Worried about loose skin

Options
So i am dieting at the minute - never over 1200 calories a day, often under. And I do at least 20 minutes of cardio workout a day (days I am not at uni I do up to 60 minutes) as well as walking 45 minutes 4 days a week.

In the evening, just while watching tv i usually do about 30 minutes of chest presses combined with abdominal exercises - don't know the official name but where you lie down, lift your legs a bit off the ground and hold it, and also where you alternate extending each leg, again raised off the ground just a little.

I know people say there is no point doing that until you get rid of the fat on the tummy with cardio first. But my thinking is given i am doing cardio, when the fat starts to disappear i will have a toned tummy underneath. Is my logic wrong?

I am worried about loosing this weight and then having alot of loose skin left. If there anything i can do to help prevent this?

Replies

  • lemur_lady
    lemur_lady Posts: 350 Member
    Options
    Lose the weight slowly and you will minimise loose skin.

    How much do you have to lose?
  • xCarpeDiemx24
    Options
    Want to lose around 30-40ld. Ideally 25-30lb by June. Is that too quick?
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
    Options
    So i am dieting at the minute - never over 1200 calories a day, often under. And I do at least 20 minutes of cardio workout a day (days I am not at uni I do up to 60 minutes) as well as walking 45 minutes 4 days a week.

    In the evening, just while watching tv i usually do about 30 minutes of chest presses combined with abdominal exercises - don't know the official name but where you lie down, lift your legs a bit off the ground and hold it, and also where you alternate extending each leg, again raised off the ground just a little.

    I know people say there is no point doing that until you get rid of the fat on the tummy with cardio first. But my thinking is given i am doing cardio, when the fat starts to disappear i will have a toned tummy underneath. Is my logic wrong?

    I am worried about loosing this weight and then having alot of loose skin left. If there anything i can do to help prevent this?
    Well, your ticker says you only have about 25 pounds to lose. That's not a whole lot of weight, and ti sounds like you might not be that overweight, so you are going to want to lose it slowly. If you lose it slowly, exercise (by the way, spot reducing does not work, such as for your tummy), and eat MORE than 1,200 calories because you exercise, your skin will be fine.

    As for the time limit on losing weight-sure you can set that goal, you can do everything right, but there's no guarantee that you will weight exactly what you want to weight by June. Weight loss is no linear, sometimes you won't lose a pound for a few weeks or more, other times it will seem to fall off.

    I advise you set your calorie goals to lose a half pound to a pound per week, eat a portion of your exercise back, and envision yourself as making a lifestyle change rather than dieting. Also, don't deprive yourself of the foods you normally eat, just learn how to eat them in moderation.

    Weigh all your solid food and measure all your liquids. If you use a heart rate monitor and have it calibrated correctly, your cardio burns will most likely be close to accurate and you can eat more of your exercise calories back (MFP figures you calorie deficit when you set up your weight loss goals). If you use gym machine or MFP numbers, I advise eating only 50-75% of your exercise calories back because their numbers are overestimated. Personally, I count cardio calories but not weight lifting calories.

    Good luck!
  • lemur_lady
    lemur_lady Posts: 350 Member
    Options
    So i am dieting at the minute - never over 1200 calories a day, often under. And I do at least 20 minutes of cardio workout a day (days I am not at uni I do up to 60 minutes) as well as walking 45 minutes 4 days a week.

    In the evening, just while watching tv i usually do about 30 minutes of chest presses combined with abdominal exercises - don't know the official name but where you lie down, lift your legs a bit off the ground and hold it, and also where you alternate extending each leg, again raised off the ground just a little.

    I know people say there is no point doing that until you get rid of the fat on the tummy with cardio first. But my thinking is given i am doing cardio, when the fat starts to disappear i will have a toned tummy underneath. Is my logic wrong?

    I am worried about loosing this weight and then having alot of loose skin left. If there anything i can do to help prevent this?
    Well, your ticker says you only have about 25 pounds to lose. That's not a whole lot of weight, and ti sounds like you might not be that overweight, so you are going to want to lose it slowly. If you lose it slowly, exercise (by the way, spot reducing does not work, such as for your tummy), and eat MORE than 1,200 calories because you exercise, your skin will be fine.

    As for the time limit on losing weight-sure you can set that goal, you can do everything right, but there's no guarantee that you will weight exactly what you want to weight by June. Weight loss is no linear, sometimes you won't lose a pound for a few weeks or more, other times it will seem to fall off.

    I advise you set your calorie goals to lose a half pound to a pound per week, eat a portion of your exercise back, and envision yourself as making a lifestyle change rather than dieting. Also, don't deprive yourself of the foods you normally eat, just learn how to eat them in moderation.

    Weigh all your solid food and measure all your liquids. If you use a heart rate monitor and have it calibrated correctly, your cardio burns will most likely be close to accurate and you can eat more of your exercise calories back (MFP figures you calorie deficit when you set up your weight loss goals). If you use gym machine or MFP numbers, I advise eating only 50-75% of your exercise calories back because their numbers are overestimated. Personally, I count cardio calories but not weight lifting calories.

    Good luck!

    ^^ This.

    And lift weights to maintain muscle. Don't set your calorie deficit too low.

    If you are just interested in losing weight then losing it quickly is an option (not a great one though). But if you are really worried about loose skin do it slowly.
  • toadg53
    toadg53 Posts: 302 Member
    Options
    I've been reading a LOT about how to avoid loose skin. Here's the gist that I've found:

    Loose skin pulls easily away from the body, like if you lift the skin from the back of your hand. Excess fat under the skin is like the "jiggle" most people have when you lift up your arm and your skin hangs down, or the lower belly "excess skin jiggle". If the skin "jiggles", it's fat, not loose skin.

    And the only thing that will alleviate that, is add'l fat loss.

    To prevent loose skin during weight loss…

    Make sure you exercise by doing high intense fat burning workouts while adding some body sculpting and/or muscle building workouts to your weight loss plan.

    Supposedly, at least weekly or preferably bi-weekly skin scrubs; dry air brushing; and a good daily moisturizer with a coconut oil base that contains vitamin e, a and c and collagen are good skin conditioning and treatments for the skin that promote skin rejuvenation.

    Just what I've read. I'm just starting all this now, cuz I NEED to, to try to stay on top of the skin issues I'm realizing. I really am not happy with myself for not having added the strength and toning exercises when the doctor told me to ... dang!
  • healthieryear
    healthieryear Posts: 17 Member
    Options
    Its something I'm really worried about too. I have a lot more to lose than you and its definitely always in the back of my mind.

    My brother lost over 100lbs though and has no loose skin at all. He said to drink LOTS of water and lift weights. He worked out like crazy and it obviously made a big difference....but I am still struggling to start working out.

    My dad is also almost 100lbs overweight, and has lost significant amounts over the years and then gained it back. Even though he is overweight he still works out a lot and you'd never guess he weighs as much as he does. His entire body is solid and I doubt he'd have any loose skin either. He swears by exercise, and more specifically toning exercises. He doesn't lift, but he knows a lot about toning using other methods.

    Some is genetic to an extent too probably. My mom who lost something like 80lbs has a bit of loose skin, but I can't even notice it. She doesn't exercise at all really though. She also says drink lots of water. She also said somethign about your body needing oils/fats and that should help...but I guarantee she didn't research that, so who knows if that makes any difference or not.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
    Options
    If you don't want loose skin 1200 and under is not the way to go. The slower you lose will allow your skin to keep up so try setting MFP for 0.5 or 1 lb loss a week.

    ETA:oh and moisturise :)
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Options
    You have to eat more than that. But there's not much you can do to avoid loose skin unfortunately... it depends on age and genetics. I have a lot... just hoping it will stretch back with time.
  • LianaG1115
    LianaG1115 Posts: 453 Member
    Options
    OMG!! I am having serious, SERIOUS, anxiety about this right now, almost daily!! I used to weigh 275, I'm down to 190 now and still a work in progress. I've noticed that a lot of me is starting to sag as my muscles are developing. I asked my trainer if this will get better or if the sagging will get worse. He said with work, a slow weight loss some if not most will eventually go as I tone and workout. HOWEVER, not all of it will and this is what I'm struggling with but I trudge onward and hope that my body bounces as I bounce to healthy and fit!!
  • SwampWitch666
    SwampWitch666 Posts: 110 Member
    Options
    Cocoa butter, jojoba oil, bio oil, etc. are great for helping with returning elasticity to the skin! I've been using cocoa butter on my "pooch" and it totally helps with that weird skin layer that sits there, I saw results with daily use in less than a week. And it smells amazing. Not to mention, it SLAYS stretch marks. Even if you don't get drastic results, at least your skin will feel awesome.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
    Options
    I think it depends on the individual and on how quickly the weight is lost. I lost 126 lbs and didn't get any loose skin. It took me a couple years to lose the weight. Everyone I know who lost really quickly got loose skin, so I think losing slowly helps.
    I am worried about loosing this weight and then having alot of loose skin left. If there anything i can do to help prevent this?