Terrified of loose skin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15bpv5V71k4

@UltimateRBF and @JuniperVera , my granddaughter is fifteen and lots of things terrify her though she admits to only a few. True fearlessness comes with maturity, and our OP is nineteen. I understand that she may be truly afraid of what her body will look like when she is done.

High blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease are all fears of the old.

At her age, her greatest risk is from a car accident, not from being overweight.

That being said, this is a fear that can be faced.

I'm 35. -59 pounds. Have had stretch marks since puberty (I have seen people on here claim there is a link.) And: no loose skin. I have done strength training (all bodyweight until fairly recently), I drink a ton of water and moisturize (not sure that really helps but it's something I've always done), and I lost the bulk of the weight fairly quickly.

It's probably going to come down to genetics. You're 19. I wouldn't sweat it. Eat all of the calories MFP gives you, eat half of your exercise calories, begin strength training. You will either have loose skin or you won't and I'm not sure you can really control it.

I've followed all the advice - my weight loss took 3+ years; I do the strength training; drink plenty of water; moisturise... And I have tons of loose skin. Tons. I've had a surgical consultation, but that route would be expensive and require at least 3 surgeries, carrying all the risks that go along with that. Plus, did you know that when you're really fat your veins get bigger to make sure all parts of your body get adequate blood supply? Did you also know that when you lose weight, your veins don't shrink down? So there's the additional risk of increased blood loss (but I'm awesome at donating blood. They love me.)

My point is there may not be anything you can do to prevent loose skin. It's going to be more about genetics than anything else. So alongside all the strategies you're trying, spend some time working on being ok with the idea of loose skin. And if you can't be ok with it, at least find ways to handle not being ok with it.

ChristieDahlberg wrote: »

I currently weigh 235 and my goal weight is around 140-150 and I'm terrified that I'm going to have a lot of gross lose hanging skin when I get there.

I do toning and I'm losing slowly but I've heard you will still have it and sometimes it has to be surgically removed. I don't have insurance or make a lot of money plus I'm terrified of surgery.

Any tips or help would be appreciated.

I started out at 220 lbs and am now 142. I do have a little bit of loose skin, but not much. I cannot recommend Stronglifts 5 x 5 highly enough. Lifting weights helps maintain lean body mass (LBM). Otherwise, don't get in a hurry to lose the weight. Your skin will thank you for losing at a healthy pace Below are my before/afters. Feel free to friend me if you want the support. Good luck to you!!

Genetics plays a huge role in how your skin is going to respond. I've lost almost 140 pounds and I have significant loose skin on my stomach, thighs and butt. I'm going to get some of the skin surgically removed and I'm getting a breast lift because I went from a 42 G to a 32 DD...they are very sad sad looking boobies now.

Best of success to you, @ChristieDahlberg . I think you've got it figured out. You've got examples of both extremes on this very thread; one who does not have loose skin at all, and another who couldn't avoid it.

I've decided against surgery myself unless my floppy skin becomes a health issue.

When I was in my 20s I lost 60 pounds, slowly, with exercise, and had no loose skin. Since then I've been yoyoing 30# with still no loose skin. I'm a little more concerned about it this time around, as I am 48, but it is not a deterrence. Best of luck to you!

Take really good care of your skin and lose slowly. Be happy about how great you will look in skinny jeans.

UltimateRBF wrote: »

I definitely get that, but terrified is overstating it, a lot.
But yes, with age comes perspective.

What is trivial to some is deathly important to someone else. Just because one person thinks it's overstating does not change the fact that, to the OP ,it is something they care about. It is very uncharitable to be condemning someone's feelings.

You'll be okay. Take it slow, don't beat yourself up if things don't look to be going your way. Genetics is probably the biggest part of it, really. Some are lucky and it doesn't happen to them. Others, not so much. You unfortunately won't be able to accurately predict it, so, my advice is to perhaps try to find a way to focus on something else that you can actually change the outcome of. Make a conscious effort to try not to think about the potential negative outcome of your journey and instead make your best effort to focus on the positives, because there will be SOOOO many more positives than negatives.

You have made a courageous decision to tackle this project of yours, so well done! Always be proud of that. The fact that you are determined to make it happen is a credit to you. You have youth on your side, so use it. If you make a concerted effort early to stick to a healthy regime you will see steady progress. Don't over-do it and, highly likely, you will bounce back. Youthful skin has a lot more elasticity even than someone in their mid twenties. Don't fret about the things you can't change. :-)

Good on you for taking this step. You'll be fine. :-)

I personally know a girl who is now 39, and in 2 years she lost 230 pounds. I wrote about her in another thread. She lost all her weight by doing cardio and eating right. Then she had all this lose skin. She started weight lifting a year ago and she looks absolutely amazing right now. She looks like a fitness model.
So yea, strength training is the best way to go.

This content has been removed.

ChristieDahlberg wrote: »

I do toning and I'm losing slowly

Lose the weight relatively quickly, because skin elasticity declines with age, plus the longer that skin is stretched, the harder it is for it to snap back, because new skin cells grow in, and those don't disappear. It can take up to 2 years for loose skin to snap back after losing weight, so it may be more noticeable during that time if you lose it quick. But you won't have any greater skin after 2 years if you lose it slow. In fact you may have more skin if you lose it slowly, for the reasons mentioned.

Make sure to do strength training to minimize the loss of muscle that occurs with fat loss. Don't do "toning", follow a pro-designed strength training program, like NROL or Stronglifts, using heavy weight.