This question is for my people that have lost substantial amounts of weight. How bad are your stretch marks at goal weight? I have 135lbs to lose and I am terrified my stretch marks won't go away and I will still be self concious at my goal. Any tips or suggestions?
you might want to ask over in the maintenance section as well....ive also heard that if you use creams that it wont be so bad but i'm not sure which creams....im not anywhere near goal but my stretch marks are from two pregnancies and, since they havent faded in 5 years, i'm pretty sure those arent going away...im sure you'll get some more knowledgeable answers pretty soon on here
I have stretch marks on my hips/boobs.. nothing to intense. They were really noticeable a few years ago, but they have faded with time, they are now a really pale white, and you can barely notice them. I don't think they ever really go away without surgery etc.. creams etc can help improve their appearance, but not take them away i would say.
1) No adult is unblemished. Even my kid is working on her share of dings, scars, etc.
2) They fade to almost nothing -- only in certain light does it look a bit more pale than your regular skin. I've had mine for years in certain areas. Like breasts -- I wasn't fat then, but I grew boobs! LOL. Creams and things can help, as can making your all your nutrition/hormones are in check. But certain times of growth/life just come with stretch marks.
Pregnancy
Natural growth for adolescent boys and girls
Rapid weight gain/loss
Long term lacking of certain nutrients
Sudden change in physical or environmental conditions
Certain medication may also cause stretch marks, especially steroids related medications.
its not really substantial weight i dont think and im no where near goal but my stretch marks were kinda reddish a few months ago. now at almost 40 lbs lighter, they are a skin color almost whitish (idk im really pale to begin with) but definitely less noticeable =)
Esofia is right. I haven't lost a substantial amount of weight so I can't comment on weight related stretch marks. However, I have a few on my boobs (from when they ballooned on the pill), the backs of my thighs (from when I grew about 4 inches overnight at age 14) and my hips (from puberty). Most of these are 10 years old, at least, and I can still see the whitey/pinky traces. Unfortunately for me, I have typical English pale skin so I'll probably always have them. Ditto the acne scars. Ho-hum, I guess no one is perfect.
I don't have an answer, as I still have so much weight to lose. But what are the options? We have them at our high weights. We they may fade over time, or they may not. Would it be better not to lose the weight? I guess I'd take thin and stretch-marky over fat and stretch marky.
But while we're on the subject...
When people talk about stretch marks fading, are they just talking about the color? Because for me, color is the least of my worries. My pregnancy stretchmarks, the worst place I have them, I have what I called corduroy skin. Each stretch mark is indented. I have this effect on my upper thighs too, to a lesser extent (narrow wale, vs wide wale.) At this point, I assumed that wasn't going anywhere.
(BTW, from googling images of stretch marks, I think I may have about as worse case as exists for pregnancy stretchmarks. Lucky me.)
Stretch marks are the devil. LOL but we all have them! Even my hubby has them from getting really muscular too fast in high school. Weird!
I got hit my the stretchmark truck HARD from pregnancy, and I honestly was afraid to lose weight for years, b/c I didn't want wrinkly looking skin. And I was bummed that no matter how small i got, the marks would always be there.
BUT....I've lost 1/2 of my goal weight now, and I look at myself in a different light. It was NOT the stretchmarks that made me uncomfortable naked, etc. It was the chub. LOL Now that I am slimming down, they don't bother me as much. They DO fade, and mine are super-light and silvery. In certain lights/angles, they show more. BUt when you like your body shape....the marks just don't play centerstage anymore.
And i am COVERED in them! On a different note, I no longer feel comfortable wearing certain length shorts b/c of my leg marks, but I can look darn good in some capris! ;-)
I don't have an answer, as I still have so much weight to lose. But what are the options? We have them at our high weights. We they may fade over time, or they may not. Would it be better not to lose the weight? I guess I'd take thin and stretch-marky over fat and stretch marky.
But while we're on the subject...
When people talk about stretch marks fading, are they just talking about the color? Because for me, color is the least of my worries. My pregnancy stretchmarks, the worst place I have them, I have what I called corduroy skin. Each stretch mark is indented. I have this effect on my upper thighs too, to a lesser extent (narrow wale, vs wide wale.) At this point, I assumed that wasn't going anywhere.
(BTW, from googling images of stretch marks, I think I may have about as worse case as exists for pregnancy stretchmarks. Lucky me.)
Ditto for me Zoodoo - on my tummy and now beginning to get this way on my upper arms (the underside). I think they are like corduroy because the skin hasn't been able to shrink up. Maybe they'll get better, maybe they won't. It wasn't like corduroy when I was heaiver, just TONS of them, but they didn't go in on themselves.
And it's all genetics with stretch marks. My sister was thin when shen got pregnant and she gained 80 pounds and got ONE stretch mark way low, not even noticeable. I was starting to get stretch marks when I was still losing weight in early pregnancy. I gained 11 pounds with that pregnancy (7 of them in the last week with water weight) and have hundreds of them on my belly. You can't even count them. I got MORE the second pregnancy because my second son was bigger and I was more overweight (gained 10 pounds with that pregnancy and again, all in the last week).
I had stretch marks at my heaviest and I have them now. I have some more weight to lose and a lot of toning to get done. The ones on my abdomen seem to contribute to the loose skin. I figure that I can have them full of fat or allow them to get better over time. Some of them seem to turn back to a pink color with weight loss and then fade back to silvery white. Oh well, I would still rather be thin!
I didn't have a tremendous amount of weight to lose BUT I was pregnant twice so I can relate about the fear of stretch marks. I used cocoa butter from the moment I found I was pregnant - religiously, morning and night. Well, after two babies, I don't have one stretch mark, seriously. I know if you address the stretch marks while they are still fresh and pink-looking they are easier to fade. Once they turn white, it's not as easy. That's what my doctor told me. Hope this helps. Good luck!
Ditto for me Zoodoo - on my tummy and now beginning to get this way on my upper arms (the underside). I think they are like corduroy because the skin hasn't been able to shrink up. Maybe they'll get better, maybe they won't. It wasn't like corduroy when I was heaiver, just TONS of them, but they didn't go in on themselves.
And it's all genetics with stretch marks. My sister was thin when shen got pregnant and she gained 80 pounds and got ONE stretch mark way low, not even noticeable. I was starting to get stretch marks when I was still losing weight in early pregnancy. I gained 11 pounds with that pregnancy (7 of them in the last week with water weight) and have hundreds of them on my belly. You can't even count them. I got MORE the second pregnancy because my second son was bigger and I was more overweight (gained 10 pounds with that pregnancy and again, all in the last week).
Yup, that's about what mine looks like too, although not so deeply colored. Mine have always been indented (or for as long as I can remember. I honestly don't remember what it was like shortly after delivery.) but then my belly was never by biggest problem spot. I do expect it will be the place with the loosest skin. It's strange for me. I've never been flabby. All my fat has always been pretty hard. So it's weird for me to be able to grab a handful of flab on my stomach. I don't think I'll ever get over the oddness of it.
not to be a downer or to discourage you, just sharing my experience. I have quite a few stretch marks on my upper arms and some on my stomach and on my back. The redness has gone, but there are still some groove marks and still silvery pinkish lines. They are pretty noticeable on my arms, it was something my ex boyfriend noticed on our first date and he asked what they were/from (good thing he's an ex, lol).
I have fair, thinner skin so that might play a part, maybe different skin tones and ethnicities have better luck with them fading.
Yup, that's about what mine looks like too, although not so deeply colored. Mine have always been indented (or for as long as I can remember. I honestly don't remember what it was like shortly after delivery.) but then my belly was never by biggest problem spot. I do expect it will be the place with the loosest skin. It's strange for me. I've never been flabby. All my fat has always been pretty hard. So it's weird for me to be able to grab a handful of flab on my stomach. I don't think I'll ever get over the oddness of it.
Mine too (not as dark, but to that extreme stretching) and yes, mine always dented in (unlike on my boobs and thighs), but it's gotten much more extreme.
And YES, so weird to feel like I'm elastagirl with all this skin I can just yank! Now it's getting empty, so more and more of it is just looser skin.
Stretch Marks?????
