Ok, I'm only 33 and only had 40lbs to lose so I really didn't think I'd be facing this issue...but alas, here I am seeing it, hating it and obsessing about it.
After I had my daughter I was pleased that I didn't end up with sagging skin on my belly like most women do from pregnancy...though now that I've lost the weight I see it and realize the only reason I never had it before was b/c it was still filled with fat!
Anyway, my stomach is not the only area I see it, though granted it is the worst. When I lay down or sit down I see it around my hips and thighs, it's like puckering or something...I HATE IT!! It makes me feel so friggen old and squishy!!!
I had noticed this in a few other threads before that people had commented it can take a year or so for the skin to tighten again and what I wonder is, is this actually true??? Is there any chance it will tighten up again some in time?? Has anyone actually had that happen and how much of a difference was there?
I've lost my weight over nearly 4 years and I have to say that the first year was the worst for the skin. Since then, I have noticed that it has actually tightened up some. It is another reason that if you want plastic surgery, it is good to wait a year until after your weight loss to see how much surgery you really need.
So who knows. A year from now, you may have tighter skin but also i wouldn't expect for it to be 18 year old never-been-fat-perfectly-tight-skin.
I ask because I have lost 45 pounds (at 5' 6") over the last 12 months. I have loose skin now even on the inside of my elbows. There is this little sag behind the knees. My face and neck seem to have got hit the hardest though. I am not happy about this and wearing turtlenecks. However, I have at least 15 more pounds to lose and summer is coming in just 5 or so months.
People joke about the fears of losing weight - I now have mine. SKin that won't tighten after the loss due to my age (45).
ANY one have any success stories on this? Age 35 or higher with skin that DOES get better?
Thanks for asking. I forgot about this post. It's dramatically improving ever since I started lifting weights around the end of November. I've been working on building muscle and now have very little loose skin left. I'm sure it will be gone completely by summer.
My face and neck of course haven't improved b/c I can't build muscle there... . Perhaps a face lift is in my future. LOL
My story, unfortunately, will not offer a **** of a lot of hope for you all. I am 23 and the loose skin will not go away and even after numerous plastic surgeries my skin is still not perfectly tight. It sucks, but as many have said around here...... loose skin is better than tight skin filled out with fat.
I lost 70+ lbs at the age of 35. 3 years later, I still have loose skin on my belly, inner thighs and right below my armpit. My stomach is exceptionally bad when I lie on my side or bend over (the bending over looks terrible, like melted candle wax). I don't like the loose skin (of course) but I still look dramatically better than 70 lbs ago. I'll never wear a bikini (although I have a super cute tankini with swim skirt combo), but I look FABULOUS in almost all size 6 clothes.
I have to accept my responsibility - I got heavy and now I have loose skin. I also have to celebrate my successes - I lost weight and now look GREAT in clothes! When I wear my brown linen capris and short sleeve white button down shirt in the summer, I feel just like Audrey Hepburn, that's not a bad feeling at all.
loose skin is part of the losing the weight you maybe able to have some of it tighten up but w/out surgery depending on how much you have lost it will prob never be as tight as it was when you were younger, some one put it to me this way the loose skin is your battle scars try and be proud of it, not to say that I like it put it kinda of shows me how far I have come,
I've lost my weight over nearly 4 years and I have to say that the first year was the worst for the skin. Since then, I have noticed that it has actually tightened up some.
I'll echo this. I lost the bulk of my weight two years ago, and I've found that my skin (particularly on my stomach) as tightened up. It's still not tight -- I'm not going to be wearing a bikini anytime soon! -- but it's better. Now that I'm making a concerted effort to lose the last 20 or so pounds, I'm hoping that hard work (including extra weight training) and patience will help!
I should also add that I was obese pretty much all my life (from 1st grade on). I think that how rapidly you gain the weight (and how much weight you gain) can factor into how much loose skin you have.
Sometimes I think it really depends on a persons skin. So far I have lost 44lbs. No lose skin. Maybe it is because I have lost it very slowly. Maybe it is because I have been doing walking/aerobic videos since just about the beginning. Maybe it is just in my genes. My mother lost a great deal of weight and had none to very little lose skin.
I managed to avoid the loose skin thing, which after 150 pound weight loss and at age 35 just amazes me. Oh the boobs are swinging low sweet chariot and the stretch marks are crazy, but I am just so "!!!" about achieving my goal I don't care.
Ain't it the pits to have loose skin?! I used to work for a plastic surgeon, so I know what's involved in a face life and tummy tuck... so I'm like "Ummmm... I think I'll pass LOL". But one thing I DID learn from her was what different cream bases and additives do. She moved from our town and so I didn't have her here to ask about the loose skin issue, but my Nutritional MD has a cream that he carries that I went ahead and gave a try. I knew that a base of Shea Butter was a fantastic property of any cream. I also knew that Deoxycholic Acid in a fairly concentrated percentage would decongest areas of the skin when applied to it. The MesoDerm cream he carries has both. I had deep creases between my eyes (from squinting... tend to need glasses as we approach 50!), and smile lines around my mouth (happy from all the weight I'm losing LOL!!). I applied the cream twice a day and within the first week the lines around my mouth had shrunk up, the crease between my eyes was shallower and the "squirrel pouch" under my chin was shrinking. As of today, the laugh lines are almost gone, as are the "squint lines". I will now be concentrating on the squirrel pouch and then move on to the stomach area! I'm pretty excited!! Bathing suit season isn't far away... and I may just be able to toss the cover-up I always wore around my waist!
Loose skin
