Saggy Skin??

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Replies

  • yesthistime
    yesthistime Posts: 2,051 Member
    Firming It Up group (for sagging skin):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/143-firming-it-up
  • theartichoke
    theartichoke Posts: 816 Member
    Eat well, stay hydrated, moisturize, exercise (including **strength training**), and BE PATIENT (oh, and hope for the best, as age and genetics will also play a big role)!

    I've been very fortunate - I don't have a lot, but what I do have is on my lower tummy area. I don't like it, but I'd rather have saggy skin than have that skin filled up with fat again.

    Also, I've heard it can take a while for your skin to "bounce back" after weight loss, and I have noticed that my loose skin is already less noticeable than it was a couple of months ago. I doubt it will fully go away, but it may get better.

    This is what I've read too. Cocoa butter lotion to help your skin, strength training (lift heavy is what I keep hearing) and I read it can take up to a year after you reach your goal weight to know what your skin will ultimately do. Congratulations on starting your journey and good luck!
  • sassiebritches
    sassiebritches Posts: 1,861 Member
    Moisturize like crazy - use natural wraps to tighten, use collagen creams, you will be fine you are young....you have all the great stuff for the bounce back :)
  • MsPinVa
    MsPinVa Posts: 29 Member
    you are young your skin will bounce back. :smile:

    ^^^Falsehood. It will probably recover somewhat - but just being young doesn't work miracles. Losing 100+ pounds will lead to having some loose/saggy skin. Period.

    I was 19 when I underwent surgery for a RNY gastic bypass. My skin did NOT "bounce" back. CO_Q10 creams, and slow weight loss. Here was my thinking " I would rather have a large scar and loose skin than be morbidly obese"
  • LilRedRooster
    LilRedRooster Posts: 1,421 Member
    Loose skin is a largely genetic thing. Depending on your age, your skin's make-up, and diet, you could end up with no saggy skin, or a bunch. The best you can do is lose the weight slowly, drink a lot of water, and eat a well-balanced diet.

    One thing to remember, though, is that sometimes, skin takes a lot longer than we'd like to get back to "itself". I had my baby nearly two years ago, and although I never had a lot of loose skin that was obvious, it was thinner around my belly, and not as tight as it used to be. It's just NOW getting back to where it was, nearly two years after giving birth, and I lost all the baby weight about a year ago.

    Give it time, and be patient. You have age on your side, so work hard, feel good, and it'll all happen. :)
  • KyleB65
    KyleB65 Posts: 1,196 Member
    Can't say for sure but I think that you will be fine.

    I am 46 - almost 47. I have lost close to 80 lbs since I started to focus on my eating about a year ago.

    After losing 20 - 3o lbs I notice that I was getting a fair amount of flabby skin (tummy, arms and thighs). However, I added some strength training to my weekly routine and did my best to keep on top of my calories. It has taken a while but the flabbiness is going away. And, as a bonus, there are now muscles in the places where the fat & flab used to be!!!!

    As you are in your early 20's I suspect that there is enough elasticity in your skin that over time. Any flabbiness will disappear.

    Best of luck!
  • m60kaf
    m60kaf Posts: 421 Member
    I think when you have been fat your body is less 'tolerant' to fat

    I have been fat - prob lost a bit too much and from what I can recall didnt have particularly saggy skin.

    I have put a bit of fat on while trying to bulk and my skin sags. I'm confident when I lose the fat I will be OK

    I think someone who has never been fat with a bit of excess body fat looks perfect

    If you have been fat and still sag a bit you just need to accept to need to have lower fat

    I accept also the 300lb los people who have a lot of excess skin are a different story but the moderate sag I think simply means still more to lose
  • NotGoddess
    NotGoddess Posts: 1,198 Member
    ill get pink dumbels :laugh:

    Nope. You'll be at a gym with a heavy bar across your back straining to try and squat 160lbs.

    I'm sure you don't believe me now. But if you really want to work at looking better, one day you'll look back and laugh at the thought of pink dumbells.
    I think she was joking. :)
    And everyone knows the Hello Kitty weights are superior to plain pink dumbbells because they are also filled with hugs. :)

    lets hope she was joking..

    id prefer Disney princess :) no you actually can get decent size pink ones, im gonna need to start of reasonably small cos iv never done it??? or do u just lift anything??
    No one tells you an exact answer because it's different for everyone. But what I did is go to the store, picked up the lightest weight and did 6 curls. Then the next, LRR until I found one where I could do 6 but the thought of doing 7 was right out. Then I got that set and the next weight up.
  • Monkeymomma05
    Monkeymomma05 Posts: 116
    This is all really good information. I am looking to lose 100-120 so all of this information is really helpful!
  • Naybelline
    Naybelline Posts: 407 Member
    You could always enrole in a "body pump" class.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
    I lost 160lbs over 2.5 years and I got a lot of loose skin. I am not sure if 2.5 years was too fast (I don't think it is) but there was probably not much that could be done OUTSIDE of probably doing a bit extra strength training. I was only 24 years when I started losing, so don't think it was my age either. I am hoping it'll "bounce" back after a while but I don't think it'll ever be 100% the same.

    I will probably look at surgery when I get to my goal weight.
  • adamb83
    adamb83 Posts: 719 Member
    you are young your skin will bounce back. :smile:
    this ^^ You are young and your skin still has alot of elaciticity so I think you will be surprised at how it will firm up with exercise.. I have been told all my life if you loose the weight before 30 you will be ok so you should be good.. :flowerforyou:

    ^^^ Nope. =-/
  • princessruthiebelle
    princessruthiebelle Posts: 165 Member
    I lost 160lbs over 2.5 years and I got a lot of loose skin. I am not sure if 2.5 years was too fast (I don't think it is) but there was probably not much that could be done OUTSIDE of probably doing a bit extra strength training. I was only 24 years when I started losing, so don't think it was my age either. I am hoping it'll "bounce" back after a while but I don't think it'll ever be 100% the same.

    I will probably look at surgery when I get to my goal weight.

    a few people have said it can take upto 2 years??
    but if you want the surgery then you have so earned it! :)
  • mom152095
    mom152095 Posts: 2
    check out emayesingwraps.myitworks.com/ they have these wraps that may help.. It helps you lose inches. however its more for tightening your skin as i have noticed. I have done one and lost one inch. my mother in law has done 3 i believe and she has lost 6 inches. good luck!
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    Anything can happen, and it's really hard to predict what your body will do with your stretched skin. You could get lucky with good genetics, or not.

    When I was 24, I lost 92 pounds (232 to 140). I ended up with a grandma body--saggy arms, thighs, boobs and abdomen. Especially bad was my 'pooch' in the lower abdominal area. It looked like a bag of jelly which responded to gravity. If I leaned forward, bending at the hip, my pooch would lean forward too. I could grab it and shake it around. If I was lying on my side, the pooch would pool to the side near the floor. I eventually got a tummy tuck, which was mostly successful until I gained a lot of weight back.

    I don't think 'being young' and 'exercising' will automatically save you from this fate. But, I agree with others that it was much better to be slim with loose skin than it is to be obese. You may not comfortably wear a bikini, but in some nice clothes you can still look great, if you are destined to have the loose skin that I have.

    Here's a photo of a 20 year-old model who's 5'11" and 180 lbs:

    http://m24digital.com/en/2009/08/27/plus-size-glamour/
  • GlassslippersAndFairyDust
    GlassslippersAndFairyDust Posts: 518 Member
    Losing weight slowly, eating well, drinking lots of water, and incorporating a good amount of strength training will all help with the skin issue. Plus, being young is a good thing. Genetics will play a role, too.

    Vitamins C, A, E and K and B-complex vitamins are all important to skin health. Incorporate selenium, copper and zinc into your diet.

    That being said - you're most likely going to have loose skin. There's just no way of preventing it altogether when you're losing that much weight.

    People will say things like cocoa butter, other creams, etc... don't get your hopes up. You can do well by what I mention above, but be prepared to accept the fact that it's probably unavoidable.

    I agree with all of this but I DO think you need to stay well moisturized. It is a must along with hydration and all of the things listed above. I don't have a problem with loose skin and I'm almost 53. The only things I have done is try to lose it slowly, weight lifting (as heavy as I can), staying hydrated, staying moisturized and body brushing.....helps a lot. :flowerforyou:
  • carrielizbeth
    carrielizbeth Posts: 4 Member
    I think that if you focus on a healthy lifestyle with cardio and strength training as well as proper nutrition and allow the weight to come off slowly, that loose skin will not be as big of a problem as you think. I personally have lost 70 pounds in the course of the last year and 3 months, and only recently have I been able to tell that my skin is a little more loose than it used to be. I also feel that this is because I haven't been working out much lately, because I am on a trip to Italy for a few months (I am from the US) and cannot afford a gym membership here, so I am losing some of the muscle tone that I had been building up and which had helped pull together and firm my physique before. Do not be afraid to lose the weight though, because there are so many ways in which to help firm your skin after you lose weight that it is very inconsequential, and you will feel much better without that extra burden. ^_^
  • FitnSassy
    FitnSassy Posts: 263 Member
    bump
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