Loose skin?

It won’t always tighten up. That’s the hard truth. I lost over 80lbs 7years ago. I still have some loose skin. When I gained 30lb back and lost again...still have the same skin.

For reference I’m 38 with one child. My initial weight gain was in pregnancy

Mine continued to improve well into my second year of maintenance, even at age 60+.

True loose skin is fairly fine wrinkles, like wrinkles in a medium weight fabric. Thicker wrinkles or rolls, like 1/2" and up, still have some subcutaneous fat conspiring with gravity to keep the skin stretched out.

I don't know whether losing 50 pounds puts you at goal weight, or not. If not, please know that some of us look worse part way to goal than we will at goal. The fat depletes anywhere within the fat mass, not neatly from the outer layer then inward, so part way through the fat mass gets squishy, and that gravity thing makes it floppy/droopy. It sure did for me! That effect can still improve with further weight loss, if you're not at goal yet.

Even at goal weight, the true loose skin can keep shrinking, depending on genetics and other factors, so give it some time before considering surgery. Also, at goal weight, continuing to work on body composition (adding muscle, reducing fat) can further deplete some fat areas that are keeping skin stretched, while still staying at a healthy goal weight.

Some loose skin can still hang around in the long run, but if you go look at people in the "Success Stories" forum here, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good some people look even after very substantial weight loss. Permanent loose skin tends to be less than many people fear, even though it can be a factor.

I figure I look better thin with some loose skin than I did obese, and I know I feel way better. It's so worth it!

I’m 59, and I lost 80 lbs 4 years ago. I worked hard at the gym all through the 18 month weight loss and still do, so was able to maintain (and modestly increase) my muscle mass, which helped some. I still have loose skin, but it has tightened up significantly during my 3 years of maintenance. The earlier comment about loose skin vs residual fat certainly applies to me. For a few years I maintained at a weight that felt comfortable, but looked a bit baggy. Not until I decided to lose a few extra pounds and at the same time get leaner did I figure out that much of what I thought was loose skin was actually fat. And losing it has helped my body image a lot.