Loose skin?

Hey guys!

I thought the Success Stories section might be a good place to post. :) I'm 5'4" and 312 lbs. Just starting my journey. I'm starting to exercise (I walk, do Body Pump, Body Combat) and eat well, and have been heavy my whole life. I'm sure this question comes up a lot, but if I lose weight slowly, stay hydrated, lift, etc - do you think I'll wind up with gross loose skin? I'm not inclined to think I'm gonna end this gig looking like a super model by any stretch, but I don't really want belly skin hanging to my knees, either. :P

I guess I just wanted to hear from successful folks who have little loose skin (if that's even possible.) And hey - if you have some and it looks alright? I wanna hear from you too! :)

Replies

  • Agate69
    Agate69 Posts: 349 Member
    The younger you are, the better the skin shrinks, but even if you are in your 20's and lose 100 pounds you will have some excess skin

    I am over 60 and have lots of excess skin, but I would rather have excess skin than excess weight! Regular shorts look fine, but do short shorts really look good on anyone over 18? I only go sleeveless in my own yard, and yes I am soon seeing a plastic surgeon for a potential tummy tuck.....
  • thenewkayla08
    thenewkayla08 Posts: 32 Member
    I am totally in the same spot you are and wanna know too! I'm at 306 right now...down from 370 but it took a LONG time....no loose skin now. BUT I wanna know when I drop another 100lbs how bad or good it will be? I'm doing it slowly just like you and working it off :)
    So just thought I would say way to go and see what everyone else thinks of the loose skin situation :D
  • runningagainstmyself
    runningagainstmyself Posts: 616 Member
    I am currently sitting a 79lb weight loss (highest was 82 and am steadily going back to it) and what I noticed is that the only really loose skin I have is some on my breasts -- expected when you lose 3 cup sizes -- and my tummy. All I can tell you is that strength training and resistance cardio (like swimming) does wonders because it works on all your stablizing muscles, which helps to reduce the appearance of loose skin. Mine hasn't completely gone away; I will likely never be fit for a bikini unless I seek out a surgical abdominoplasty. But that being said, if you concentrate on building muscle at the same time that you are concentrating on weight loss, then in theory (if you're lucky) the tradeoff won't be too severe. :)

    Best of luck to you!!
  • die2fat4love
    die2fat4love Posts: 149 Member
    I have done things slow and have more lose skin then I wanted. But it’s worth it if you want to be healthy. I will never look good in a pair of shorts, but I can walk up a flight of stairs. I did not really notice the skin until after the 150 pounds lost.
  • twinketta
    twinketta Posts: 2,130 Member
    My advice for what it is worth, try to lift some weights.

    I have only lost 45lbs which was my goal and I have some loose skin.

    I didn`t think I would lose weight so I never thought about the exercise too much.

    Lift weights, go to the search bar and you will find lots of great success stories and advice
  • chatterbox3110
    chatterbox3110 Posts: 630 Member
    I started off at 375lbs.... I do have an awful lot of loose skin around my tummy, but that's partially due to 4 pregnancies, so I have to accept that.

    I really do think its down to your skin type as mine has never been 'firm' even when I was younger and into an awful lot of sports - the second I fell pregnant I had stretch marks, yet my mother in law who had 5 children didn't even know what a stretch mark looked like!

    At the end of the day, my health is more important than my appearance, but IF I won lotto then my first port of call would be a surgeon LOL

    Good luck, one step at a time!
  • brit__2006
    brit__2006 Posts: 201 Member
    Not everyone is the same, and trust me I'm not to my goal yet at all, but just to give you an idea. I'm 5'7 and I was 298 pounds at my heaviest and this morning I weighed just below 190. I still have weight to lose, but as of right now the only thing I don't like about my body is my stomach when I suck it in (looks wrinkly at the bottom) and my upper arms. Now let me say, I've just started strength training due to some injuries, so things aren't as tight as they should be. I'm hoping with losing the rest of my weight and toning up that if there is extra left over it won't be much.
    I'm 25 years old, and have been doing this on and off (for maintenance) since 2009. When you drop weight slower it gives your body time to "catch up" atleast as much as possible. Genetics and lifestyle play a large role in how elastic your skin will be, but losing the weight is definately worth the chance of some saggy skin.

    My suggestions are cardio, strength training, toning, and last but not least they make some very good firming creams. Keeping your skin healthy will help with the proccess.

    Not an expert just giving my personal experience and opinion. Hope it helps.
  • grrl77
    grrl77 Posts: 108
    Yeah, I'm with you guys. I'm all about the health benefits vs. looking amazing in a bikini - I just know a gal that's quite a bit older and she's lost quite a bit of weight, but didn't really exercise at all, and she's in her 60's. She's got a TON of extra skin. I'm down with some - I expect it even - I just didn't know if there was a way to avoid being able to fold your fat five times over because there's so much. lol. ;)
  • Welcome2theHellmouth
    Welcome2theHellmouth Posts: 206 Member
    I am 36 and have lost 95 lb in the last 4 yrs. I drink tons of water but have not done much weight training. Mostly cardio. My lose skin is minimal. I still have about 25 more lbs I want to lose though. The key really is losing slow and lots of water. Weight training will probably help a lot too!
  • ClaudiaBette
    ClaudiaBette Posts: 38 Member
    I'm down from 245 to currently 222 and 5'4" as well. I did start to notice a "pouch" starting to happen with my stomach where the lowered abdomen skin was hanging loosely. I read that this happens when one has had a C-section (which I have, 10 years ago). But I never noticed it before in any other time I had lost weight. I also thought it was because I had a lot more to lose this time than any other time.

    However, I started to include stomach exercises into my normal power walking routine and I think that is doing the trick. So maybe add a little weights to your exercise routine?
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    I have loose skin from my 6 pregnancies and just being unlucky in the genetic lottery.

    Let me tell you that loose skin is a lot easier to hide than fat.
  • grrl77
    grrl77 Posts: 108
    Girl, if that profile pic is yours? I see no loose skin on you! :D GIMME THE MAGIC YOU GOT TO HIDE MINE! ;)
  • amandzor
    amandzor Posts: 386 Member
    The first time i lost major weight I went from 250 to 170 in a year at the age of 20. I didn't notice any lose skin, or anything like that, though with my cardio I was careful to tone and do strength training.

    Now at 25 I'm hoping to drop 100+, and am curious to see the difference 5 years makes in body elasticity.

    Either way, I'm with the others. I'd rather have loose skin than my current globs of fat.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Girl, if that profile pic is yours? I see no loose skin on you! :D GIMME THE MAGIC YOU GOT TO HIDE MINE! ;)

    Lol yes it is me. My secret is strength training and time :-)
  • I have been seriously over weight for a while, I've been in three accidents two on my motorcycle on in a car the messed my knee and knock up, I used to weight 535 and now I'm 375. I when I first dropped weight I had saggy skin, still kinda do. I had a little girl and I'm 27. I noticed when I swam I toned my arms and chest and stomach. My butt and legs still were large. Now i am looking for the boost to loose the weight and keep it, if ladies have any ideas that would be nice :)
  • joyfuljoy65
    joyfuljoy65 Posts: 317 Member
    i don't think anyone really gets away without some loose skin after dropping a lot of lbs. And age and genetics certainly make a difference. I have excess skin on my tummy (but as others have said I have had 3 kids so it was never going to be perfectly flat and smooth with all those stretch marks anyways!) and on my boobs - which have gone from a 42E to a 36DD.

    I did have massive bingo wings that I thought would never go - but with some quite light weights arm exercises they are in fact nicely toning up....

    And loose skin is indeed sooooo much better than wobbly fat tyres :)
  • pendii
    pendii Posts: 26 Member
    I've lost about 55 pounds so far. I started at 222 lb. I have been losing weight very slowly and doing lots of strength training. I do Body Pump too. I don't think I have that much loose skin. I mean... it's not like I had tight skin when I started. lol. If you do lots of strength training and you lose weight slowly, it definitely minimizes the extra skin. I definitely have extra skin in my bust and a little bit on my upper arms but nothing too terrible. My legs are pretty muscular though. I have been surprised at how solid my legs have become. My tummy could be tighter, but I still have another 25 pounds or so to lose, so we will see what happens. Everyone's body is different. The type of exercise you do matters though. Cardio burns the fat, but the strength training will sculpt your body. When I stop strength training for even just a few weeks I can see a visible difference in my body.
  • TheFitHooker
    TheFitHooker Posts: 3,357 Member
    I've lost 133 lbs and don't have much loose skin, I still have a bit but nothing that can't be fixed with working out. I'm working at it...

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  • DawnieB1977
    DawnieB1977 Posts: 4,248 Member
    I went from 220 after having my 2nd child, to 154. Not perfect, but not too awful either. My thighs are the worst I think. For some reason I put on loads on my thighs when I was pregnant with my daughter.

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  • FirecrackerJess
    FirecrackerJess Posts: 276 Member
    I worry about this too, as someone else mentioned, my stomach gets "wrinkly" too when you suck it in, I'm scared that means "loose skin."

    Feel free to add me as a friend if you like, I worry about the same thing all the time.
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    I don't really have much loose skin but I lost the weight very slowly (over 3+ years) AND I ate very well in the process. I am hopeful that my resistance exercise and swimming will eventually tighten up the loose skin I do have. I am like the poster who said that she couldn't wear a bikini but she can now walk up the stairs. I'm 66 years old and wouldn't wear a bikini anyway. :laugh:
  • bluebirds5
    bluebirds5 Posts: 92 Member
    I am 36 and have lost 95 lb in the last 4 yrs. I drink tons of water but have not done much weight training. Mostly cardio. My lose skin is minimal. I still have about 25 more lbs I want to lose though. The key really is losing slow and lots of water. Weight training will probably help a lot too!

    Thanks! this is helpful for me. I am 40 and lost 50lbs last year with another 50 to go. So it is helpful to keep in mind slower will be better for me :)
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,328 Member
    It all depends on age and genetics. Frankly worrying about loose skin when your weight is putting you at risk for a whole host of life threatening diseases, not to mention doing damage to your joints and ligaments, seems to be focusing on the wrong place. Life is more than looks. Here is a good thread to look at. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1164025-loose-skin-the-real-deal
  • SanteMulberry
    SanteMulberry Posts: 3,202 Member
    i don't think anyone really gets away without some loose skin after dropping a lot of lbs. And age and genetics certainly make a difference. I have excess skin on my tummy (but as others have said I have had 3 kids so it was never going to be perfectly flat and smooth with all those stretch marks anyways!) and on my boobs - which have gone from a 42E to a 36DD.

    I did have massive bingo wings that I thought would never go - but with some quite light weights arm exercises they are in fact nicely toning up....

    And loose skin is indeed sooooo much better than wobbly fat tyres :)

    "bingo wings"? And totally agree that loose skin is preferable to big blobs of fat. :smile:
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