those with loose skin, how do you feel about it vs fat??

I don't like how my skin looks, but I have a lot of energy. Since I didn't like the way I looked and always felt tired before I lost the weight, I definitely feel like it was worth it.

dropping from over 3 bills to a healthy 175, I have loose skin. And at my age , I doubt it will ever return to normal. It doesn't bother me one bit. Sure I wish I could have tighter skin, but you know,just a reminder of what I looked like. Any time I feel like giving in, I just look in the mirror and be happy for my accomplishment. More energy, stronger, healthier. I'll take that any day of the week.

You're young, and under 250 lbs. I think it's actually unlikely you'll have much loose skin, and if you do, it'll tighten up quickly after a year or so. Everyone's different, and sure you could be genetically predisposed to saggy skin, but really at your age everything usually heals and tightens up so quickly. Stay hydrated and apply moisturizer to your fat bits religiously and you'll be fine. :flowerforyou:

I mean, he may have a point about body image and whether you'll feel better about yourself or not, there's certainly a grain of truth to that, though it has nothing to do with loose skin and everything to do with whether you've got unreasonable expectations about your appearance. BUT your health is also important. If you're in the 200s in your 20s, your weight issues are not likely to get better on their own as you get into your 30s and 40s (TRUST ME). That knee pain and back pain you're feeling now are only going to become more serious and debilitating. And as you age, you'll likely start feeling more serious health impacts of the weight like high blood pressure.

If you're motivated to lose the weight, stick with it! You'll feel so great with more energy, more mobility, and less pain!!!

I have loose skin because menopause redistributed my weight-- deleted all the fat from my hips/butt and pasted it onto my waist! My weight didn't change, but I then had to reevaluate my ideal weight, which had been 131 to 135 for 30 years. Since menopause gave me a flat/saggy/droopy/wrinkled butt in place of the full meaty butt that once was, I had nothing to lose by dieting down to 112 where I no longer had the new fat pad on my waist/midriff. Of course, now I have corrugated wrinkling of my upper arms, puckery wrinkling on my midriff and waist, and a saggy belly. I need plastic surgery to tighten the loose skin; however, I live in rock-bottom poverty. LOOSE SKIN LOOKS A THOUSAND MILLION TIMES WORSE THAN EXCESS FAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The ONE AND ONLY REASON that I choose not to gain 100 pounds or WHATEVER how much weight gain it would take to fill out the butt wrinkles, is that I am afraid I would end up with such heavy breasts that the weight would pull them downward-- and to have downward-pointing breasts would be EVEN WORSE than a wrinkled *kitten*!

You can always have it surgically removed.

Not everyone can afford that lol

But if you're paying, I'm game.

But on a serious note, that attitude of your fiance's made me go... yikes.

He has a point about body image. If you're unhappy in your skin at 200 or so lbs, you probably will be at 120, too. Body image is often not tied to weight. It goes deeper than that - right to psychological and sociological reasons. However, the attitude about... not understanding why you want to lose weight is worrisome. There are more reasons to lose weight than appearance. Appearance may be one of them, and that's okay. But try health. Try being able to run longer and faster. Or being able to climb the stairs quicker (now that I'm in shape I run up them).

Loose skin is a small price to pay. And this is coming from someone who has struggled with an eating disorder, and body dysmorphia. I have a lot of loose skin. Part of my recovery from the aforementioned has been learning to love it, too. I have had to learn to be happy int he skin (pun intended) I'm in. Being in shape has made me realize that the most important thing is not how I look, but how I feel. Both figuratively and literally.

Right on! I had a question about loose skin but I read your post and I agree!

I have lose skin, and to be perfectly honest I hate it. Some people don't understand why I refuse to wear a bikini, well that would be it. It's only on my stomach though. You may or may not have an issue with lose skin, it all depends on your body. I say being healthier and the way i look minus the belly skin far outweighs my insecurities. Best of luck.

I dont feel so bad about my lose skin. Just in all honesty who in the hell cares about how we feel other then ourselves. So I tend to worry more about what others think about it, well more specifically women I would want to be in a relationship with. I cant do much about how they feel, so I just try my best to not let it get to me if they have a problem with it.

That being said I think the skin looks way better then the fat.

Excellent suggestion! That is a really good idea!

If you're in pain and worried about your health like you say you are, you need to let your husband know that no matter what your body issues end up being at a lower weight, it's still a good idea to attain a healthy weight.

From what I've picked up, yeah- lotion, water, and tending towards slower weight loss will tend to reduce skin sagging. And I've heard from folks on here that skin recovers slowly; it might take a few extra years for your skin to catch up with your weight change, but it should gradually improve. (Especially since you're young! )

In my experience: I'm not thrilled by my loose skin- I know I'll have more as I continue to lose weight, and I'm not thrilled by that either. But I'd rather deal with the loose skin (which only has cosmetic consequences) than the extra weight I was and am carrying (which has cosmetic /and/ medical consequences).

It can be so hard to sort out the complicated ways we inhabit our bodies. Best of luck to you.

Google "Kelly Flab to Fab" & check out her Facebook/Instagram (https://www.facebook.com/kelly.flab2fab). She is insane and SO inspiring. She lost over 100 pounds and has improved the look of her loose skin so much she is competing as a bodybuilder. She didn't let it stop her and you would never even tell she was ever over-weight.