How long does it take for the skin to go away?

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david13579

New member
I'm a 20 years old male. I started to lose weight back in 2008 and since then I've lost like 80 pounds.

I used to weigh like 210 lbs and now weigh 130. I got to the point where I got stretch marks on my belly. I go to the gym regularly and have been doing so for over 8 months. My belly has decreased lots since the days I was 210 but it still is not completely flat; even some skin still hangs off my belly. It is like a bit more than 1 inch of skin.

That extra skin scares me. It's been almost 2 years since I started to lose weight and I was expecting all extra skin to be gone by now. I'm scared that it will never go away especially since the stretch marks make skin loose elasticity. My friend says that it will go away eventually but even if that is true it will take at least 1 more year to go away. I was hoping that I would have at least a somewhat flat abdomen for the fall when I get back to school.

Also, when I bend over I can see that besides the extra skin my stomach gets bigger, as if something inside of me is loosed and gravity pulls it down. I fear it may be more abdominal fat but if I lose any more weight I'm gonna disappear of the face of the earth.
 
david13579 said:
I'm a 20 years old male. I started to lose weight back in 2008 and since then I've lost like 80 pounds.

I used to weigh like 210 lbs and now weigh 130. I got to the point where I got stretch marks on my belly. I go to the gym regularly and have been doing so for over 8 months. My belly has decreased lots since the days I was 210 but it still is not completely flat; even some skin still hangs off my belly. It is like a bit more than 1 inch of skin.

That extra skin scares me. It's been almost 2 years since I started to lose weight and I was expecting all extra skin to be gone by now. I'm scared that it will never go away especially since the stretch marks make skin loose elasticity. My friend says that it will go away eventually but even if that is true it will take at least 1 more year to go away. I was hoping that I would have at least a somewhat flat abdomen for the fall when I get back to school.

Also, when I bend over I can see that besides the extra skin my stomach gets bigger, as if something inside of me is loosed and gravity pulls it down. I fear it may be more abdominal fat but if I lose any more weight I'm gonna disappear of the face of the earth.
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You could always cut it off of you with an unwashed butter knife that still has a little bit of peanut butter on it. I've heard that it's the most sanitary and least painful ways of getting rid of extra skin.

No, but seriously...talk to a doctor. You might've lost so much weight and have so much extra skin that it's elasticity might not be enough to make it bounce back on it's own. So, I would recommend talking to a doctor. I'm sure they can give you sound advice on how to solve your problem.
 
I've seen people here with " a little of skin hanging off their bellies" but I have even less of what they show on their pictures.

Is it allowed to post pictures here? I wanna post a few to show.
 
It is allowed but I'm not sure what good it will do. You are young and the skin could pull back but talk to a doctor. They are the ones who will be able to give you a real answer. We can't.
 
David,

Thanks for writing. I can tell that this sounds very troubling to you. Can you say more about your work out program? Say more details. Obviously you know how to lose weight. I am wondering whether that is not extra skin but body fat. There is a combination of strength training and diet that leads to body fat reduction.
 
It's not nearly as bad as you think. If you didn't tell us I wouldn't have really noticed. Everyone has that pooch (especially when sitting or pushing it down) so I don't think it's something to worry about. (PS - nice abs ;))
 
Hey David,

I understand your concern about the loose skin. I had gained 25 pounds and now nearly lost it. I am still looking much flabbier than I expected on my belly, love handles and boobs.

Weight loss of more than 1 to 2 pounds per week does not give your skin time to rebound while you are losing weight. So it could be lose skin that you have but it will recover. How many pounds do you estimate you lost per week over your weight loss period. Try to figure this out.

Also, how are sure that what you have is not fat? By looking at your body I see a trim body except for what you point out as loose skin.

Could it be body fat? The only way to know for sure is to do one of those advanced body fat content tests where they submerge you in water.

I believe though that if you are maintaining your weight at 130, you should look at whether you are eating calorie surplus of deficit. Are you doing strength training?

Maybe you can provide a fuller picture of eating (exact daily calories) and fitness program
 
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