What to do with flabby skin?

I'm sorry to say the only way to get rid of it is surgery. Think of a balloon after the air is let out and it's all flabby looking. That's skin after the fat is gone.

Exercising will firm the muscle behind it and make it look a little better. Unfortunately, exercising won't make it go away.

I've lost over 115 pounds and have a lot of extra skin. I'm not willing to go under the knife, so I live with it. I hate it, but I live with it.

Yep - agree with others. If it is genuine flabby skin then there is not a lot you can do. I have toned up a lot but my thighs have a lot. Given the choice between having all that extra weight and the flabby thighs after weight loss = I will take the flabby thighs after weight loss. Certainly not interested in going under the knife. For the beach, shorts etc If you moisturise well it can look ok.

Just a thought...I wonder if any of the facial skin tightening creams that are on the market would help at all? Could be an interesting experiment. Could be expensive, if there are large areas to cover, but not as expensive as surgery!

Tuck it in my pants.

Some of it may tighten up after a while. I have maintained the same weight for over a year now and my loose skin has tightened up. It's not gone but it has lessened. I drink lots of water and use lotion every day. Best of luck to you and congratulations on meeting your goals!

Wearing spanxs or tights under your clothing can help to hold everything in place, but I think only skin removal surgery can truly make a difference. Good luck.

Most insurance companies will cover that surgery IF the skin covers your pubic bone. It's called a panectomy. They cover it bc once it covers the pubic bone it can lead to certain types of yeast infections bc of the dark, moist area. But the skin must cover the pubic bone. I did some research and spoke to my PCP about it. I still have a lot of weight to lose but I have the excess skin. Mine doesn't cover my pubic bone yet. She told me if I pull my skin eventually it'll cover the bone and I can get it! Can you imagine?! I thought she was kidding but she was serious! I can't picture myself walking the treadmill and yanking my excess skin so it'll cover my girly parts so I can get my panectomy covered!

if it's fat, you lose more weight, if it's sagging skin, you can opt for surgery. You can also look into Thermage which is a laser treatment that can accomplish some tightening on the body.

I know a lot of people who wear compression because of loose skin. Honestly it's just kind of part of the weight loss process. It's something I deal with and although I've seen good progress with the skin on my arms from weight lifting, my midsection not so much. But rather than focus on that I try to just live a healthy life, eat healthy foods and stay active. Maybe some day down the line after being in maintenance mode for a while I'll look at other options but it's not something I'm too worried about. I agree with kathy though, it shows where you've been and how hard you've worked, the stretch marks too. It may not seem that way but I try to look at it that way at least. Congratulations on reaching your goal and maintaining the loss, well done!

depends how serious your coniditon is. If it is mild, i'd go to a dermatologist or laser skin clinic and see if there is something they can do to improve it… they have all the latest and greatest stuff..and will tell you the truth if it can be fixed without surgery.

From what I know, surgery is the way.
However, because I am new to this exercise/weight loss stuff... is there a way to avoid the loose skin that often develops?

Two parts to my response, first to this specific question - stay hydrated, lose slowly. Your skin is elastic and will bounce back, but it needs help. Staying hydrated will help it with some of the bounce back. But as one other poster stated, think of it as an over-filled balloon that you let the air out of. It retracts, but there's some parts that are over-stretched and won't return to their original state. Keeping hydrated will help your skin retain some elasticity, but it won't fix all of it.

On to part two. I *had* the surgery. I lost 170-ish pounds, maintained for over a year, which was my goal for allowing myself the surgery. I had an abdomnioplasty (tummy tuck) to fix the damage that I had done to my abs when I was seriously over-weight - when you completely separate the center septum of your abs from being so fat, no amount of situps will fix that - and had my mini-apron removed (like I said, hydrate and lose slowly, it will make a difference). At the same time, I had a "lateral chest tightening," which is what the surgeon called removing the skin from where my moobs had once been. Because I had the tummy tuck, I was out of work for 4 weeks (depending on your recovery) and not allowed to exercise for 8 weeks (again, depends on your recovery) and even then, it was easing back into things. The surgery wasn't cheap. Insurance doesn't pay for any of it (Even the severe cases where the skin rubs and you get sores and infections, it's considered cosmetic and elective. Sorry). I don't regret it for one second.

If you go the route of surgery, there's preparatory vitamins and a good regiment of recovery supplements that your doctor should have information on. Everyone I know who's taken that kind of regiment, regardless of the surgery type, has had a much faster recovery. Just sayin'...

Most insurance companies will cover that surgery IF the skin covers your pubic bone. It's called a panectomy. They cover it bc once it covers the pubic bone it can lead to certain types of yeast infections bc of the dark, moist area. But the skin must cover the pubic bone. I did some research and spoke to my PCP about it. I still have a lot of weight to lose but I have the excess skin. Mine doesn't cover my pubic bone yet. She told me if I pull my skin eventually it'll cover the bone and I can get it! Can you imagine?! I thought she was kidding but she was serious! I can't picture myself walking the treadmill and yanking my excess skin so it'll cover my girly parts so I can get my panectomy covered!

Oh wow, I had no idea! I need to contact my insurance company and see if mine covers this. If so, my skin definitely covers my pubic bone and its funny you mention yeast infections (sorry I know TMI LOL) but I have complained to my gyno for over a year about reoccurring yeast infections. Thanks a bunch!

Ok, I lost the weight I want using MFP. Now I've been maintaining for 2 months (without counting calories, YAY!). Another problem now crops up - flabby skin.......what to do about that? Asking for help here.
I've tried and still am trying, going to the local gym and doing workouts 2x a week and exercising at home when I can. It just doesn't go away. All I get is a decrease in cm of thigh, butt and waist where I want them, but its covered over with hideous fatty skin. How do I go about tightening that. I need help and advice here.

I would recommend you read through Crusadersam (Age 33) and ridesforsanity (age 40) for some possible insight comps:

http://www.myfitnesspal.de/topics/show/1320856-success-and-loose-skin-worried?page=1
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1164025-loose-skin-the-real-deal?page=1
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1444061-loose-skin-my-experience?hl=loose+skin&page=1

Tuck it in my pants.

And that is the right answer:laugh: Or surgery. But I'm in the broke boat, so tucking (or Spanx) it is.:grumble:

^Yes! Then tan it, dress it cute & rock what you got.