I look gaunt?!

I'm 61, nearly 62, lost 50+ pounds at 59-60, so I'm most of the way through year 2 of maintenance. My skin has continued to shrink (at a decreasing rate, but I'm not certain it's stopped). Some areas improved dramatically.

At first, I felt like my face looked gaunt and saggy, and my neck kind of stringy, but I believe both have gradually improved.

Right after I reached goal, a fitness instructor I'd had long before (while obese) sub taught my spin class, and complimented me on the weight loss. A few months later, she subbed again, not having seen me in the mean time. At that point, she told me she'd thought I'd looked really too thin the first time, but was looking good - strong and fit - at this second time. I was the same weight, and no more fit.

I'm sure experiences vary, but I think things can improve, with time, in maintenance.

At the same time, others take time to adjust to the change in you, which just "seems wrong" to them at first. Most of my friends/relatives are over that hump, now. And people who're newly meeting me now are visibly stunned when they see old (but recent) obese pictures - they wouldn't have guessed.

I'm right at the edge of that at 155 lbs. Even though the charts say I could lose as much as 18 lbs and be "healthy", my face looks hollow and I start looking terribly fragile when I drop below 154.

I've lost most of my subcutaneous fat in my face, and much of it throughout my body. Because of my Genetics, I still have an hourglass figure, but aside from the breasts and thighs and to a lesser extent the hips I just don't have much spare fat anywhere.

I would be inclined to dismiss other people's claims of faintness, except that I can see it myself in the mirror and in photographs.

I don't want to be unhealthy. My entire purpose in losing weight was to reclaim physical strength, ability, and endurance. I have to accept that for me, this weight is likely as low as I can maintain and be truly healthy.

I watched a friend drop a good 150 lbs over almost two years. At first she looked just the way you say -- gaunt, maybe unhealthy. In the following 18 months I believe her body -- redistributed? might be the right word. She's been doing a great deal of walking with her husband, and possibly some weights, and she looks absolutely terrific now. All of this is to say that a year of maintenance will probably do as much as weight loss to change the way your body looks. Spend some time getting used to the new normal, and see how you feel then.

MegaMooseEsq wrote: »

That stinks. As best I understand it, genetics pretty much controls where you lose weight and what happens to your skin afterwards. I feel like what you're encountering isn't unknown - I have a vague memory of an old expression about how too much weight loss can have negative effects on your face, but a quick Google isn't turning anything up. Maybe I'm thinking hands? Either way, there's always going to be something to be unhappy with - I'm sure your husband and you will get used to any changes.

It's "After a certain age, a woman has to choose her @ss or her face". Duchess of Windsor or maybe Bette Davis?