For those who already lost a ton -- a question about extra skin

siraphine
siraphine Posts: 185 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 20 years old, I've always been chubby, but the 100 pounds I'm trying to lose has only been on me 2 years tops. (I'm currently 250ish). How much extra skin would you assume I would have? I know age and weight and rate of losing plays factors, and there will be no way to know for sure until I lose it -- which I will, no matter what. I'd rather have to get a tummy tuck than stay heavy. Just curious. :)

Replies

  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    usmcmp wrote: »
    You're young, so if you don't lose the weight rapidly and you do some strength training along the way you may find that within a couple of years of losing the weight your skin may return to almost completely normal.

    Oh that's a nice thought. I totally wouldn't mind NEEDING a tummy tuck if it were absolutely necessary, since extra skin never killed anyone and I've survived surgery before. I'd just ideally like to avoid the scars.
  • meritage4
    meritage4 Posts: 1,441 Member
    45 lbs down here. No loose skin.
  • FaylinaMeir
    FaylinaMeir Posts: 661 Member
    I'm 98lbs down as of this morning and I have loose skin. I have arm flappers, hanging skin on my thighs, and my stomach flops when I walk fast. It's not pretty but it's a fact of life. I wouldn't trade that loose skin for all that weight back though, never.
    My problem is I don't exercise due to a back injury. I think if I was able to lift weights I wouldn't have the issues. I'm also 28 but I've had loose skin for a few years now.
  • SMKing75
    SMKing75 Posts: 84 Member
    I have a ton of loose skin on my abdomen, arms, and thighs. Nothing is going to fix this but surgery. I used to weight 280, now I am 187. I have had three children also. I have lost weight in segments, so there has never been a quick, crazy loss. I hate the skin and I will be thrilled to cut it off!
  • sunflowerhippi
    sunflowerhippi Posts: 1,099 Member
    edited October 2016
    I went from 212 to 150lbs over about 1 1/2 years, then gained back 55lbs during pregnancy. 1 year later I am now down those 55lbs plus another 11lbs now. I carry the weight in my hips and thighs and I do have loose skin there and I am not done loosing yet. My stomach also has some. I have pictures on my instagram.

    I was overweight my whole life though as well. I had dropped down some in my teens but yeah the skin was stretched for a while.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I went from 265 to 155. I had some loose skin at the bottom of my stomach, but it tucks into my underwear and isn't that bad. I am 31 and I didn't carry the weight for very long. My loose skin isn't even worth the surgery to me.
  • Constant_Nova
    Constant_Nova Posts: 108 Member
    Im in the process of losing about 140 lbs. I'm down 37 so far. This is my second go of losing a lot of weight. I can tell you that moisturizing helps A LOT! always use a good cream on your skin to keep elasticity. it also helps with stretch marks as well. you will have some lose skin and stretch marks but it won't be as pronouced as it could be.

    Also- very minor..... sometimes the really good skin creams( cream not lotion) have an unpleasant smell. if this is the case, a few drops of your favorite essential oil will help this!
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    Michael190lbs wrote: »
    100 plus lbs down here no loose skin at 48 years of age no stretch marks either.

    Ooh! Lucky you! Great work. :) I already have tons of stretch marks, but they're old and from growing upwards rather than outwards. But I don't mind them.
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    sunflowerhippi wrote: »
    I went from 212 to 150lbs over about 1 1/2 years, then gained back 55lbs during pregnancy. 1 year later I am now down those 55lbs plus another 11lbs now. I carry the weight in my hips and thighs and I do have loose skin there and I am not done loosing yet. My stomach also has some. I have pictures on my instagram. https://www.instagram.com/sunflowerhippi/ hopefully posting that link is okay. You can take a look through and see.

    I was overweight my whole life though as well. I had dropped down some in my teens but yeah the skin was stretched for a while.

    It looks great! Can barely notice at all. Great work. :)
  • sunflowerhippi
    sunflowerhippi Posts: 1,099 Member
    siraphine wrote: »
    sunflowerhippi wrote: »
    I went from 212 to 150lbs over about 1 1/2 years, then gained back 55lbs during pregnancy. 1 year later I am now down those 55lbs plus another 11lbs now. I carry the weight in my hips and thighs and I do have loose skin there and I am not done loosing yet. My stomach also has some. I have pictures on my instagram. https://www.instagram.com/sunflowerhippi/ hopefully posting that link is okay. You can take a look through and see.

    I was overweight my whole life though as well. I had dropped down some in my teens but yeah the skin was stretched for a while.

    It looks great! Can barely notice at all. Great work. :)

    Thanks, but yeah in the one pic I am doing a plank and you can see it hanging down. Could be a lot worse that is for sure for 70+lbs lost.
  • siraphine
    siraphine Posts: 185 Member
    FaylinaMeir wrote: »
    I'm 98lbs down as of this morning and I have loose skin. I have arm flappers, hanging skin on my thighs, and my stomach flops when I walk fast. It's not pretty but it's a fact of life. I wouldn't trade that loose skin for all that weight back though, never.
    My problem is I don't exercise due to a back injury. I think if I was able to lift weights I wouldn't have the issues. I'm also 28 but I've had loose skin for a few years now.

    Totally understand. A lot of exercise is hard (or impossible) for me because I'm only a year into my recovery for ankle surgery and I'm not allowed to do anything very intensive on the feet.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    edited October 2016
    siraphine wrote: »
    usmcmp wrote: »
    You're young, so if you don't lose the weight rapidly and you do some strength training along the way you may find that within a couple of years of losing the weight your skin may return to almost completely normal.

    Oh that's a nice thought. I totally wouldn't mind NEEDING a tummy tuck if it were absolutely necessary, since extra skin never killed anyone and I've survived surgery before. I'd just ideally like to avoid the scars.

    You might not have to worry about lose skin, but he truth is that genetics plays a large role too.

    I am 54 3/4 years old, was fat from day one, have lost a total of about 80 pounds over a 20 year period (sometimes maintained, sometimes gained, sometimes lost), but 44 of those 80 were lost about 2 years ago, and I've been maintaining since. I've also been on about every fad diet in the world.

    I have minimal lose skin that is looking better and better due to--I believe--my weight lifting.

    But, I've seen other ladies my age, and even younger, lose slowly and still have lose skin of varying degrees, and they were not necessarily overweight for a long period of time. I have also seen people who were overweight their whole life who don't have lose skin, or enough to write home about, when they hit goal.

    Think of it this way: it's better to be in a healthy weight range for your height with a little lose skin than to be overweight or obese.

    I truly believe that the slower you lose weight, the more you incorporate weight lifting or some kind of resistance training into your routine, the more likely you are to have a lot of lose skin. :)
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    sunflowerhippi wrote: »
    I went from 212 to 150lbs over about 1 1/2 years, then gained back 55lbs during pregnancy. 1 year later I am now down those 55lbs plus another 11lbs now. I carry the weight in my hips and thighs and I do have loose skin there and I am not done loosing yet. My stomach also has some. I have pictures on my instagram.

    I was overweight my whole life though as well. I had dropped down some in my teens but yeah the skin was stretched for a while.

    Julie,

    Your pictures are fantastic! Good job!

    And, your little one.....ohhhhh, so adorable!!
  • sunflowerhippi
    sunflowerhippi Posts: 1,099 Member
    SLLRunner wrote: »
    sunflowerhippi wrote: »
    I went from 212 to 150lbs over about 1 1/2 years, then gained back 55lbs during pregnancy. 1 year later I am now down those 55lbs plus another 11lbs now. I carry the weight in my hips and thighs and I do have loose skin there and I am not done loosing yet. My stomach also has some. I have pictures on my instagram.

    I was overweight my whole life though as well. I had dropped down some in my teens but yeah the skin was stretched for a while.

    Julie,

    Your pictures are fantastic! Good job!

    And, your little one.....ohhhhh, so adorable!!

    haha thanks she is a ginger spawn of satan though. The temper on her. lol Glad it doesn't photograph.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    You're young and depending on your genetics and rate of loss, your skin might snap right back.

    I'm 54 and have been losing my weight (92 pounds so far) for two years now. I've been fat forever. I have a lot of loose skin everywhere, and I really don't care. Well, except that I'd love to have that area on my outer thighs disappear, but it's still better than being obese.

    I've seen so many pictures of people your age on Reddit and none of them had loose skin. Best of luck to you!
  • enuffexcuses
    enuffexcuses Posts: 3 Member
    I went from 348 to 160 in 20 months. Sure I have loose skin, but I'll take that any day over the almost 200# of unhealthy fat!
  • ashjongfit
    ashjongfit Posts: 147 Member
    145+ down, 25. I still have 60ish to go but other than my belly over hang I don't have much extra skin. It does take skin some time to firm up, I think even my belly would firm a bit more if I didn't plan on having more kids + c sections.

    Lift and lose weight at a steady pace!
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    Down by almost 140 here. Quite a bit of loose skin on my abdomen, arms, butt, and thighs. Dunno if I'll do anything about it.
  • Eleniala
    Eleniala Posts: 87 Member
    This probably does not apply to you...but I have scaring from being in a car crash as a child. I'm in my late 30s now, and the scars were not very noticeable anymore. Now that I've lost about 30 pounds (and another 20 to lose) they are extremely noticeable. I guess the fat tissue underneath kept them taut, and now they look awful. :( One goes across my face from my eye to my ear, and now it looks like I have a huge dent in my face. That's the one major downside to my weight loss...but I'm trying to focus on all the positives.
  • DanerTee
    DanerTee Posts: 263 Member
    When I lost 97 lbs, I certainly had some loose skin, particularly my chest and tummy. With clothes on I was fine, but without? Not great. Better than being fat, but not great. I have a skin type that is very prone to stretch marks and when I first gained weight (I was skin and bones my whole life until 2nd year of college) I gained the weight VERY fast. My propensity for stretch marks with rapid weight gain, followed by two pregnancies in two years and yeah, I am literally a walking stretch mark. My point is, my loose skin is worse where my stretch marks are more concentrated. Stretch marks are permanent skin damage. They will fade and get a little smaller, but they have lost all elasticity, so will never heal or tighten up past a certain point. It seems to me, the fewer stretch marks you have, the better your skin bounces back.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    edited October 2016
    I think not a one of us who have lost a lot of weight would trade our loose skin for being very heavy again.

    Loose skin is a lot easier to live with than 100+ lbs of extra weight.
  • Michael190lbs
    Michael190lbs Posts: 1,510 Member
    Eleniala wrote: »
    This probably does not apply to you...but I have scaring from being in a car crash as a child. I'm in my late 30s now, and the scars were not very noticeable anymore. Now that I've lost about 30 pounds (and another 20 to lose) they are extremely noticeable. I guess the fat tissue underneath kept them taut, and now they look awful. :( One goes across my face from my eye to my ear, and now it looks like I have a huge dent in my face. That's the one major downside to my weight loss...but I'm trying to focus on all the positives.

    I have to agree here I have more wrinkles in my face than I have ever had and more skin issues dry skin issues than ever before.

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