hi folks,
I have a question for you. Being a dieter since the age of 13 but never getting to the "goal wieght" or below prob 165 in my adult life I am now 25 and really ready. I am not super huge - but have been big for my life, I wear a 14/16 now. I think the smallest I have ever been is size 12 for like 1 day. (i think i sometimes wore an 18 in High school)
anyhow, the question I have for u 20 somethings is, skin. I know i have stretch marks, and they are very unlikely to ever go away, but what about skin. Do you have loose skin after losing the wieght? or are we still young enough that it will "melt" (if that is the word?) away? or will it stay there and be the scary thing i hear about. what are your experiences? This is kind of akin to the boobs thread, but a little diff -as I am interested in the stomache and arm/leg aspect as well.
Ok my understanding is skin with stretch marks has been stretched so far that it has lost all it's elasticity- that skin will never reshrink, but the rest of the skin (and I think it's because like you said we're younger and our bodys are more resilient) WILL shrink as the fat shrinks.
I've lost a lot of inches off my belly and I dont have any excess skin at all- which leads me to believe my skin jsut shrunk alongside the fat..but truly Im not sure!
i don't think the above comment about skin w/ stretch marks is true.... better to ask a doctor about that.
my opinion -- i dont think being "20-something" helps or hinders with the issue of loose skin. Either you have naturally elastic skin, or you don't. i don't. i do have some loose skin on my arms, legs and belly that is more obvious to me than anyone else, so i don't worry about it. i continue to strength train and moisturize my skin. my hope is that keeping my weight steady will help with the skin.
In your 20s your skins is very elastic, and will usually return to it's normal state after being stretched, it is possible for this not to happen also, depends on many factors as far as how much weight was gained, lost, etc.
Stretch marks, not sure about those, but I'm sure there is something out on the market...maybe not....
Ya, stretch marks never go away - when you see them "shrink" what is actually happeneing is that the skin around them is shrinking back down and the borders of the mark are being scrunched down, but there is no actual change in the size of the mark. Also, with age they will take on a silvery color that may make them harder to see. Tanning can help, but you may notice that the skin of a stretch mark dosen't take on the exact same color as the rest of your skin, but it will tan in it's own way. I still have some on my hips from about 13 when they suddenly grew in overnight And the skin below my navel and above my pubic bone is one vast wasteland of stretch marks from pregnancy I was 20 when I was pregnant with him. They are all still there, but they blend in better
All of the layers of your skin put together are about as think as a paper towel, there are two main regions: the dermis and the epidermis (there are 4 to 5 layers in the epidermis which is the top layer) - anyway - a stretch mark occurs in the dermis (the deeper region). The dermis is where most of the collegen and elasin. Collegen fibers give the skin it's strength and resilency and the elastin give it it's stretch-recoil properties. When the elastin fibers are torn, they are torn, so if you want to get rid of the mark you have to get rid of that layer of skin -- hence - dermabrasion or chemical peel. Eek! Personally, I will just keep my marks, but if you really hate them, call a dermatologist.
This may be a strange question... but ever since I was young, 13 or 14, when I think I really gained a lot of weight.. I've had a ton of stretch marks on my shoulders. Does anyone else have stretch marks there? I've never seen anyone else with them and people think they are real scars because they aren`t in a typical place.
WastedThermos, I have some stretch marks on the ends of my shoulders (I have a lot of granny flab), and my bf has stretch marks in all sorts of crazy places. He has a whole lot of them in his armpits, for example. I think you can get them anywhere. Mine are mostly on my stomach, right around my belly button, and I have some on my hips and thighs as well. The way they look depends on the person too -- my bf's are all very large and dark red, while mine are more of a silvery white and very small.
Actually my original comment about stretch marks is true- the only thing Im not sure about is whether non stretch marked skin will bounce back after weightloss. I *think* yes only because as long as the collagen production is not disrupted (as Krista explained stretch marks are broken tissue in the dermis that scar) then that means your skin still has elasticity meaning yes it probably would bounce back- unlike stretch marked skin which is irreparable. But Im not a dermatologist so I dont know for sure.
yuck, I hate stretch marks, and they dont' ever go away, I have them in lots of weird places, like my under arm thorugh to my boobs, the backs of my knees, and then in all the normal places too.
My stomach looks shreeded, from being pregnant. Even though at the time, I hand't gained much weight, now that I am loseing it is really bad.
But I figure hey what ever, it could be worse, like my saggy boobs
20 something skin
And the skin below my navel and above my pubic bone is one vast wasteland of stretch marks from pregnancy 
I was 20 when I was pregnant with him. They are all still there, but they blend in better 
