Loose skin

I can tell you what I know from going from 230 lbs to about 150 lbs.
1) drink a lot of water....hydration helps with nearly all bodily functions and will help skin to repair itself
2) lose weight gradually....aim for about 1 pound or less a week. It will seem like slow progress, but your skin will thank you as it will have the time necessary to repair itself
3) Use lotion like it is your best friend. Skin needs care just like any other part of your body. Additionally get a shower bush with bristles to massage your skin. It seems like nonsense, but it improves circulation to aid in skin repair
4) Lift weights...as this will help you to keep or add muscle mass. This doesn't seem important, but you will notice the difference after only a few weeks of adding weights to your current routine. If you don't you may look a bit like a deflated balloon once you've lost a good amount of weight (20 to 30 lbs)
5) Get enough sleep. Try to get 8 hours of rest to allow your body to repair itself.
I hope that any and all of this is helpful.
Renee

I making a point of eating for life to encourage any skin repair as I loose fat.

neaneacc wrote: »

I can tell you what I know from going from 230 lbs to about 150 lbs.
1) drink a lot of water....hydration helps with nearly all bodily functions and will help skin to repair itself
2) lose weight gradually....aim for about 1 pound or less a week. It will seem like slow progress, but your skin will thank you as it will have the time necessary to repair itself
3) Use lotion like it is your best friend. Skin needs care just like any other part of your body. Additionally get a shower bush with bristles to massage your skin. It seems like nonsense, but it improves circulation to aid in skin repair
4) Lift weights...as this will help you to keep or add muscle mass. This doesn't seem important, but you will notice the difference after only a few weeks of adding weights to your current routine. If you don't you may look a bit like a deflated balloon once you've lost a good amount of weight (20 to 30 lbs)
5) Get enough sleep. Try to get 8 hours of rest to allow your body to repair itself.
I hope that any and all of this is helpful.
Renee

All good advice, but see the bolded. I was very close to your range (started at 220, lost to about 145), and didn't lift weights (mostly did some form of cardio, plus mountain biking which helped a BIT with retaining muscles), and I just became a smaller version of the heavier me. If you lift weights--and I'm talking a progressively heavier free-weight program--you will boost your chances tremendously that most of the weight you will drop will be fat, not muscle/fat. I estimate that of the 75 pounds I lost, I probably lost 40-45 of fat and 30-35 pounds of muscle because I did NOT include lifting weights.

Plus, by retaining most of your muscle, you will become more defined rather than just a looser shell of what you look like now. Lift lift lift....

You may not lose the pounds as quickly as if you just did some form of cardio, but I think you'll be much happier in the long run if loose skin is a worry for you.

Repeat: by "lifting," I mean weights---heavy weights, with progressively heavier weights as you go. Read Starting Strength (Rippetoe), look into programs like New Rules of Lifting for Women, Starting Strength, StrongLifts, etc. There are tons of threads on the Fitness/Exercise forums on how to get started, and look into groups like Eat, Train, Progress, and Stronglifts 5x5 for Women on here.

I don't think it really matters how old you are. All bodies are different. I am 26 years old and I lost 122 pounds and I have saggy, loose skin everywhere! I was only really heavy for about 3-4 years too, so it wasn't a long period of time. MYy skin just doesn't snap back like some people's do and I am still young. One day, I plan on having skin removal surgery.

I'm in my mid-twenties and have overhang at my waist, over my belly button, above the knees enough to literally grab a handful of. I look like nobody's television ad and other people can choose to get over this or not, don't bother me none. Everyone sags when they get old anyway.

plus if you get a qualified trainer who teaches you safe lifting it will do wonders for your bones and protect you down the future should you fall