Loose skin/flabby skin

It's not clear what the question is.

Are you currently within your goal weight range? If not, then losing weight may help shrink that area, but you can't spot reduce and there's no guarantee that the body will take the fat from any specific place. There is also very little you can do to prevent loose skin. It's largely determined by age and genetics. Strength training while losing weight is generally a good idea to help preserve muscle mass, which contributes to a "toned" appearance.

If you are within your goal weight range, your options are time, recomp, and/or surgery. Many people notice some "firming" after a year or two in maintenance. A recomp plan will help you build muscle while reducing fat, which may make the abdominal area appear firmer. If you have been maintaining at a healthy weight for several years and still have a lot of loose skin, then you may want to look into having it removed.

LittleLightShine wrote: »

Read about Autophagy and fasting. I've been using this approach along with a low carb diet and have not experienced any loose skin. Still have 30lbs to go but so far so good. When I started my journey, I was very concerned about loose skin and read an article by Dr. Jason Fung where he stated his patients have not had problems with loose skin. His approach is working for me.

Loose skin (or lackthereof) is largely genetics. Not fasting or anything like that. Also Fung is considered a quack and unreliable. You were fortunate enough to have good genetics.

True loose skin is thin wrinkles, like wrinkles in fabric. That can shrink, but tends to do it more slowly than fat loss happens. (My loose skin kept shrinking well into year 2 of maintenance, and possibly beyond, after losing around 50 pounds, and reaching goal weight at age 59-60. The final difference after a couple of years was pretty dramatic.)

Wrinkles or rolls of 1/2" or more still have some subcutaneous fat conspiring with gravity to keep them stretched out. Some of that may improve with additional weight loss (if one is not at goal yet), or via recomposition (strength training to increase muscle mass and reduce fat mass, at constant weight). (Anecdotally, some lucky people seem to see that subcutaneous fat redistribute a little bit during maintenance without doing much to cause it.)

Because of residual fat, some of us (me, for one) look worse part way to goal than at goal weight; and worse at goal weight than a year or two or so down the road. Patience pays off, but surgery remains an option. I'd suggest not being too quick to assume you'll need to go under the knife.

Genetics is a controlling factor, and age may be relevant (but my skin shrank well at fairly advanced age).

What you can do: Healthy skin has a better chance of shrinking. Skin is an organ. The things that help other organs be healthy also help make skin be healthy: Cardiovascular exercise, excellent nutrition, strength training, adequate hydration, avoidance of smoking, avoidance of excessive alcohol, etc. That's probably your best shot. Things like lotions, dry brushing, etc., are lower probability.

The only reasons slow weight loss may result in less loose skin (IMO) are that (1) slow loss can allow for better nutrition and health; and (2) skin shrinks slower than fat loss can occur, but slower weight loss is more likely to have skin shrinkage slightly better able to keep pace with fat loss. There's no magic.

Just my opinions, based mostly on my experience.

Sm3018 wrote: »

LittleLightShine wrote: »

Read about Autophagy and fasting. I've been using this approach along with a low carb diet and have not experienced any loose skin. Still have 30lbs to go but so far so good. When I started my journey, I was very concerned about loose skin and read an article by Dr. Jason Fung where he stated his patients have not had problems with loose skin. His approach is working for me.

May I ask how old are you? I'm 36 I've been dealing with weight since I was about 8 and really started going back and forth with loosing and gaining since I was 18. I also have 2 kids so with the loosing and gaining constantly that's where my loose skin comes from.

Most of the comments here have provided good factual info. A low carb diet, advice from Dr. Fung, and gaining the weight back and re-losing it (another post) are not the answers.

@AnnPT77 will never lead you wrong, though she won't offer you any quick fixes or miracle cures.

Karlijunruh wrote: »

Hi guys,
I'm in a bit of a pinch too... And have been struggling.

When I started 3+ years ago I was a whopping 200 pounds... Keep in mind I am 5,2 anyways fast forward and I dropped sizes I'm now at a healthy 146 pounds.

* I carry my weight in my stomach,hips and thighs *

I can't for the life of me loose my stomach... It actually hangs over, almost like a fold. I cannot determine if this is loose skin or still fat or maybe even a combination of the two. It is deteriorating my mental health as I feel lost and ugly and no matter what I try to do it won't go away....

I need you help... Is it loose skin?if not, Is there a way to get rid of it... Suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated

[IMG][/img]

At 5'2 and 146 you are still in the overweight category per your BMI. Losing 10 more lbs would put you in the top end of a healthy BMI, so you still have some weight that can be lost. I'd consider that fat, and not lose skin.
If you want to lose weight, put your weight loss at .5 lbs a week.

harper16 wrote: »

Karlijunruh wrote: »

Hi guys,
I'm in a bit of a pinch too... And have been struggling.

When I started 3+ years ago I was a whopping 200 pounds... Keep in mind I am 5,2 anyways fast forward and I dropped sizes I'm now at a healthy 146 pounds.

* I carry my weight in my stomach,hips and thighs *

I can't for the life of me loose my stomach... It actually hangs over, almost like a fold. I cannot determine if this is loose skin or still fat or maybe even a combination of the two. It is deteriorating my mental health as I feel lost and ugly and no matter what I try to do it won't go away....

I need you help... Is it loose skin?if not, Is there a way to get rid of it... Suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated

[IMG][/img]

At 5'2 and 146 you are still in the overweight category per your BMI. Losing 10 more lbs would put you in the top end of a healthy BMI, so you still have some weight that can be lost. I'd consider that fat, and not lose skin.
If you want to lose weight, put your weight loss at .5 lbs a week.

This.

For many of us, abdominal fat is the last to go, so take heart: As you reach goal weight, it can improve; and you'd still have options after that to use a longer-term recomposition strategy (stay at constant weight, gradually increase muscle mass, lose more fat mass).

I also support the idea that true loose skin takes time to shrink. Mine kept shrinking well into year 2 of weight maintenance.

Here's the thing: Skin shrinkage is slow, and it can't even get a decent start until enough of the fat in an area has depleted so that it stops conspiring with gravity to keep the skin stretched. From your photo, it appears that you still have enough abdominal fat left for some of that to be going on.

True loose skin is thin wrinkles, like wrinkles in a medium-weight fabric. It's not 1/2" or more folds or rolls. Those still have some subcutaneous fat storage keeping the skin stretched. It would be nice if our fat mass melted off starting from the outside layer, then proceeding neatly inward layer by layer (like peeling an onion ). Instead, fat cells can deplete throughout an area, so that we may notice the fat area getting softer/squishier but still stretched. As more fat is lost, the area can empty enough fat cells to give up the squishy-fat and reduce visually in size.

So, I think patience is your friend, since you still have some weight left to lose. I suspect the area you're concerned about will get smaller, and that eventually skin will shrink as well. Patience may still be required, as that can continue for some time into weight maintenance.

Another thing I'd mention is the possibility that your posture could be contributing somewhat to this visual effect. I can't tell for sure from your photo, but this is a thing that can emphasize remaining abdominal fullness for some people. If you Google "Anterior Pelvic Tilt", you'll find graphics and descriptions that can help you understand whether this is a factor for you, and if so, what to do about it (i.e., exercises). It's a super-common postural issue, I think in part because of the way it's fashionable to want to emphasize the booty curve.

A second postural contributor can be something called postural kyphosis (a.k.a. dorsal kyphosis), and it's very common now, too, I think partly because of the role of screen-time in our lives. Postural kyphosis is just a fancy name for a bit of an upper body slump, with a bit of forward-thrust to the chin and head. Again, it's easy to find information about this online, along with exercises to improve it. (Please note: There is a more severe form of kyphosis that is about having an abnormal skeletal structure. That's not what I mean. The postural kind is just about habits in how we hold our bodies, creating weaker muscular structures in some areas, and tight tissues that tend to "groove in" that way of holding the body. Modifying it is fairly straightforward, not a complex medical condition in the way that some other forms of kyphosis may be.)

Either or both of these postural issues can sort of compress or bunch up a bit of remaining abdominal fat, and make it protrude in a more prominent way. Improving posture can therefore have a visually slimming effect.

Speaking as a sort of anxious old internet auntie type person (I'm 64 y/o, probably old enough to be your granny), I'm also concerned about you in another way. Please know that I mean this kindly. You mention "deteriorating my mental health as I feel lost and ugly and no matter what I try to do it won't go away". That a (frankly) normal body is causing you this much distress is a concern. You are more than your body: Very much more. The appearance of your body is not what creates your value as a person. I'd encourage you to consider some form of counseling or therapy, related to self-image. You may not feel that you're in any kind of crisis, but that kind of help isn't reserved just for crises, just as we don't wait until we have a full-blown life-threatening infection to start on antibiotics.

Instead, we start when the situation is manageable, and nip it in the bud, when it's easier. Just as we consult dietitians for nutritional advice, or personal trainers and physical therapists for exercise advice, there should be no stigma associated with consulting a counselor, psychologist, or other professional for issues that interfere with our thoughts about our bodies or behavior. There are community-based counseling options, and even some online (virtual) but individual options.

You might want to take a look at this thread, to get a realistic idea of how women look at various weights at or near goal:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10689837/does-this-uterus-make-my-stomach-look-fat/p1

Hang in there, appearance will continue to improve as you head toward goal, and even beyond that in maintenance.
Wishing you the best! :flowerforyou: