Back again, Kelly and congratulations on the weight loss!
We “losers” get rid of lots of fat but sometimes end up with lots of excess skin — and no one seems to talk about it very much. Well, we talk about skin issues here at Maintainers because it’s a fact of weight loss for many of us. As a matter of fact, the whole topic of excess skin has come up so frequently here at 3FC (as well as on other Internet discussion boards) that we’re going to put together a “sticky” of information at the top of this forum about what happens to your skin when you lose weight. In it, we’ll try to pull together our own personal experiences, discussions here at 3FC, links to web sites, recommended reading, and medical information.
That’s going to take a few days to get organized; in the meantime, let me take a stab at your questions. How much does skin weigh? I asked my plastic surgeon and he said that “dry skin” (skin drained of all its fluids) doesn’t weigh much at all (they drain it back into your body in the OR before they cut it off). Frequently, however, some fat is removed along with excess skin and that adds some weight to what’s removed. What you’re asking — how much weight do you lose by getting rid of the skin — is a perfectly reasonable question but one that only a doctor could really answer for you. My own personal experience was that the skin I had removed didn’t weigh much. I had a lower body lift a year ago and there wasn’t any fat removal or lipo involved (I was at a pretty low body fat percentage prior to the surgery). At the time, my doctor estimated that he removed maybe 2-3 pounds of skin (though he said that it covered “yards” — seriously). Everyone’s experience will be different — a plastic surgeon would have to look at you in order to answer that question for you.
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I've talked to people who say that if you lose weight slowly and the right way, the skin will shrink back.
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What you were told is the
Big Lie about excess skin and weight loss. We’ll talk LOTS more about this in the sticky but let me assure you that there are plenty of people here who lost weight “the right way” — exercised, ate healthy, lost it slowly, lifted weights, took vitamins, massaged in lotions, chanted ancient spells, reasoned with their skin, you name it — and have lots of excess skin. This lie perpetrates the myth that you did something “wrong” if you end up with excess skin. I personally felt like a failure, even though I had lost 122 pounds, because I couldn't wear shorts or a bathing suit, thanks to the Big Lie. It took a consultation with a plastic surgeon to set me straight on the facts about what happens to our skin when we lose weight (and it’s as variable as we are!)
So stayed tuned and we’ll see what we can pull together. And yes, it is indeed wonderful to get rid of the skin covering the body that I’ve worked so hard at building!
Question on excess skin
Many (most?) of us have experience with excess skin and I'm sure that you'll get some good responses. I promise I'll answer in depth later tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, you might want to read these threads: 
