from protein, along with the exercise and lifting, will help the most. She said that if I did these things for a year, once I hit my goal, that we would be able to see how much my skin would repair itself.

I can't decide if the protein helps in the muscle building or if it helps the skin. She said it helps with skin elasticity. I've never heard this anywhere else. But I figure if I'm going to be lifting heavy anyway, trying to hit 30% protein each day is a reasonable goal, anyway.

I think losing slowing helps, too.

I guess I'll see soon!

I do situps with 2 90# dumbbells for 30 reps and can plank for 6 mins+. I dont know what my body fat % is but I have a 6 pack. My lose skin is still there. Just be happy its not full. this is my uncropped pic.

lol, what weight training should I do for saggy boobs?

Only plastic surgery can remove excess skin. It will tighten some on its own with proper exercise, but once the skin is stretched, it will not ever go back to the way it was.

I'd have to disagree....I believe yes some people require plastic surgery but not all. I've lost 100 lbs so far and my skin isn't as loose as I thought it would be. I find that it's from lifting more instead of only cardio, but this is only my opinion.

Your skin actually *does* have the capability of shrinking through exercise and proper nutrition. It may not go back to the way it was when you were a kid, but you are not forever doomed to floppy skin.

You have to increase your lean body mass, and do your best to eliminate fat, not LBM, when losing weight. Weight training, proper nutrition and hydration will go a long way. Your skin is not a balloon. It sheds itself and grows anew every 6 weeks or so.