Loose Skin?

bjade18
bjade18 Posts: 21 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I was reading a thread about someone being worried about watching skin tight and now I have a question regarding it as well. I'm 21 years old and I am wanting to lose about 50 pounds (could be less or a bit more now but I haven't stepped on the scale in awhile as to not depress myself lol.) I was around 170 for forever but I ballooned in the past half year to 190 because of extreme stress and acquired stretch marks and all that blah. Anyway, if I lose 50 pounds will I have lose skin? I don't plan on losing it fast, I'm thinking 50 in a year or so would be okay. So about 1 pound per week. Also, is there anything I can do to keep my skin tight so this won't happen?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    edited February 2016
    Other than lose weight and be patient, there is nothing for you to do about loose skin. How tight it gets in the end is dependent on genetics, how heavy you were (how much it had to stretch), and how long you were that big. Age (younger is better) also affects it as the younger you are, the more elastic your skin tends to be. Keep in mind that it can take a few years after you hit your eventual weight goal for your skin to tighten up to it's eventual "this is it" spot.

    And before anybody comes in talking about ItWorks wraps or cocoa butter cream or anything else, those do not tighten skin. They make help its appearance in the shorter term but do not tighten it.

    Losing weight slowly also doesn't tighten skin. It helps your fat loss to better keep pace with the skin's shrinkage rate but even that isn't going to happen proportionally for many people.
  • bjade18
    bjade18 Posts: 21 Member
    Okay well I was more wondering about the amount I'm trying to lose and my age if it will mean that I'm less likely to get it or whatever. I don't know about my genetics.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    You are far less likely to get loose skin due to your age and because you only have 50 pounds to lose.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    You are far less likely to get loose skin due to your age and because you only have 50 pounds to lose.

    Yes.

    50 pounds is a lot of weight but it's not SO much that I would be really worried about loose skin.
  • bjade18
    bjade18 Posts: 21 Member
    Alright thanks that's all I needed to know. I'm ok with a bit of lose skin which would probably be around my stomach area since that's where I carry 80% of my weight. I was just worried it'd be really bad and saggy lol.
  • kiara1066
    kiara1066 Posts: 119 Member
    edited February 2016
    I recommend adding strength training to your workout. I was at 188.9 pounds in late December, and I started going to the gym lots of cardio and strength training. I am down to 173 pounds now, and I don't notice any loose skin. I use weights and add resistance to my workouts.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    You should be fine, I think.
  • bjade18
    bjade18 Posts: 21 Member
    Yes i wanna start adding strength training but I don't really know where to start
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    bjade18 wrote: »
    Yes i wanna start adding strength training but I don't really know where to start

    If you belong to a gym, take a few sessions with a personal trainer.

    If you don't currently have a gym membership, I'm sure someone will be along with info about stuff you can do at home, but I really think proper form is best not self-taught. I've seen a lot of bad form at any given gym to which I've belonged.

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