Yes, yes, I have definitely read all of the loose skin stickies on this site, but I just read that thread posted by the 16 year old who was worried about loose skin. Someone posted telling her that she has stretchmarks so her skin is stretched out and will be loose after weight loss, or something.

I was like, OH MY GOD. (I know, I'm being quite vain.) I gave birth in the end of January. I had got stretchmarks which look like a panther clawed me, on my hips, which I had gotten once before when I had gained weight a couple of years ago. Then again as I gained weight during pregnancy and my abdomen, where it connects to my hips (if that makes sense), stretched out. I didn't get ANY stretch marks on my stomach until right after I gave birth, literally, right after. Which I don't understand. After I gave birth, my stomach wasn't a taut, huge round buddha belly anymore, it was loose and soft, and literally the next day covered in dark pink/purple stretchmarks all over it. It looks DISGUSTING.

I have lost my pregnancy lbs and 10 pounds more, still got some more weight to lose, but my stomach still looks like I'm pregnant only floppier (I hide this by sucking it in and wearing those cute fashionable flowy tops)... anyway I was thinking that once I lost all the weight I needed to lose, my stomach would be flat again.

Does my stretchmarks on my stomach mean I have no hope of ever having a completely flat stomach??? Is it always going to be loose and paunchy-like?

I didn't have a baby or anything, but I did lose 50 pounds and a good portion of it was from my waist (it went from a 33-34 to a 27 and it's inevitable that I'm a bit of a deflated balloon), so I can, to some extent, commiserate.

It's depressing to poke my stomach and feel super firm sides, lower abs, and upper abs with the squishiest belly button area I've ever touched in my life.

I have a few pieces of advice: have you ever tried stretch marks creams? Some of them work about halfway; they won't remove the stretch marks but the colors are less prominent so they blend in better. (I can't speak on this from personal experience, but I have friends who had children and have tried different things.)

As for the loose skin, I've found that ab tightening exercises work a little bit. If your stomach is already pretty fat free, strenghtening the muscles will allow the ridges to pop out a little bit even if you DO have loose skin, and the loose skin will look tighter than it was before. Also, get a tan on your abdominals. Tans are capable of slightly hiding those flaws that are so obvious when you're pale.

I love fake tans, they ARE indeed great at hiding flaws. I don't know if they can help these claw-marks, though...

I haven't tried those creams, but I wonder if mederma might work. Afterall, a stretchmark is technically a scar, right?

So how did you get firm sides, lower abs, and upper abs? What sort of exercises did you do? I have seen your thread with your before and after pics, you look friggin' AMAZING. How did you lose your 50 lbs, did you do any of the specific diets here, or just count calories & exercise?

Melanie -

Honestly, there is NO way to predict what your skin or body will look like. None. A doctor can't tell you. A plastic surgeon can't tell you. No one knows for sure until you get there.

Given that, my advice would be to stop worrying about it for now. You are "borrowing worry" - worrying about a problem you don't have yet, on the off chance you might have it in the future.

Relax and focus on getting healthy, then worry about skin and sagging problems if you have them.

Awwww thanks for the compliments I appreciate it

I just counted calories and exercised. I'm BAD at following diets. I hate restrictions. I hate feeling like I "broke my diet" because I ate something not on the list. I initially tried the Fat Smash Diet, but it was not for me due to the aforementioned reasons. I realized that if I wanted to lose weight, I couldn't deprive myself of everything I enjoy or else I'd just go back to my old habits once I was done. That's just me, though - everyone is different. If I had to recommend a structured diet, I'd definitely put a good word in for South Beach. I follow a lot of their principles without actually being on the diet.

As for how I got my firm abs... well... are you ready? *Takes a deep breath*
I ride my bike 60-90 minutes at LEAST 5 days a week... I get this in by riding to work. I work 9.5 miles away from my house. I jog 30 minutes 2-4 times a week; I try to do this every other day. I work out with dumbbells for 20-30 minutes every day (sometimes 20-30 minutes at once in the morning, other times 15 in the morning, 15 in the evening), I lift heavy weights 3 times a week, and spend 10 minutes on my abs every morning doing crunches, obliques, scissor leg lifts, air bicycling, and reverse crunches (where I lift my butt up instead of my head and shoulders; it's great for lower abs). I also do 200 push ups every other day.

I know, I'm NUTS. I'm still not where I'd like to be and I fall off plan as much as anyone. I have my days where I eat way more food than I should. I have my days where I eat too many processed foods. I have my days where I eat more carbs than my body would like for me to eat. For me, the eating part is MUCH more difficult than the activity part; I get the rush of endorphins when I work out that makes me want to keep going forever. Being active makes me happy and it's something I find enjoyable. Heck, a good heavy lifting session, jog, or bike ride is even therapeutic after a bad day. However, so is ice cream

You're right! Still, if I can prevent it in any way, or make it look better should it happen, I wanna know how! Lol.

Moisturize a lot and treat your skin well. The strech marks will never go away (they're permanent, sorry to say) but you can minimize them with care.

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You’re welcome!

I’m pretty bad at following structured diets too, I always cheat. In fact I am on the south beach diet but have cheated several times, and it ain’t pretty. I decided to modify the diet some, I’m gonna do the Phase 1 part to hopefully get rid of some carb cravings, but if I mess up I’m not going to beat myself up, I’m going to stick with it. Then on the 2nd phase, it will be so much easier. I’m still eating potatoes though, they’re good for you. I am also going to count my calories though, so I keep track of what I’m eating.

I’m so lazy about exercise though… oh my god, you have strength, I would keel over riding a bike for that long. I truly admire you. The dumbbells, I could do. I’m going to copy your ab routine, I have been wondering where I would find a decent exercise for my lower abs, where we tend to pooch. Thanks! I can do some pushups too, maybe not 200 but I can work up to some.

I could really use the endorphin rush of exercise, I think it would be very helpful to me. Thanks for your awesome advice!

*slathering baby lotion and vaseline all over my stomach right now*

LOl, not a pretty picture.

Neutrogena's Sesame oil .. amazing stuff. I use it every single day on just about every part of my body.

It's a bit spendy, but well worth it.

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I have this problem in my armpits, right on the front. I've been trying to tone my arm/biceps to tighten the skin but am getting discouraged b/c it's not doing a darn thing! I wondered if anyone has used that skin firming lotion? I can't remember the brand... anyone use it with good results?