Extra Skin?

snikrepa2003 · July 2011

I have a question for those who have lost around 40-60 lbs, do you have obvious excess skin left?

I am about 200lbs and my goal is 160-140 and I am worried I will have loads of extra skin.

Any stories, suggestions, tips?

NikkisNewStart · July 2011

I have excess skin on my stomach... but I have also had 4 pregnancies... so... lol. It isn't obvious to anyone but me and that's because I'm self critical.

silverbullkitty · July 2011

bump

shonasteele · July 2011

I started about 200 and am shooting for 140 as well so I'm wondering the same thing. I've started using firming lotion on my belly and arm 'flaps' but I don't know how much that will help. I HATE rubbing my belly with it though cuz it makes me so aware of just how much I still have to lose and how saggy the skin already is. So Not Sexy! ugh.

goal30Lori · July 2011

I have excess skin on my stomach and thighs.. I've had two kids also, so I know my tummy will never be completely firm again, but it does bother me for sure! I also started at 200lbs and currently weigh 137.

maxinethestrange · July 2011

ive not got there but supposedly if you lose weight slowly your skin doesnt go all saggy because its not suddenly cutting out 40 pounds at once , but id like to here from others that have done it

uberlaut · July 2011

I've lost almost 130lbs from my top weight over the past 2.5 years. Loose skin didn't really become a problem for me till I'd lost 50-60, but even with as much as I have lost...I'm surprised how much my skin is shrinking up. I've only lost about 30lbs over the past year, but my skin has shrunk up so much people think I've lost much more. And I was morbidly obese (250-315lbs) for over 15 years of my life. All of my adult life.

I even bought a bikini for this summer!

Jorra · July 2011

I've gone from 210 to 170 and I have no extra skin that I notice. That may be because I'm losing slowly and I'm young.

Scarletblue · July 2011

yes, I have it, this time around I am trying to tone it as much as possible and I believe ( don't quote me) that the slower you lose the wieght while toning the better chance you have at minimalizing the amount of excess skin.

runawaydoll19 · July 2011

Bump.

pickenslmc · July 2011

I've lost about 35 pounds since March, and don't have any loose skin yet...I hope it doesn't happen. I started at 200ish and I am aiming to get to around 150-155. I also have 2 children if that matters.

kirianna55 · July 2011

The answer is here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/272381-worried-about-sagging-skin-here-s-a-way-to-fix-it

TheMaidOfAstolat · July 2011

It depends...if you've never had children....and you lose slowly you'll probably not have an issue.

I however have a soon to be 8 year old. I went from 85 pounds to 120 in nine months and lost most of my pregnancy weight within a month of having my daughter. My stomach is still pretty bad. My abs split and my innie became an outie.

It's mostly genetics and age as to how your skin will look.

I didn't stand a chance, my mother also had bad strechmarks and excess skin...even though I was 18 when I had my daughter....short of a tummy tuck there is nothing I can do.

I hope your tummy tightens up.

NikkisNewStart · July 2011

The answer is here:

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/272381-worried-about-sagging-skin-here-s-a-way-to-fix-it

I am happy you're having success with your lotion mixture but there is no cure or prevention for loose skin or stretch marks. If so, I tried it and still ended up with stretch marks and some loose skin.

My doctor's thoughts? No lotion can change your skin's elasticity or prevent or encourage it to shrink up.

Hydration and a multivitamin is great advice for anyone to follow. Lotions will help the appearance of your outer layers of skin, but will not change or improve elasticity. I just didn't want anyone to think there is a miracle in a bottle out there... just like a fad diet in a bottle.

But if you believe in it... it's your dime and time! Good old fashioned eating well, strength training, staying hydrated will go a long way in the appearance of your skin.

Felesina1 · July 2011

When I started loosing weight originally, I was 290 pounds. I dropped 150 pounds over several years. I have/had loose skin on my arms, stomach, thighs, and butt. Once my weight stabilized at 150 pounds for awhile (1 yr), I went to see a plastic surgeon about a tummy tuck and lipo. They removed 4pounds of skin from my stomach and 6 pounds of fat from lipo. My goal is when I get to my next stable weight for awhile, I'll have my legs/butt done. Its very expensive and isnt for everybody. But it didn't matter what I wore or what the scale said, because of the hanging skin, I always saw the fat girl in the mirror until I had the surgery - again that is about my own self-image issues. But I'd do the surgery again in a heartbeat.

makena78 · July 2011

I'm only losing about 30-35 pounds. I don't think I'll have the excess skin problem from that. But, from having my kids I have extra skin that won't ever go away without a tummy tuck. Which is what I plan on getting when I reach my goal weight. I know it's expensive but I think will be so worth it. I want to enjoy my new body while I can and feel great.

Mirabilis · July 2011

I've been losing relatively slowly and I've lost 89 pounds since Feb 2010. As many of you know, it's a lot easier to lose weight fast in the beginning when you have a bunch to lose, but that the process slows down the smaller you get. I have loose skin and although it's like being a partly deflated balloon, I'm pretty happy to be deflated, all in all.

What I have noticed is that a couple of months ago, the saggy skin looked worse than it does now. I'm guessing that your skin retracts pretty slowly and that you have to have some patience with it. I agree lotions are lovely and make you feel good, but in the long run, a healthy diet, exercise and lots of water are more important.

I've had stretch marks since I was 13, so I have no illusions about those. They're scars and they don't go away and no lotion will change that. Tanning makes them more obvious, so you won't be seeing my tummy exposed to the public. Surgery? Maybe, but you get scars from the surgery too and I'm not vain enough to spend a ton of money on it, especially because I'm middle-aged and there are better things to spend money on. I'd rather take a trip to Europe.

I guess the moral of the story is don't be hard on yourself. You are what you are, and your battlescars are an important reminder of the journey you've taken.

PositiveGoals · July 2011

I have researched this to nauseum. Skin elasticity depends on how much you lose, how long you have been over weight, what your age is, genetics (does your parents have tight skin as they age?), how fast you drop the weight, how much sun damage there is to your skin, and muscle tone.

The older you are, the more you have to lose, the longer you've been overweight, the more sun exposure you have, the faster you lose weight, the more excess skin you will have.

Hints to help with skin elasticity:

1. Strenght Training & Tension Exercises. Weight loss basically deflates your body and your skin looks like an empty balloon. Muscle mass helps fill that sag.
2. Skim milk and yogurt is good for skin elasticity. Eat a yogurt a day.
3. Vitamins, Vitamin E is a suppliment you want to take
4. Use a body wash with Vitamin E, yogurt, or shea butter, all of these will nourish and restore skin
5. Try using body lotions with the same ingredients
6. As your start to shrink, use bio oil to start fading the stretch marks,
7. Swimming helps with skin elasticity
8. Finally, if your hanging skin is the apron (a flap hanging off the belly), and starts to cause sores or fungal infections, most insurance companies will pay for skin reduction or removal. Basically a tummy tuck. You must have lost most of the weight you intend to lose because they will only pay for it once, last thing you want is to get it tucked and need it again.
9. Arms, face, legs are almost never covered by insurance. Save your money, it's expensive.
10. Make surgery the last resort. It is the most painful surgery from what I hear. I also heard it has a long recovery time.

Keep in mind, when you are fat, you are unhappy with your appearance all the time. Regardless of what you are wearing. When you are thin with loose skin, you are only uncomfortable in revieling cloths. It's a trade off. You get to dress nice, be healthy, and extend your life. If you absolutely cannot live with it, surgery is a feasible option.

snikrepa2003 · July 2011

Thank you, that gives me hope, I have one daughter and I wondered if that would make a difference .

Bub1971 · July 2011

You can use COQ10 it is good for your Heart and Skin and over long time use will tighten the skin considerably they make it in pill and lotion form I used both and have no loose skin now and that is losing 160 lbs.

Jennloella · July 2011

it's got a lot to do with age, genetics, gender, etc. that is what determines how well your skin will shrink back, also how long it was stretched out will play a part.....right after I had my 2nd child (I was 24) I was 195, got down to 145, and had a tummy tuck, it was the only thing that would have worked!!! and my skin is very healthy and elastic (no stretch marks even) good luck, keep the skin hydrated!!

naisey · July 2011

My heaviest was 308. I got down to about 180 and had a tummy tuck, breast lift and the skin cut off my arms.
My aunt had similar weight loss and no probs. I think if you've got stretch marks
then you'll have loose skin. If not, should be fine

marji4x · July 2011

I keep hearing if you lose gradually and healthily over a longer time your skin adapts as you lose.

zoombie_bear · July 2011

I started at 198, and now am at 142, a little on the belly, but the rest is actually not that bad. also had 2 kids and major stretchmarks, life is life

ANeWcRe8N · July 2011

I started at 223 lbs and Im currently 170 (still have another 40-50 lbs to lose hopefully). So far I have some loose skin but I cant tell how much it'll be until Im done. My tummy is way smaller than it use to be though so Im happy with how its coming out so far. I have 4 kids so Im pretty sure I will never have that flat tummy with no loose skin :ohwell:

Extra Skin?

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