Weight loss and loose skin

  • Hello everyone
    My question if you loose weight slowly, will you have allot of loose skin around arms and legs for example or does that depend on the amount of weight u need to loose.

    looking at me "front On" with clothes on I don't look HUGE. But stripped down I have allot of fat on arms and else where ( LOL) but I'm just talking arms here now. I need to loose about 50 lbs for healthy weight and then perhaps a bit more
    Any way I see the before and after pic of people who have lost a substantial amt of weight and arms look good and others you can notice the loose skin.
    So how can you loss weight without the loose skin or if it does happen what can you do to"tighten" it up. Besides surgery!!
  • Everyone is individual. Age and genetics play a part in it. My arms will be flabby because I am 54 and my skin doesn't bounce back like it used to. Some people at my age might have better genes for this than I do. Likewise, some people have this problem at a young age because they just don't have as much elasticity in their skin naturally. At the end of weight loss, it's very likely that dieters will regain the water storage their bodies kept and released at the beginning of their diets, and those stores are kept in the muscles and liver, so it's possible that water might add a little fullness back to help with sagging skin. I've heard people really notice that in their "gaunt" faces. That's about all I've heard about it! Hope it helps!

    P.S. Don't be surprised if this thread gets moved to the "Body Images and Issues after Weight Loss" forum in the Maintainers section. You might be able to find more (and better) answers to your question there too!
  • I did decide to move it

    I will say we are our own worst critics. When you see other people who have lost weight, you are probably less critical than when you look at yourself. Which is why you wouldn't notice loose skin on others as much as you would on yourself. We have had lots of people lose lots of weight and no one has ever said "I regret my weight loss due to loose skin". My own experience is it gets better with time. After an initial weight loss, it may seem especially loose but with time you will notice that it gets slightly less and less. Your individual experience does vary based on genetics, age and amount of weight lost.
  • Thanks for info. Didn't know there is a cat on after weight loos lol