This is an excerpt from a book....Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto. He said that in many cases when people have lost a lot of weight and think they've been left with great puddles of excess skin, it's actually still body fat. You may have reached your Goal Weight on the scales but Tom says it's worth looking at your body fat percentage

"Except in extreme cases, you are very unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up and literally start to "cling" to your abdominal muscles once your body fat goes from "average" to "excellent." Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and loose skin is a rare sight.

So... the key to getting tighter skin is to lose more body fat, up to the point where your body composition rating is BETTER than average (in the "good" to "great" category, not just "okay"). Only AFTER you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal."

... unless you are really, really lean, it's difficult to get a clear picture of what is loose skin, what is just remaining body fat and how much further the skin will tighten up when the rest of the fat is lost."

In addition.... you can also:

losing weight slowly
keeping your skin hydrated
preserving muscle tone and
eating nutrient rich foods


I can also add from personal experience, having lost over 100lbs myself, the scary loose skin tends to go away. There are only a few areas I am still having trouble with; stomach (the biggest), upper arms and inner thighs. So, I am starting to work out to see if it fixes some of the jiggle.

me too actually , any tricks

agree with elmars13 I have lost about 36 lbs and was looking really wrinkled being of a certainage when one tends to wrinkle but I am begining to firm up noe I am in the normal catagory and say it will improve give it time your skin needs to regenerate and catch up with you weight loss

From research I've done, they just recommend strength training to build the muscles and HYDRATE - drink lots of water and use lots of lotion. I read that depending on how heavy you were and how long you were at that weight can have a big effect on how long it takes for the skin to firm back up. It said that sometimes it can take 6 months to a year for the skin to adjust.

Age and genetics play part in it too, but I'm focusing on what I can control!

Thanks - I needed that... we all work very hard to lose and seeing that extra skin is kinda a bummer

Great post, thanks

Brushy, lots of excercise, brushy, regular creams , cold water, DRY BRUSHY and drinking lots of water helps.Did i mention brushy-brushy?
I lost weight too fast at some point, mostly from belly and i srsly cant praise dry brushing with natural brush strongly enough.
Helps with the epicentres of cellulite that my asscheeks used to be.
I brushy.

I actualy have one natural bristles brush for dry brushing and other one with both syntetic bristles and like rubber thingiemajings that i use under shower. For soaping and scrubbing. I did forgot about taking mostly cold as heck showers, they do help too for the skin look i think.

Brushy is my pet name for those accessories. I am somewhat infantille

^the Brushy ^

Just google "brush for dry brushing" and trial and error into one you like and want to stick with

I know from a previous weight loss that strength training while doing cardio to lose the pounds was a great way to minimize the loose skin. WIth dry brushing, I use the exfoliating gloves before I enter the shower and then once I get in the shower, I lather up and further do away with the dead skin. It is a wonderful way of rejuvenating the skin. I follow my shower with more natural moisturizers like pure cocoa butter, vegetable glycerine, etc. Good luck everyone.

bump.

This is so helpful. Thanks! I'm going to try dry brushing and maybe forced myself to drink more water.

This is an excerpt from a book....Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle by Tom Venuto. He said that in many cases when people have lost a lot of weight and think they've been left with great puddles of excess skin, it's actually still body fat. You may have reached your Goal Weight on the scales but Tom says it's worth looking at your body fat percentage

"Except in extreme cases, you are very unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up and literally start to "cling" to your abdominal muscles once your body fat goes from "average" to "excellent." Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and loose skin is a rare sight.

So... the key to getting tighter skin is to lose more body fat, up to the point where your body composition rating is BETTER than average (in the "good" to "great" category, not just "okay"). Only AFTER you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal."

... unless you are really, really lean, it's difficult to get a clear picture of what is loose skin, what is just remaining body fat and how much further the skin will tighten up when the rest of the fat is lost."

In addition.... you can also:

losing weight slowly
keeping your skin hydrated
preserving muscle tone and
eating nutrient rich foods


I can also add from personal experience, having lost over 100lbs myself, the scary loose skin tends to go away. There are only a few areas I am still having trouble with; stomach (the biggest), upper arms and inner thighs. So, I am starting to work out to see if it fixes some of the jiggle.

Excellent post LMars13!

Good discussion. My intuition has told me that if I just shed enough body fat, the flabbiness will go with it. I haven't lost 100 pounds or anything, but I do have much more jiggle than I would like, and I can tell that there's still fat there over my newly formed muscles. Shedding fat is one of my top goals right now. Now to figure out how...LOL

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iammekris3191/

someone look through my photos and tell me your opinions if it's fat or skin. Inbox me please

I looked through your photos. I'm not exactly sure what the labeling of the days is showing progress of because usually it is weight loss, but you already look like you have lost a lot of weight at day 30. I would say there is still some fat, but there has definitely been some compromising of your skin quality. I don't know what exactly to suggest, but definitely keep losing. I have looked into MSM products because of their claim to add elasticity to the skin. I might suggest it for you. Congrats with your weight loss. Keep it up.

Hello everyone!!

My name is Danielle and I have lost about 80 lbs so far with still 60 lbs left to go and I am terrified of having all the extra skin. I don't have horrible loose skin yet although I have noticed that I have some on my arms, thighs, and my stomach. How do I make sure that it doesn't get any worse?? I work out all the time with Zumba being my favorite exercise to do. Is there something else I can add to prevent it??

when I lost 60lbs I had extra skin because of how fast I lost the weight/ I also was not working out for the first 40lbs. the best thing you can do is work out. make sure to drink a lot of water and moisturize skin. its easier when your younger because your skin has more elasticity. even though I had extra skin it went away because I started workouts/ moisturized/ drank water. also I was 18 when I lost the weight. are you sure its extra skin???? take your nails pinch your "extra skin" pull outwards with your fingers if you can pull skin up its extra skin, if not it is fat.