Loose skin

I've never had this issue, but I have read some stories about people who have excessive loose skin from losing weight too quickly. Just take your journey slow and steady. If some loosened skin happens, it happens. Focus on why you want to lose weight (being able to chase your child around the park, eating foods that fuel you better, or maybe a better fitness level), rather than what you see or will see in the mirror.

Reminding myself of that while on this journey has helped me a lot.

There's not a huge amount you can do to prevent it if it's going to happen. How much you have will be determined by how much you have to lose, your age and genetics. You're young, so you might not have too many problems. There are no definitive sure-fire ways of preventing it, but general advice seems to be not to lose too quickly, to strength train (which is excellent advice anyway), and to keep well hydrated.

The main thing is not to let it freak you out. With how much you have to lose, I can't imagine you'd end up with a lot of loose skin anyway. And if you do, well you have to weigh up that risk with the changes in your health, fitness and overall appearance. What's most important? Only you can answer that. The other thing is, if you lost enough that you had a healthy level of bodyfat, looked in the mirror and saw the hint of loose skin appearing, well you have the option of not losing any more. It's not all or nothing. I would accept that it might happen, but not worry too much about something that might not happen, and isn't the end of the world if it does. Ultimately, self-esteem plays a much bigger part in how you feel about your body than what your body actually looks like.

I will say I lost 46 pounds and now, about 2 years later, the skin over my worse area, my abs, is totally not wiggly. I just walk and do Barre 3 and yoga. I try to drink water and get my nutrients in and a lot of protein.