Loose skin

Are you at a healthy goal weight now? How long have you been there?

If not at goal, it's normal to feel there's more loose skin and worry a lot about it. But the skin can't really start shrinking until the fat is mostly gone, because fat conspires with gravity to keep the skin stretched out.

Even after reaching goal weight, it's a thing that requires patience. It takes time to shrink. Mine was shrinking at least into year 2 at goal weight, and maybe longer.

It's not unusual for people to look worse, loose-skin-wise, part way to goal weight than they will at goal weight, and worse at goal weight than they will look some months down the road. I know this may not be encouraging in the sense that it would involve delay, which is frustrating. On the other hand, maybe it's encouraging to know that there can still be progress. I hope so.

As far as how to minimize loose skin, here's what I think: Genetics matter, and likely age does, too. That's the hand we're dealt, and it's unpredictable and pretty much unchangeable. Your age may be a plus.

Beyond that, 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,
* getting enough solid sleep consistently,
* specific to skin, also avoiding tanning.

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

Because of the gravitational piece I mentioned, I've wondered whether compression garments might help, but that's pure wondering, with no evidence whatsoever. I know that some of my young friends have used them after having a baby as part of trying to get their pre-baby body back, but I don't know whether it even helps in that case or not.

At the very last, surgery is an option, but it's very expensive, and in the US at least, is usually self-pay, except in the rare cases that there's so much that it creates health problems of various sorts. That would be a thing to discuss with your doctor. IMU, most plastic surgeons will ask a person to wait a year or more after weight loss to have surgery for it, I assume at least partly because of the probability of shrinking, but possibly also to minimize the odds they'll do this major surgery on someone who regains, which - very sadly - is quite common after loss.

I hope you find your loose skin shrinks on its own, and as quickly as possible!