Worried about looks after weight loss!

emmacarrington549
emmacarrington549 Posts: 4 Member
edited November 19 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi, I'm Emma and I'm new, I'm 41 and live in England.
Has anyone experienced excess skin after weight loss? It's something that worries me.
I have 4 stone/56 pounds to lose.

Replies

  • ccsernica
    ccsernica Posts: 1,040 Member
    Not at your age, I didn't. 13 years later though, yeah.
  • emmacarrington549
    emmacarrington549 Posts: 4 Member
    edited June 2017
    I do intend on trying to get some exercise so hopefully it won't be too bad. I have lupus so losing weight is going to be a fight against my medication. I'd imagine my weight loss will be slow. I just need to find a gentle exercise routine to help with my flabby bits :#
  • emmacarrington549
    emmacarrington549 Posts: 4 Member
    I have this awful fear after watching TV shows of people who have lost weight and then need surgery to remove all this excess skin.
    Watching them buy special things to strap on around their tummy to hold all the loose skin in.
    I have scared myself. It's irrational I know.
    I want to be as healthy as I can be, so I have set a realistic target weight on the upper end of the BMI.
    I have lost weight before about 12 years ago and I weighed my target weight I have set now and I looked good, but I'm concerned now that as I've been bigger for such a long period of time, I will have problems with excess skin.
    No more TV shows about excess skin for me B)
  • tiffaninghs
    tiffaninghs Posts: 200 Member
    i have the loose skin but i lost over 100lbs.. i fel as though it didnt really become an issue till after 50lbs lost. im 32 btw and had been over weight for 25 years
  • dasiypotterhead
    dasiypotterhead Posts: 2 Member
    I'm a beginner here so I might not know what I'm talking about but I heard: the slower you lose weight the less excess skin you'll have. So if you loose very quickly then you'll have more loose skin than if you lost over several years. Could be wrong though. My advice if this is true: take it slow
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    I'm 45 and lost 33lbs. I have a teeny bit of wrinkling above my belly button and on my inner thighs. It's strange, but some days it's noticeable and others it's not.
    Those people you see with huge skin flap issues have lost a lot more than your 50lbs. Who knows, you might come out the other side with zero loose skin, don't panic just yet :smile:
  • tiffaninghs
    tiffaninghs Posts: 200 Member
    also if u have loose skin now thats pretty much it. once ur elasticity is gone its gone.. once a rubber band is stretched out ya gotta trash it...
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    I lost the weight (75 lbs) at 35 and I have loose skin. Nothing you can do about it. Beats the extra fat though...
  • firef1y72
    firef1y72 Posts: 1,579 Member
    I have a lot of loose skin, but I've lost 120lb+, every now and again it stresses me out but there's nothing I can do about it and it's a heck of a lot better than being morbidly obese and tbh 99% of the time I don't let it effect me or who I am, what I do or what I wear
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I have a little bit of loose skin on my lower abdomen, BUT I have lost over 125 lbs and had 2 sections. It doesn't even compare to what you see on TV shows. I can easily hide it in my bikini bottom.

    Don't stress it.
  • Jriggs46615
    Jriggs46615 Posts: 50 Member
    Poisonedpawn78 wrote: »
    I would never let something minor like that prevent you from being healthier and getting to your goals.

    its like saying, man i dont want to win the lottery, having to count all that money is such a pain.

    Too funny. I've never thought of it like that. I even told my mom a while back that I was done losing, if I started getting loose skin.
  • ashjongfit
    ashjongfit Posts: 147 Member
    I'm 26, I had one big baby by c section and am due with another (likely large) baby by c section in August. I was 360+ lbs (maybe more, last known weight) and I am 5'4.

    My lowest was just under 200lbs, so 160 lbs lost. I still had a belly over hang but it was starting to pull up. I gradually put on all that weight over the course of 10 or so years. I strength train as well.

    I do think I will end up with a small flap, but really who cares? There is always removal if thats something you want. No one can really tell you if you will end up with loose skin as it largely comes down to genetics and how much elasticity your skin retains.

    A bit of loose skin here and there is very much worth it in the end. :)
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
    I'm 42. I started at 256 and I am not at 171 and have very little loose skin. I have about 20lbs more I want to lose which I can tell is mostly fat around my midsection and thighs. Unless I end up with a ton of loose skin in the last 20lbs, I've fared pretty well.

    I can tell you I would be happier at 150 with loose skin then miserable and unhappy at 250lbs.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    edited June 2017
    emmacarrington549 wrote: »
    Hi, I'm Emma and I'm new, I'm 41 and live in England.
    Has anyone experienced excess skin after weight loss? It's something that worries me.
    I have 4 stone/56 pounds to lose.

    Yep, I have lose skin. It's kinda gross, but still better than being fat for sure. No one sees it unless you're naked or wearing revealing clothes anyway. Really nothing to be worried about.
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    edited June 2017
    I will take any and all loose skin on my body over the excessive fat that used to fill it and the negative health consequences I was experiencing along with the obesity.

    I have gained so much in my overall health and fitness and my emotional wellbeing (happiness, confidence, positivity) has improved as well.

    I have lost 55lbs as of today. Yes there is some loose skin but it's not substantial enough to bother me at all. I do have another 35-45 pounds to lose so my opinion might change later but for now I seriously don't care about extra skin.

    You may want to start to save money for skin removal surgery and/or look into whether skin removal surgery is covered under your healthcare system.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    shadow2soul wrote: »
    I have a little bit of loose skin on my lower abdomen, BUT I have lost over 125 lbs and had 2 sections. It doesn't even compare to what you see on TV shows. I can easily hide it in my bikini bottom.

    Don't stress it.

    Well there's not just stomach, to be fair (that's where I have the most, but I typically carry my extra fat in my midsection. Guessing pear shape women won't have as much an issue with that). I have some on my arms and my inner thighs too (and chin. Nobody ever mentions the chin!).
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    emmacarrington549 wrote: »
    I have this awful fear after watching TV shows of people who have lost weight and then need surgery to remove all this excess skin.
    Watching them buy special things to strap on around their tummy to hold all the loose skin in.
    I have scared myself. It's irrational I know.
    I want to be as healthy as I can be, so I have set a realistic target weight on the upper end of the BMI.
    I have lost weight before about 12 years ago and I weighed my target weight I have set now and I looked good, but I'm concerned now that as I've been bigger for such a long period of time, I will have problems with excess skin.
    No more TV shows about excess skin for me B)

    These individuals are typically losing hundreds of Lbs...and they also typically are losing weight quite rapidly.

    I lost 40 and don't have lose skin. Lose weight slowly...exercise regularly, including resistance training.
  • JenMarie8781
    JenMarie8781 Posts: 377 Member
    I had lost 110 but gained back 40 and yes I have loose skin on my inner thighs and upper arms. I hate it but I'm gonna continue losing cuz I'd still rather be healthy and I hope one day maybe I can get the excess skin removed once I reach my goal weight.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,225 Member
    Lost around 60 pounds (1/3 of my body weight - to 120lbs at 5'5") and don't have a huge amount of loose skin . . . and I'm 61years old. There's some when I'm in plank position with torso bare, a little on inner thigh, etc , but nothing that's obvious under clothing. Mine kept shrinking over at least the first year of maintenance, too.

    One caveat: True loose skin is thin, like folds of fabric. Pull up a pinch of skin on some body part with a minimal fat layer, like the back of your hand: Not thick.

    Bigger folds on the body, like 1/2" thick or more, are skin with some remaining squishy subcutaneous fat underneath. Sadly, we don't lose fat starting from the outermost layer, then proceeding neatly to successively more inner layers. Fat cells may deplete anywhere within the fat mass as we lose, making the fatty area more squishy or droopy. (Think about a water balloon with only a little water in it but no air - droopy/squishy- compared to a water balloon that's plumply full of water - holds its shape.)

    If you reach goal weight and still have some squishy-fat left, consider recomposition: Lifting weights to add muscle and slowly reduce fat while eating at maintenance calories.

    Regardless, we pretty much all look and feel so much better without the excess weight that a little loose skin pales as an issue in comparison.
  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I have some on my tummy. When I was 33 I lost 80lb. In a high waisted bikini it's hidden. My husband doesn't care about it and he is the only person besides me who sees it.
  • LadyLilion
    LadyLilion Posts: 276 Member
    I'm more worried about my face. I have friends who lost quite a bit and where they previously had firm faces, they now have lines and sagginess. We're talking 100 lbs...not 50, but still. I hate the thought of having wrinkles because my fat is no longer filling them out.
  • doittoitgirl
    doittoitgirl Posts: 157 Member
    Honestly you probably won't know til you lose it and if you're predisposed to it theres not much to do except losing weight at a steady pace and exercising. Some people get saggy skin from 50lbs at 26 and some people dont get any after 75lbs at 50. It's your genes (and possibly skincare if you don't take care of your skin like using sunscreen). Just worry about being healthy. I'd rather be a healthy weight with bingo wings than overweight with no loose skin.
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