Loose skin after extreme weight loss

NanceePants11
NanceePants11 Posts: 34 Member
edited December 3 in Health and Weight Loss
Is there anyone out there who has lost a ton of weight? I'm 20 years old at 240 lbs and I'm working on losing 110lbs. Once I heard that alot of people end up with loose skin after a weight loss that extreme, I felt discouraged to continue my plans. Is there any way to prevent it? Or anyway to get rid of it?

Replies

  • Thickivory
    Thickivory Posts: 36 Member
    I have talked to a few people about this as well. I am also freaking out about this. Many told me that decent weight training well definitely help and not to be afraid of lifting. Great luck to you!
  • Thickivory
    Thickivory Posts: 36 Member
    I have forgotten to mention that 240lbs is where I started. At 199 I had no loose skin. And I have gained a few since I am also 30. Many blessings.
  • happyfeetrebel1
    happyfeetrebel1 Posts: 1,005 Member
    I started at 305, and am currently 155. I have a lot of loose skin, but I am 42 years old. At a certain point your body loses the ability to rebound from that much damage, and the only way that mine will be fixed is surgically.
  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
    At 20, it probably won't be so bad. I lost 80ish at 19 (started in upper 200's back then), and I wish I had the same skin results this time!!! :( Do it now; it's the best time. 10 more years and possibly more pounds will equal a much bigger problem.
  • Sloth2016
    Sloth2016 Posts: 838 Member
    I started at 275lbs and I am now down about 95 lbs. over the last 4 years. Probably I will drop another 20. Skin is a little loose in some areas where I still have more adipose to get rid of. But mostly, not much of a loose skin problem. I'm 53 y/o and found that my skin is quite resilient. At 20 y/o, you will likely experience even less than I have.
  • DEBOO7
    DEBOO7 Posts: 245 Member
    At 20 your skin should be 'elastic' enough to adjust. As mentioned by Sued0nim it can take time for the skin to hold back to your new size. I read somewhere that it can take up to two years from the time you're at your goal weight - but don't quote me on that. I'm 55 and have lost 74lb with a further 7lb to go and I have loose skin on my stomach - arms & legs are ok. I blame my son for the stomach... lol.
  • Jessie24330
    Jessie24330 Posts: 224 Member
    I'm "only" 50 pounds down but so far no loose skin. I'll be 30 next month. I think if you do it SLOWLY you won't have much of an issue, just don't try to lose all 100+ pounds in six months or something. Take at least a year or more to do it. Strength train. Eat healthy and drinks lots and lots of water. And even if we have some loose skin at the end, it's going to be better than the loose fat we have now, for me anyway.
  • Mari0810
    Mari0810 Posts: 20 Member
    It is a great question, I lost over 130lbs and I do have lose skin, but I actually don't mind because in the process of losing weight I worked on myself internally. Some people confuse exercise with being skinny. Exercise is about being healthy, eating right, feeling good about yourself. Losing weight is a bonus but not the goal. Give your body the chance to feel great, find the right workout for you that will help you achieve your ultimate goal. You are young, You got this!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Imagine carrying around a sixty pound back pack every day. It's exhausting. That's what your extra weight is doing to you every single day.

    The lightness that comes from shedding that weight; it's liberating! Imagine running, dancing, leaping, twirling, hopping down to tickle a kitten.

    A little loose skin might be the price you pay to gain all that. Maybe. You are young and elastic.
  • amithrv
    amithrv Posts: 18 Member
    Include weighting training in your regime it ll help yu very much. Lost around 100 pounds still better
  • smiles4jo
    smiles4jo Posts: 202 Member
    I started at 215 and I've now lost 50 lbs over the last 7 months with another 25 to go. Honestly, unless I'm fooling myself, I don't see loose skin. Maybe I got lucky, but I really don't see it. I'm 35 and the only exercise I've done is walking/running.

    Hubby started at over 300 (I forget the actual number) and has now lost about 90 with another 50 to go. Again, unless I'm completely blind or don't know what I'm looking for, I don't think he has loose skin either. He too has only done walking as exercise.

    All that to say that loose skin is not an absolute and you may get lucky, particularly seeing as you're so young. Also, even if you do end up with loose skin, it's still better than being overweight.
  • KaseyWolf
    KaseyWolf Posts: 122 Member
    I've lost 190 lbs so far. I'm 50 years old so I got the saggy skin in some places. I've been taking biotin and doing weight lifting to help fill that space with other stuff. After my first 100 or so lbs I did have some surgery to remove pockets of loose skin around my chest that was really uncomfortable. Most of my other sags are abdomen and inner thighs.
  • heyaliwood458
    heyaliwood458 Posts: 75 Member
    Im 23, Ive lost 113ish pounds over a course of 2 years and mine isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Ive seen women my age who got weight loss surgery, lost a lot of weight, and had to have skin removal surgery. I have some loose skin on my tummy, but its really not that bad, and a little on my upper thighs. I wouldn't worry about it til you cross that road, and the way I see it, its all reminders of how far I've come in this journey and how hard Ive worked for this body so Im proud of all of it. Id rather have some loose skin than all that 114 pounds of fat.

  • duddysdad
    duddysdad Posts: 403 Member
    I had lost 155 pounds, from 340 to 180 and only had a tiny bit of excess skin. Mainly my lower stomach. I am 35.
  • ejb499
    ejb499 Posts: 53 Member
    I can't wait to have this problem!
  • jprewitt1
    jprewitt1 Posts: 264 Member
    30 years old. Started at 470 lbs and now sitting at 350 lbs. I've noticed some loose skin around my chest and stomach, and I know I'm going to have more. It may be a problem for you, but at least you'll be healthy and able to cope with life much better than you are now. If some loose skin is the biggest problem you have with your body, then be happy that you aren't doing more harm in the long run.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I'm almost 50 years old, and have lost 50 pounds from my all time high. I don't have any loose skin. I intentionally lose weight slowly, strength train, and pay attention to my protein macro.

    The voice telling you to not lose weight due to possible loose skin is what's called a Sabotaging Voice in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    Everybody is different. You may or may not have extreme excess skin when you get to your goal. I'm 50, and after I lost 100 pounds, I had a LOT of extra loose skin in my stomach area. I did have surgery to remove it, and the recovery was a bit more difficult than I expected. With the surgery, I had lost about 140 pounds, then gained 100 back over the last few years. Now I'm back on track - I have 150 pounds to lose, and am pretty certain I'm going to have to have surgery again. I'm okay with that - after learning from past experience what will help recover in a better way.

    But every one is different when they lose weight. Some will need surgery, some won't. There are a lot of things that factor into the equation.....age, genetics, how much weight you lose, the time it took to lose it....and that's not all.

    Don't worry about excess skin yet or let the thought of it derail your efforts. That'll be something to address once you get closer to your goal, if you have to address it at all.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    A lot of people mistake sagging fat for loose skin. The closer I get to my goal, the less of it I have. Honestly, I am so happy to have lost 147 pounds, I really don't care if there's a little loose skin leftover. Most of these areas aren't visible to others and they say it continues to improve for 1-2 years.
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