want to hear from people who were 250+

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echastee92
echastee92 Posts: 48 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I've lowered my calorie goal per my doctors recommendations because I felt as if the weight was coming off too slowly. I now eat 1,200-1,290 calories a day and the weight is flying off. 5 pounds in 9 days. One of my big concerns is skin. When I get closer to my goal weight, I imagine I am going to have some extra skin. For those who were 250 or more and lost a lot of weight, how much skin did you have extra? And did how fast you lose it make a difference? I want to see results but I also want a balance because if I can do anything to minimize that problem I'll try. I might be jumping the gun because in all reality I've only lost 11 pounds in 30 days which is close to the recommended 2 pounds a week and I know when you're obese it's okay for the pounds to come off quicker at first. For all I know I'll plateau again. Just wanting to ask while I am still new in the game.

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  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
    edited December 2017
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    Genetics are the deciding factor when it comes to skin recovery.

    What may help is making sure you are hitting your nutritional goals ( fats and protein) while losing, especially with such a low intake.

    My thinking is-

    Protein: try to hit between .8-1g per lbs of ideal bodyweight (mid normal BMI range). Both collagen and elastin are proteins so getting enough protein in your diet will mean you are giving your skin' genetics the best chance of recovery.
    It also helps in muscle retention.


    Exercise:
    cardio, as well as being good for the cardio vascular system, it promotes good circulation. This will help in cell turnover and skin cell renewal.

    Resistance training, this will help in muscle retention, giving you better posture and structure.

    That is just my read on why nutrition and exercise may help your skin perform to its genetic potential.

    Cheers, h.

    You may find this thread helpful.
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10453193/honest-loose-skin-thoughts-pics/p1
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    Genetics and age. If you're excess weight is flying off and you're 25, keep doing it the way you're doing it, add good advice such as from middlehaitch, and be patient. The skin will catch up with the lesser you about as soon as the brain does.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,596 Member
    edited December 2017
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    And at least minimal amount of fats. Say at least 0.35 to 0.4g of (by preference) healthy fats per lb of bodyweight in the normal weight range, especially for women

    The argument against larger drops of calories is multifaceted and the speed of results has to be balanced against other considerations such as actually making things easy enough so that you increase your chance of achieving your goals, give yourself time to retrain yourself on how you eat and move, and do all this while minimizing lean mass loss and long term adaptations.

    While long term there are no particular studies that prove that slow vs fast loss is better, that's mainly because they all prove that long term success is not a high percentage game. But a lot of the fast loss studies also base their good results on ongoing nutritional follow up training and support. Which requires time if you're doing it by yourself and not as part of a supervised program.

    YMMV, but my personal feeling is that achieving results while eating the maximum amount of calories that you can is probably better for you long-term then achieving the same goals while eating the least that you can.

    While of course the results that you had from a few days are not necessarily indicative of what will happen longer-term, I feel that people would find more success if they target their deficits as a % of TDEE. 25% while obese, sure. But declining and at or below 20% when less fat is available to be lost closer to the normal weight range.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,055 Member
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    Also, be aware that for some of us, skin can keep shrinking well after fat is gone. Mine kept shrinking well into second year of maintenance, after losing about 1/3 of my body weight in around a year, and I'm not sure it's done yet (and I'm 62 y/o)!

    If you go over to the Success Stories forum, you can find posts from people who've lost weight in the hundreds of pounds, who talk about their loose skin experience and even share photos that show much of their post-weight-loss bodies. (Especially look in the "Most Helpful Posts" area.) I think you'll feel heartened.
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
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    The degree to which that shrink back (and it will happen) affects your overall aesthetic depends entirely on how much weight you've lost, though.

    By the time I'm fully finished, I will have lost 100 pounds, and I'm over 50 years old with less that optimal genetics. I also had a baby at 40. I did not luck out in the skin-shrinking-back lottery.

    I initially lost 95 pounds, gained a small bit back and am steadily losing again. In the time I put the small bit back on, the loose skin I have did shrink, but still, what I have is substantial and likely always will be.

    After all, that baby I had is 15 years old now, and that skin has had plenty of time to shrink back ;)

    Saying that, I can echo what Kris said. Even though I didn't put on quite as much weight as she did and hadn't reached the point of loathing my body, I can say that I really have an appreciation of just how much in retrospect I really liked how slim I was 7 pounds thinner than I am now (and that was still 5 pounds or so from my ultimate goal).

    In the big picture of things, the loose skin really doesn't and will not matter to you when you weigh it against what you've gained for the most part.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Are you asking about people who weighed 250+ or about people who needed to lose 250+?
  • saraonly9913
    saraonly9913 Posts: 469 Member
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    HellYeahItsKriss wrote: »
    Loose skin happens... if you don't have a lot of it, fantastic.
    If you do tho.. and that ends up just being the way it is.. im going to tell you something.

    I went from 300 pounds to 135 pounds... my body looked like a deflated saggy balloon in a lot of places.
    From the time i hit goal, i did nothing but hate and loathe and look at myself like a disgusting disease.
    What was the point of all the loss if i was just going to look like a person stuck in a fat suit i couldn't take off.

    the amount of dislike and hate i had for my body caused me to not appreciate or enjoy a single day of my loss.
    I lied to others who asked me if i was proud of myself, yes i would say, but in reality, i was pissed, disappointed and disgusted.

    Anyway, like a lot of people I am part of the statistics that people who lose will put some weight back on, as maintaining is the most difficult part of things.. i put about 50 pounds back on.. I am waiting for this cycle with my BED to pass so i can finally take it off again..

    However, it wasn't until i put the 50 pounds on that i realized that the body... that wrinkled, saggy flappy body i had, was nothing compared to how i feel with weight back on. And once i get back there, I will not hate myself and put myself down this time

    If you end up with loose skin in the end.. don't hate yourself when you look in the mirror.. believe me, you waste too much time doing that when you should be enjoying the hard work you put in instead of just being insecure about something else now.

    I tried posting just now but I don't think it went through. Thank you HellYeahltsKriss for your post. I have lost 90 pounds already but still have more weight to loss. Oh the damage done to my body by losing weight. I hate what I see and I still have more to lose. Thanks again for your inspiring post.
  • AmmarMa626
    AmmarMa626 Posts: 4 Member
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    It depends a lot on genetics. I went from 231.5 to 152.5 in about 6 months and a half. (I know the title says 250+, but 231.5 is pretty close, and I used to weigh even more before using MFP). Thank god I didn't end up with loose skin after losing the 79lbs, and I didn't intend to lose the weight this quick, as I eat around 1500-1900 Calories and don't exercise much, but again, all genetics. Either way, losing the weight and having loose skin is still much better than carrying all that weight around
  • fitoverfortymom
    fitoverfortymom Posts: 3,452 Member
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    256 > 153 and counting. I'm F, 43, 5'6". Loss has been a little over a year's time and I have very little loose skin. What I do have is in my arms and *kitten*, not tummy. I feel lucky, but also I would take the weight over being obese any day, even with loose skin.

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