Avoiding loose skin after weight loss

kkhall29
kkhall29 Posts: 14 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have heard that loosing 2lbs a week and working out will prevent loose skin. Has anyone lost a considerable amount of weight without surgery and not had problems with loose skin? Just want to hear your thoughts.
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Replies

  • JenCatwalk
    JenCatwalk Posts: 285 Member
    Well i lost about a pound a week for 2 years and lost 100 pounds. I don't have loose skin. However, I would like to know the answer to this question as well, so heres a bump!
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    I've lost at least 60 lbs since sept 2011, and I don't have loose skin...i think relativey slow weight loss is the key...sometimes my skin had that empty walmart plastic sack look, but it seemed to tighten up on it's own. My formerly ridiculous belly is just about completely deflated, and no signs of loose skin...yay me.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
    I've been losing 2lb a week for 10 weeks now. I run a lot. No skin problems so far.

    I think human skin is resilient. Think about pregnant women - how fast and how far their skin stretches. And it goes back. It takes months, but it does. Even if pregnant with twins.

    I think that it is mostly when we do things that are unnatural (like cutting our part of your stomach) that body does not cope so well.
  • Jolene8992
    Jolene8992 Posts: 127 Member
    Lucky girls. A little over 70 lbs in a year. Yeah, back of my thighs, stomach and upper arms. Depends on how big you wete to start with. I was pushing 300. Skin can only stretch so much before it breaks. Like a rubber band . Eventually the stretch breaks. Exercise only.builds up the muscle and fills in the loose skin. But that skin is there. Only way to get rid of it once elasticity breaks is surgery. No way. Loose skin is better than fat. I wish u luck.
  • NYCNika
    NYCNika Posts: 611 Member
    Lucky girls. A little over 70 lbs in a year. Yeah, back of my thighs, stomach and upper arms. Depends on how big you wete to start with. I was pushing 300. Skin can only stretch so much before it breaks. Like a rubber band . Eventually the stretch breaks. Exercise only.builds up the muscle and fills in the loose skin. But that skin is there. Only way to get rid of it once elasticity breaks is surgery. No way. Loose skin is better than fat. I wish u luck.

    I was pregnant with twins. I looked like I swallowed a giant beach ball. I even had ugly stretch marks blossom in the last month. It all went away. Even though so many people on pregnancy forums said that stretch marks don't go away. Skin is a living organ and does so much!
  • jajnn
    jajnn Posts: 33
    unless you're morbidly obese you don't really have much to worry about. Stay hydrated, your skin is a living organ that will adapt itself to your body shape over time. A lot of times people confuse excess subcutaneous fat for loose skin.
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    I lost 75lbs in 7 months & dont have loose skin. Actually I'm now down to 80lbs & still don't. But I use bio oil to help & coconut oil from the inside :)
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    I plan on making soo many gainzzz I won't have loose skin.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
    I've lost my weight over the period of nearly 2 years now. I'm still fat, just not morbidly obese (I think I'm technically just "obese". Yay!) and the only way I'm going to completely avoid loose skin is with surgery. I think there's a point where you just can't get away with it. There was a time in my life when my skin was accommodating a 400 lb body. That skin just isn't going to fit my 240 lb body quite right.
  • Jolene8992
    Jolene8992 Posts: 127 Member
    I've lost my weight over the period of nearly 2 years now. I'm still fat, just not morbidly obese (I think I'm technically just "obese". Yay!) and the only way I'm going to completely avoid loose skin is with surgery. I think there's a point where you just can't get away with it. There was a time in my life when my skin was accommodating a 400 lb body. That skin just isn't going to fit my 240 lb body quite right.
    I was beginning to think I was abnormal. Yes I was 270+ and that is morbidly obese. Now im just obese. Dont ya love it?
  • shrinkingbrian
    shrinkingbrian Posts: 171 Member
    I have lost 178 pounds in 63 weeks (about 2.8 pounds/month). For the past six months, I have been averaging a loss of 2.1 pounds per week. I don't have problems with loose skin. I also lift weights, swim daily, and stay hydrated. Age and genetics can also be factors. My mother had bariatric surgery followed by several skin removal surgeries (there goes my inheritance). I have lost weight without surgery and I don't have loose skin.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,984 Member
    There are variables that will dictate if you get loose skin or not. Age, genetics, how fast you lose and how much you lose. There is no real way to tell till you get there.

    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
  • Kimdbro
    Kimdbro Posts: 922 Member
    I lost 90lb in 1 year and had loose skin around my stomach. I've gained 80 back in 4 years.... this time I'm going to use bio oil and coconut oil (supposed to help) and use more strength training and cardio. Last time most of my muscle was in my arms and accross my back from kayaking, and I didn't do a lot of crunches etc. Hope it works. I didn't have a lot of skin... I'm probably the only one that noticed.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
    It depends on a lot of factors like age, weight before losing, how much protein you consume, hydration level throughout, how quickly you lose weight, if you incorporated strength at all during weight loss, etc. There are so many things. I hope that given my age and a few other factors that I won't have too much when I'm all done...
  • EmilyEmpowered
    EmilyEmpowered Posts: 650 Member
    nevermind Ill keep thoughts to myself today
  • nixthebrownies
    nixthebrownies Posts: 13 Member
    water, strength training, slow and steady weight loss, bio-oil/coconut oil, time.

    If it took you a few years to stretch your skin, it'll take you a few to tighten it. And maybe not all the way. Don't let google and weight loss shows scare you. Remember, in those shows they're losing pretty rapidly. And google is always worst case scenario. Even still, worst case scenario skin sagging is better than worst case scenario obesity, which could be sacrificing your life.
  • bernicesmission
    bernicesmission Posts: 100
    bump
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    What is bio oil?
  • oc1timoco
    oc1timoco Posts: 272 Member
    I lost a 160 lbs. in 10 months. I lost it way to fast. Now the loose skin that I have been dealing with for 2 years is only diminished by 70%. Loose skin is the price you pay for impatience in my opinion. My age and the number of years I weighed over 350 lbs. are factors as well. I would urge anyone who wants to lose over a 100 lbs. to use weights as well as cardio and not to lose more than 1 &1/2 --- 2 lbs. a week.
  • CarmenSRT
    CarmenSRT Posts: 843 Member
    It depends on your skin, which is a function of your unique genetics. Please don't feel as if you did something "wrong" if you have loose skin when you're done. The folks crowing about having no loose skin and then saying it's because they <insert whatever here> are really just lucky. There's no magic or trick involved in their result.

    I'm not one of the lucky ones. That's life. Still better to have loose flappy skin from a health perspective than being obese. :tongue:
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    A lot of times people confuse excess subcutaneous fat for loose skin.

    I agree completely.

    If your "loose skin" is thicker than a few millimeters, you have residual subcutaneous body fat. So long as adipose tissue remains, the skin will not return to its former (pre weight gain) size and elasticity.

    Skin does naturally lose some elasticity with age. However for most young people the appearance of loose skin will resolve itself once they become lean enough.

    Having said that, to minimize the amount of loose skin it is best to lose weight slowly while strength training. Doing so will help preserve as much muscle as possible during weight loss.
  • unapologetically_crystal
    unapologetically_crystal Posts: 278 Member
    i was morbidly obese. i used to weigh 327lbs.. my skin hung before i ever did anything about it...
    i now weigh about 175lbs. yes i have loose skin.. & still have fat underneath it. i dont think there is much hope of it ever "bouncing back in some areas (like below my belly button). i think it can only be corrected with surgery. but at the same time... i have done bodyweight circuit exercises and have seen a MAJOR shrinkage of skin.. and my thighs have done what i like to call wrinkling... that went away and got better.. until it gets more..

    i choose to believe that this is all totally worth it regardless of the loose skin. i also choose to believe that i dont know maybe over time i can overcome it.. cuz i dont really see surgery happening.

    i lived with the skin filled with fat... so i guess i can live with it now too.
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    I assume you mean if I pinch it between my fingers?

    A lot of times people confuse excess subcutaneous fat for loose skin.

    I agree completely.

    (If your "loose skin" is thicker than a few millimeters, you have residual subcutaneous body fat. So long as adipose tissue remains, the skin will not return to its former (pre weight gain) size and elasticity.)

    Skin does naturally lose some elasticity with age. However for most young people the appearance of loose skin will resolve itself once they become lean enough.

    Having said that, to minimize the amount of loose skin it is best to lose weight slowly while strength training. Doing so will help preserve as much muscle as possible during weight loss.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    I have heard that loosing 2lbs a week and working out will prevent loose skin. Has anyone lost a considerable amount of weight without surgery and not had problems with loose skin? Just want to hear your thoughts.

    l lost 95 pounds in 7 months and have zero loose skin even though I'm over 120 pounds down now.

    I ran a half marathon when I was about 100 down and and was talking to somebody at the starting line about "compression shorts". - I'd never heard of them (I don't get out much). The guy I was talking to told me that people wear them to stop things from chafing. Couldn't figure out what that was all about.

    The only thingI did was eat less exercise more, eating about 800 to 1k calls, net, per day for that time.

    What I have tried to do is learn about nutrition and, for the past couple of years, the physiology of running. The more I learn, the more I understand the conventional wisdom isn't and the more I see that even though we're all the same species, there can be wide range of reactions to things.
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    I would say you are one of the lucky ones.

    I have heard that loosing 2lbs a week and working out will prevent loose skin. Has anyone lost a considerable amount of weight without surgery and not had problems with loose skin? Just want to hear your thoughts.

    l lost 95 pounds in 7 months and have zero loose skin even though I'm over 120 pounds down now.

    I ran a half marathon when I was about 100 down and and was talking to somebody at the starting line about "compression shorts". - I'd never heard of them (I don't get out much). The guy I was talking to told me that people wear them to stop things from chafing. Couldn't figure out what that was all about.

    The only thingI did was eat less exercise more, eating about 800 to 1k calls, net, per day for that time.

    What I have tried to do is learn about nutrition and, for the past couple of years, the physiology of running. The more I learn, the more I understand the conventional wisdom isn't and the more I see that even though we're all the same species, there can be wide range of reactions to things.
  • donohoe4
    donohoe4 Posts: 76 Member
    I have lost 160+ lbs in 2 years. I weight train, drink almost a gallon of water a day and eat approx 190 grams of protein per day. I have a lot of excess skin. I spent the last 8 years at over 300 lbs, 352 was my highest and have been big my entire life. I believe that you either have it or you don't. Not much you can do to prevent it.
  • Imfssbk
    Imfssbk Posts: 1
    I lost 130 lbs in 7-8 months, but it did leave me with a lot of loose skin for the first month. Its the 10th month for me, most of my skin is contracted, still have a lil flabs left. It should be gone in the next two months or so, I guess its not too much of a prob.
  • arabianhorselover
    arabianhorselover Posts: 1,488 Member
    It helps to be young, I'm sure.
  • annikabul
    annikabul Posts: 1
    I just have started my dieting (about a 5 weeks ago), I am currently down 4kg (8,8 pounds).
    I would like to start and make a program along with the diet, that will help to avoid loose skin, as much as possible.
    I am currently:
    - swiming 3 times a week.
    - yoga classes 2 times a week

    I plan to start 2 times a week cardio and probably some small weight lifting (especially for the hands of course).
    I wanted to ask - do you think I can visit sauna or steam baths - would this be ok for the skin and also massages (I think that massages should also help for the circulation - anticellulite and so on.)

    Does this sound good?
  • NewLIFEstyle4ME
    NewLIFEstyle4ME Posts: 4,440 Member
    Bump

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