Calling all those who have lost 100+ pounds

Bump:

Same question here!

sadly... it is all genetic. I have lose skin everywhere.... but it is just a reminder to me how far I have come. WATER is your best friend. Make sure you take it in! Good Luck! You can do it!

As a side note... No GOOD plastic surgeon will touch you until you are at your goal weight for 2 YEARS! This is how long the skin can takes to tighten up. I have heard stories of woman getting implants after losing alot of weight... and in 2 years their breast tissue comes back and they have to have the implants taken out.... 2 surgeries that could have been prevented with just patience.

My heaviest was at the end of undergrad at 283. Four long years later, I'm 180. I didn't realize I should be concerned about my skin until I was around 230 (I lost weight in stages - dropped to 230 for my wedding, then took a year off, then dropped to 180 and still losing). I haven't had a problem with it going back, but I did do a lot of reading (and I'm in my twenties). Drink LOTS of water. Your skin is elastic, but dry skin isn't anything close to elastic, healthy or able to repair itself... Also, a lot of time, it's still bits of flab and fat that make the skin jiggly, so I do a LOT of muscle toning exercises. I also read not to judge your skin until you are at your goal weight because different parts of your body will adjust at different rates.

But to answer your questions, I'm down 103 pounds and my skin isn't saggy, hanging or otherwise weird. It looks like I've always been 180 (minus the stretch marks which I'm trying to figure out what to do about... )

I was at my heaviest in the late 1990s early 2000, somewhere around 275ish. I am now about 156. A lot of it is genetics, but lifting weights will help your arms along with just losing the weight. Drinking lots of water helps replenish your body and I am a firm believer in cardio. Eating cleaner foods is another big plus. It's hard to do sometimes with our busy lives, but the more that you do it, the more your body craves it. I made myself sick last night eating what I had for dinner and dessert. I am still about 30 pounds shy of my ultimate goal, but I can tell you that you can firm up your body as much as it will allow you to.

I do know that the slower you lose the more you can tighten. It has taken me off and on over 6 years to get where I am. Since last Feb 2010 I have only lost 50 pounds, but when I cheat from time to time I don't gain more than 3-5 pounds back. (When I cheat it's for weeks at a time ) This year, I have only lost about 15-20, but it's better than gaining 15+.

Good luck on your journey!

My highest weight was 286 lbs and I'm now down to around about 165lbs.

I lost my weight slowly over the course of about 5 years.
This year I've started lifting heavy and I feel like that has transformed my body completely. I still have a small crease along the very bottom of my stomach, which I believe is the most excess skin that I have. It used to be a lot worse, but with tonnes of water, lifting heavy and trying to eat clean, its improved a lot. I think genetics play a huge part, and possibly the fact that I'm only 29? Not sure, but slow, steady weightloss while picking up heavy things would be beneficial I believe

xx