The Biggest Loser - Winning by Losing For discussion of the NBC tv show The Biggest Loser and the book Winning by Losing, by Jillian Michaels

 
 
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Old 02-13-2010, 12:51 AM   #1  
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Default Avoiding the saggy skin

Most people I know that have managed to lose a very significant amount of weight end up with the saggy loose skin afterwards. Just look at the biggest loser contestants - a ton of weight is lost, but they're left with a lot of extra skin! My question is - if the weight is lost slowly (unlike the biggest loser contestants who are now breaking records like 100 pounds lost in 7 weeks), like 1-3 pounds a week depending on your size, will the skin be able to shrink slowly and stay tight? Or once a person has gained that amount of weight, has it forced the skin to stretch so much beyond how much it's intended to stretch that it can never shrink back again?
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Old 02-13-2010, 04:06 AM   #2  
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It really depends on all sorts of things - genetics, age, how long you were overweight, how much you were, how fast you lost, and the luck of the draw. Some people lose tons fast and have relatively tight skin, considering. Some lose slow and still have lots of skin. Just have to stay hydrated. Do strength training to develop muscles, which will help with the skin to some extent. Some say dry brushing of the skin helps. But in any case - though it's not fab, loose skin is better than fat, right?

Good luck. I do worry about this myself as I have around 110 to lose still.
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Old 02-27-2010, 05:45 PM   #3  
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This is an FAQ under the Body Image forum. Short answer...maybe. As the the previous poster stated there are a lot of factors. I'm losing weight "the right way" and yes I have saggy skin. Will still be some lbs and time to see just how saggy it's going to be. But it covers nicely with cloths and if I can't stand it...surgery is always an option.
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Old 03-06-2010, 06:09 PM   #4  
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I think it does have to do with how fast you loose it but mostly it's all genetics....what your mamma gave you in skin elasticity! Same thing for stretch marks. People will say you will know if you will get them during pregnancy if your mom has them. Held true for me
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Old 03-06-2010, 06:40 PM   #5  
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I did. I had to have an intestinal blockage surgery and my surgeon did a quick tummy tuck at no more money. I wear long sleeves and kneed length shorts to cover the loose skin on arms and legs. I can tell you, it's only a price we have to pay for being so overweight, but a little loose skin is a small price to pay for good health.
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Old 03-07-2010, 11:30 PM   #6  
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I'm scared about the loose skin thing as well. I'm twenty two and don't know if my body will be able to snap back. I guess that it would be better than being heavy, but I wouldn't still be able to wear a bikini. But I guess thats what a one piece is for.
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Old 03-17-2010, 11:41 PM   #7  
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I'm approaching 50 lbs lost and this is becoming a concern for me too. I am trying to be healthier the proper way. I weight train and hit the gym 4-6 days a week which I know is helping firm mostly everything up - but (and I hope this isn't TMI) for all the other women... what about the breasts? =\ Even when I was heavy I was always firm, but now they seem to have deflated after going down 3 band sizes and nearly 2 cup sizes. It's something I'm highly self aware over since I'm seeing someone, and well, he's seeing me. To be clear, he doesn't care, it's only embarrassing for me. It's just frustrating when I'm feeling healthier, feeling stronger, and yet some physical aspects of myself that were once attractive are not anymore. I'm not even halfway to goal yet, so having this start to bother me already makes me a bit nervous of the amount of sagging in another 5 months down the road.

Is patience the only answer? I'd take being healthier over saggy skin any day, but it would be nice to look as attractive as I feel.
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Old 03-18-2010, 09:26 AM   #8  
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As a "professional" yo-yo dieter, I've been lucky in the past with good elasticity. I'm worried, though, my luck may have run out. AND I'm done with yo-yo ing.

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Old 03-21-2010, 03:12 PM   #9  
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I've worried about these issues too, the saggy skin and boobs. But I've had to stop worrying about it cause I have no control over it. I weight train but that's all the control I have. To me surgery is expensive and painful and not worth it for vanity.
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Old 04-11-2010, 01:44 AM   #10  
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I am worried about saggy skin and boobs too! I'm hoping it won't be too bad.
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Old 04-11-2010, 02:06 AM   #11  
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I don't know if I just got lucky because I'm young or what... but my son did a number on my stomach and it was covered in stretch marks. I was afraid after I lost this 100 the last time (ugh I know right) that my skin would look awful but it pretty much bounced back! Other than the red lines across my tummy you would never know I'd lost 100 lbs!

I'm hoping I'm as lucky this time. It's one of those things you can never predict.

Last edited by ValRock; 04-11-2010 at 02:07 AM.
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Old 04-11-2010, 12:56 PM   #12  
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It really is an age issue the younger you are the more elastic your skin. As you age your skin automatically losses elacticity and has a harder time firming up. If you are doing strength training this will help but it will be a slower process. I am 42 now and have the sagging underarm, my friend who is 32 has lost the same amount of weight and her arms are alot firmer.
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Old 04-11-2010, 10:56 PM   #13  
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I lost 80 pounds in 5 months and then maintained for 2 years. My skin was very loose, the inside of my thighs were awful! While my skin is still not very tight, it is much better. So to answer your question, I think it's very possible if you lose at a slow pace.
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Old 04-14-2010, 04:49 AM   #14  
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It makes sense that losing weight at a slow pace gives the body time to adjust.
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Old 04-26-2010, 08:36 PM   #15  
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Yeah, the saggy skin is my biggest worry with losing all this weight; however, as others here have shared, better to have saggy skin than be morbidly obese! I am a 53-year-old mom of three who, believe it or not, never got stretch marks even after having 3 kids!

Anyway, I guess I will just have to wait and see about the sagging skin issue since I just started to lose weight.

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