Wrinkles and sagging inner thigh?

There is no exercise that can get rid of loose skin. Often it improves over time on its own, but there's literally nothing you can do other than living a really healthy lifestyle.

snowflake954 wrote: »

There have been numerous threads on this question over the years. The result? It's mainly genetics and your age. It takes at least a year to shrink back as much as it will--so give it time. Yes, keep active. Most say that after a year, if it still bothers you, to look into surgery.

However, congratulations on a fantastic loss! Keep going and best of luck!

Did you know that thigh lift surgery has a nearly 50% complication rate???

I say just live with it.

First, Congrats on some amazing weight loss!

You may not be able to truly eliminate loose skin, but you can look better by adding more muscle. Personally, I would recommend adding some weight training to your regimen. It'll make a big difference in legs, arms and shoulders! Cardio is great for overall health and endu, but it's not going to do nearly as much as weight-bearing exercises.

As mentioned before, try exercising with light weights. I has recently started working out with HASFit on YouTube. They incorporate light weights.

You can't exercise skin, it's not contractile tissue.
Exercise is great for general health though which may well be reflected in how healthy your skin is - but genetics, your weight history, your age are going to determine how much your skin recovers from being stretched.

If you are already doing plenty of cardio adding strength/resistance training will probably be more beneficial (general health, muscle retention) than adding more of the same.

It's pretty common for loose skin (wrinkles or rolls) to look worse part way to goal weight than it will at goal weight, and worse at goal than it will after a year or two in maintenance. It's sort of scary when at that midway point, though.

When we lose fat, it can deplete from anywhere in our fat mass. Sadly, it doesn't melt off starting from the outer layer and proceed neatly inward, with the skin shrinking as the fat goes. It's more like any given fatty area is like a water balloon: Somewhat rounded and semi-firm when at full expansion, but if some water is let out of the balloon (no air replacing it) the balloon gets sort of squishy and floppy.

Something similar can happen with fat mass: Some random fat cells give up their fat as we lose weight, leaving the overall fat mass more squishy, droopy, floppy. The remaining fat kind of conspires with gravity to keep the skin stretched out, so it can't much shrink.

Happily, as fat loss continues, more fat cells deplete, and some areas eventually get down to just loose skin, not much fat keeping that area stretched. The actual loose skin (when "just skin") tend to be thin wrinkles, like in a medium-weight fabric, such as a light/medium weight denim. Bigger rolls (half an inch or more) tend to have some subcutaneous fat in there still).

The true loose skin, those thin wrinkles, is that part that has the best chance of shrinking . . . but that takes time, and the timer on that starts after the fat is gone in that area.

I think my message is: Don't worry yet. I know it's scary, at that partway point. But it can get better. Losing more weight is part of that, then giving the true loose skin time to shrink is part of that.

You might want to to over to the "Success Stories" part of the MFP Community. There are lots of threads there from people of various ages who've lost varying amounts of weight, including some who've lost around what you plan to lose. Often, those people share photos, sometimes even in bathing suits or similar. I think you'll be surprised by how good most people look. There's hope for a lot of improvement . . . but it's a process, unfortunately.

This is what I've said on other threads, about improving odds for skin shrinking. (It's just my opinion, based on personal experience and reading.):

Skin is an organ. The things that keep other organs healthy will also tend to keep skin healthy, which means elastic and more willing to adjust. These include:

* 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.

People will say all kinds of things about creams, dry-brushing, etc., but personally I'm inclined to thing those are mainly ways to pass the time while skin does pretty much what it was going to do anyway. Help a little? Maybe. Big help? I doubt it. But it can feel good to feel like we're doing *something*.

I have to admit, if I had lost more than I did (it was only about 60 pounds, at age 59-60), I might have considered light compression garments worn most of the time, as I reached that squishy/floppy/rolls stage, to see whether the anti-gravity effect might help. I know some of my young friends have felt that compression garments helped them with loose abdominal skin after pregnancy, but I don't know whether there's any science behind it.

Best wishes - things can improve, and probably will as you continue your excellent weight-loss progress!

I strongly disagree with those who say it is genetics and is what it is. I look many years younger than what I am by being dogged about my skincare. Women my age who did nothing but depend of genetics look like old grandmas. How you care for your body skin will impact he outcome. Will it mean you won't have any loose skin.. I am not promising that.. but it will be less severe.
I use a small circular dry brush in my bath and shower twice a day and stimulate circulation and exfoliate my body skin.. and potential "loose skin" areas twice a day..and while the skin is wet.. I slather on a ceramide location.. Ce Rave..that locks in the moisture. I also try to put it on a second time during the day. I can tell a difference in the firmness of my skin doing this.