Scared of getting saggy skin :(

To a large extent, if you're going to get it, you're going to get it. Some things you can do that might help are not losing too quickly, doing some resistance training as you lose (this is a good idea anyway), getting good nutrition, keeping well hydrated and keeping your skin moisturised. Those are some general recommendations you'll hear, but there aren't really any definitive answers. Genetics plays a part, as does age, so you might have a bit more than if you were losing at age 20, but you should be in a much better position than if you were losing at 40, 50 or 60. Unfortunately, there is a chance that you will have some, but it may not be as bad as you think, and I promise you: losing the weight will still be so worth it.

hon, i feel your pain and i am there. i have lost nearly 200 lbs and i have lots of sag. the good news is where it is, is under clothes. and i can hide it. please, look through my pics, you'll see it's not that bad. spanx are a girls best friend lol. trust me, it's better to have the sag and be healthy than to have it all filled in and to be unhealthy.

I think this is something we all worry about, OP! I've heard it really varies person-to-person. I think in the long run we are all going to be much happier even if we sag a little. And we can always fill out with a little muscle

As for the boobs- that's what I'm most afraid of! I'm at about a 38J right now and I while I understand they will probably get a bit smaller I cannot imagine if they deflated/shrunk. yucky!

That being said, I think if you're losing weight slow and in a healthy way that you should be giving your skin enough time to unstretch back. I already have plenty of stretch marks, so I really hope I turn out okay!

Also, bit of a gross question, but if you have folds of excess skin, do you get sores? Does it get sweaty?

I don't get sores but some do get them. i sweat less now then i did before because even though it sags, it raised up off of other areas the more weight i've lost. it is kinda like pizza dough lol

Well, ultimately you will have to choose.

Lose weight and possibly have saggy skin.

Or just stay fat.

I know which I would choose.

If whatever saggy skin you end up with tends to develop sores and infection, insurance will often cover reconstruction (but not generally if the only problem is "aesthetics"). I'm 61, have lost about 40 pounds and see some sag (mostly on my upper arms), but it's definitely not getting worse and "may" be getting better. I've only been doing this since the beginning of the year, so can't tell with any certainty what the final end result will look like (thinking of dropping my goal down another 5 pounds)

i've been a big girl since i was little but you cant really tell how much i weigh because im so tall. im 28, 6'0" and when i started actually looking at getting healthier i was 274lbs, through some hard times and different techniques i was able to drop down to 264 and with MFP i lost another 10lbs bringing me to 254lbs. and i look at myself in the mirror and ask myself the same questions on if i will ever be able to tighten up the skin on my belly n some of my thighs. so i found that doing the wii fit plus workouts especially the hola hoop workouts and doing low cost "body wraps" has really helped with the beginning stages of tighting up the skin. i've only been doing the body wraps for less than a week now and i've noticed a difference of how its firming up.

i hope this helps out and dont be discouraged by the skin, it can all be taken care of even if u have to get medical help. all that matters is that you are healthy

how much weight did people lose before they started noticing the excess skin?

I have lost "only" just under 60 pounds so far. I haven't seen any issues with saggy skin. But, I have been losing ever so slowly it's taken 9 or 10 months. I do think it will become an issue though when I am getting closer to goal weight. I think that it's good to be aware of the problem now so you can take steps to avoid it as much as possible. Like losing weight slow not more than an average of 2 pounds a week. Add resistance training when you are able to and as soon as possible and moisturize. In my case one out of 3 ain't bad.

I am worried about saggy skin too but I'd much rather have the saggy skin than to feel the way I feel now. So far I am down 33 lbs and I am starting to notice a little bit of excess skin. I just try to do full body workouts, I do planks every day too. I really don't know if it's possible to completely avoid excess skin though. My plan is to get to my goal weight (100 lbs to go for my "healthy BMI) then worry about it. For now, I just want to get the weight off. I totally understand your fear because it's a fear for a lot of us, but getting healthy is much more important than your skin. Good luck!