Loose Skin

By losing weight Slowly, you should have nothing to worry about. Saggy skin comes from losing Alot of weight really Fast.
2 or 3 pounds per week is a good rate.
Exercising is so beneficial to both weight loss AND prevention of sagging skin. Most people don't bulk up or build mass muscle by adding hand-weights to their exercise regime. I encourage you to add the weights & you don't have to worry, it's Nothing close to engaging in a 'Weight Training' program. You won't gain weight - it will help you lose weight AND inches.

Exercising and light weights are the number one way to prevent saggy skin. Gravity alone causes our skin to sag & the only way to counteract it is by exercising.
Well, I have to go. I just talked myself into getting up and going running!
Thanks!;)
 
Chicago...
I know exactly what you're going through! I started at 311lbs and have gone done 50lbs so far and have really started to notice differences in my body (i'm maintaining the 2lb/wk average) ie loose skin. Because you're/I'm still young, our skin should catch up with our bodies, but otherwise, your best bet - from what I've heard - is trying to tone. Light weights, high reps...you won't build bulky muscle, but you will get leaner and firmer. Water aerobics is supposed to be good too because it's low impact and the resistance of the water is good for building that leaner look too (too bad you have to wear a bathing suit though! :p ). Finally vitamin e cream is supposed to do something - I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'm going to try soon - I'll let you know how it goes!

Good Luck!!! You can do it!
 
I saw somethin on bodybuilders.com n someone went down 100+lbs and ended up with loose skin, he said he was going to get the excess skin fixed up at the hospital soon. Not sure about the exact web address to that transformation..but its in then click on super site....then transformations. he's there somewhere. You may be able to relate if you're concerned about having loose skin.

Ne ways, from what I've heard, cocoa butter helps, and it helps with stretch marks.
 
Extra skin

Hey everyone.. just joined still trying to navigate all the forums so not even sure where to post! Just as background ive been overweight forever-- lost about 100 pounds at the age of 16 (the wrong way!) and gained at all back over the past 8 years... now im 23 and trying to do it right... one thing im super paranoid about is having hanging stretched skin which i feel is inevitable as im at 280 pounds .. 5'11'... anyone have thoughts on this? best toning/prevention exercise... etc?? thanks!
 
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Thank you everyone! This really scares me. Does anyone else have experience with this or know how to help prevent/lessen it?
 
If you exercise throughout the weightloss, it should prevent skin looseness. If you lose slowly, that should prevent it as well.

Good luck!
 
This is of great interest to me as my start weight was 326 and I'm at 313.5 right now. and I want to lose a total of 196 lbs.

I've heard that there are like 4 factors, which are age, how much/fast you loose, if you've had a baby before (for woman duh!), and how much water you drink.

I've got youth and water on my side, so I hope I don't have too much issues with saggy skin, but I'd much rather have saggy skin and be alive than die of a heart attack at 40.
 
Using weights to build muscle will actually help your body burn fat. I heard that for every pound of muscle that you gain you burn off an additional 50 calories a day. So some light-weight weight training could really help tone you up and make your body burn more calories throughout the day.
 
Weight loss and 'extra' skin?

Okay, here's the background story. I was 200 lbs about three years ago, and dropped down to 160. Over this summer, I've gotten to 150. While this makes me pretty happy, the loose, 'extra' skin left over (solely on my stomach) is quite bothersome.

Has anyone experienced this? Has it gone away? It looks just like fat, but it's much looser, for me. And I'd love to somehow reduce it, as I'm a little self-conscious.
It's only on my stomach area, so I suppose abdominal exercises can help. But I was also wondering if I'd 'grow into it'... Since I'm not quite 18 yet, and possibly have some extra growth awaiting me.

What would you do to fix such a problem? I can't get plastic surgery for a number of reasons, and frankly wouldn't want it. But if there's a way to reduce the look of baggy, loose skin around the stomach after weight loss, I'm willing to try it.
 
Toneing exercise
try walking it is suppose to help that but you also have to realize it is excess so there can still be some skin loose
 
This has concerned me as well, since I already have so much loose skin from losing the 80 or so pounds in a little over 7 months. I am hoping with continued excersize and weight lifting it'll tone up. My doctor said that is shouldn't need an operation to fix since I am young (20) and the natural elasticity still is "at full power". He said to worry more into your early-mid 40's.
 
Ahem...

Great...I'm 40! And DOOMED then! LOL!

I have started to notice loose skin on my thighs just above my knees. All I can hope is that toning exercises will eventually help!

Either way, I'd rather have thinner, but looser skin, then have tight stretched over fat skin ;)

Good luck and congratulations on your weight loss!
 
I've been reading about this too. I have really been trying to drink lots of water and take vitamin E to help my skin. I also have problems with stretch marks that I'd like to help with. I know they wont totally go away but I'd like to make them look better at least. So I don't know, I've been looking at different moisturizers and things like that but I don't know if any of the more expensive ones are better than the cheaper ones.. I guess as long as its moisturizer it doesnt matter much. I think it can take up to a year after you lose weight for your skin to catch up as much as its going to. But I have no real knowledge of that, I've read it on plastic surgeon's sites.
 
Okay, I don't know much, but...

I'm happy to say I don't have the loose skin problem- yet. Eh. It might happen, but I have about 25 lbs to go until I'm at my goal, so it probably won't. In the reading that I've done, though, I've learned this stuff: yes, if you're very young, it will tend to shrink back for the most part. Moisturizing helps. Try cocoa butter, pure vitamin E oil, and sweet almond oil. Those, from what I've heard, are the purest, most beneficial skin moisurizers out there. Good nutrition also helps. The best nutrients for your skin, hair, and nails are glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid. From what I've heard, anyway. Other than that, tons of water, fresh fruits and veggies, VERY whole grains. Fatty fish provides oils beneficial to tissue growth. But other than surgery, there really is no "sure cure". The skin is not going to tone up the way muscle will. It will surely help to have nice, toned muscles underneath all that skin. As a woman, though, it is very difficult to actually BUILD muscle to fill that skin back up. As a weight lifter, I know how hard it is to put any bulk onto a female muscle. However, you can add some, and to do this, you must weight train religiously (three to four times per week), and very strenuously. Don't be intimidated by freeweights. They're not just for big boys. Learn how to lift, eat plenty of protein, and you will soon be seeing some wonderful results in the toning department. Hope this helps.
 
Hiya Merulotte
i cant wait to have loose skin, to me it says you could be nearing the end of your weight loss journey,well done to you
 
recently, ive become worried about after i loose weight hat my skin will look like...ive heard tons of things, but has anyone up here lost a good amount of weight and managed to keep the skin pretty tight to the body? if so how?:confused:
 
I'm no expert in this, but I suspect that 'loose skin' is sometimes actually excess body fat! If you cut hard, and don't exercise, then the point will come when you are losing muscle mass as quick as body fat. The problem lays on our 'faith' in using scales. Scales only read a 'weight' - not how much of that weight is excess body fat, how much is water, and how much of it is healthy muscle. Thats why taking measurements is perhaps a better way of judging our progress.

If your muscle mass declines as a result of rapid cutting, with no strength maintainence, then ironically, your body goes into starvation mode, and your metabolism slows down - less muscle, less calories actually required by your body, even when you are resting. People who yo - yo diet actually damage their metabolism over the years, and end up gaining more and more body fat - their metabolism slows down.

As I said, I'm not an expert or a professional, and I hope that others here can correct what I am suggesting. However, if I am correct, then maybe to an extent it can be avoided by:
  • cutting calories sensibly - after the first few weeks, aim to lose one to three pound per week - no more! Also eat healthily and nutritiously. Drink plenty of water.
  • Exercise can not only help you to lose weight, it can help you maintain your muscle mass, and increase your metabolism. Choose what exercise suits your new lifestyle, but a programme of cardio mixed with regular strength training would do the trick.
At least thats my unworthy opinion for what its worth - good luck!
 
I think probably losing weight at a slow steady pace will help prevent skin from becoming loose. B/c I guess it will give it time to shrink right along with you. Ya know?
I'm not sure if that's fact though.

But if you watch the Biggest Loser... those folks lose ALOT of weight in a pretty short amount of time, and alot of them, even though they gain muscle and lost so much fat... still have that loose flabby skin b/c they lost so quickly.

Just seems like that'd be a logical reason for loose skin :) It probably can't be helped all the time though *shrugs*
 
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