Loose Skin

Everyone is different and there’s no magic solution for 100% preventing loose skin. The best you can do to prevent it or have less loose skin is to lose weight slowly and strength train to retain muscle mass. Your age is a helpful factor. To be completely honest though, with that much weight loss some loose skin is probably inevitable.

IMO, most people starting in on weight loss, and especially after losing some pounds as you have (congrats, by the way!), think their loose skin in the long run will be a much bigger deal than it turns out to be in practice for many people.

There are lots of before and after pictures over in the "Success Stories" part of the forum, including some in bathing suits after, so you can judge for yourself.

Skin is an organ. The things that keep any other organ healthy are going to keep skin healthy, too, so more likely to be elastic and shrink. That would be

* avoiding fast loss (because it's a physical stress to lose fast),
* getting good well-rounded nutrition (macros and micros, especially but not exclusively protein),
* getting regular exercise (both cardiovascular and strength),
* managing all-source life stress,
* hydrating adequately (not crazy much, but enough),
* avoiding smoking and excessive alcohol,
* specific to skin, also avoiding tanning.

Be aware that many people find their loose skin looks worse partway to goal weight than it will at goal weight (because it often isn't just loose skin yet, but rather a layer of subcutaneous squishy-fat conspiring with gravity keep skin stretched); and that it looks worse at goal weight than it will after a couple of years in maintenance at goal. (Mine kept shrinking well into year 2 of maintenance, maybe longer.)

I didn't lose as much weight as many do here, only around 50 pounds, but at age 59-60. I don't think I look dramatically worse now than most women my age (now 64) who've always been thin (even in sleeveless shirts or a swimsuit), though some body parts looked like a hound dog's droopy face when I first reached goal.

For sure, multiple people who met me after I was thin were suprised to learn I was obese until only a few years ago . . . and I don't mean just-being-polite surprised, I mean visibly startled when I showed them photos, after it came up in conversation. I hear the "someone like you who's always been thin . . ." line sometimes, which is often how it comes up.

I'd encourage you not to worry now. You may find that your long-term results are good, and all the current worry will have been unnecessary unpleasantness. Even if you do decide in the long run that surgery is essential for you, there's only so much you can do in the present to minimize the risk. Once you're doing those things, worry is also fruitless. The only other consideration might be to start putting some savings aside, if you're really concerned, as in most places that surgery would be self-pay. If you have the money set aside and don't need it for surgery, you can buy yourself some other nice reward instead.

Best wishes!

Jericha1992 wrote: »

I guess be prepared for loose skin, but remember that if you have it, you are still healthier. And you can stuff it inside clothes lol. And although I'm still insecure while I'm naked, it is REALLY nice to be able to buy clothes in any store I want.

You look really pretty and no amount of loose skin will ever change that. Thank you for saying that you prefer the body you have now - I don't think there's anyone who has ever tried to lose a significant amount of weight who hasn't been worried about loose skin and where they're heading.

@maisieraef You do definitely have age on your side. I lost a lot of weight at your age (not as much as you, but still a fair amount) and my skin bounced back quite well. Now that I'm re-losing weight again a decade on, I'm not sure my skin will be as kind to me. But as @Jericha1992 says, whatever happens, you will be healthier and that's worth focusing on.