Like everyone else here, I am worried about lose skin. I read through all the lose skin threads yesterday and I didn't find mention of approximately when the skin first started appearing and what it looked like. I am curious to know what everyone's experience was, or currently is. Did you start seeing lose skin early on and what did it look like? Is the skin most noticeable when you are close to goal and have lost most of the fat. If a person is around 30- 40 pounds from goal and hasn't seen too much sagging or wrinkling, is that an indication that there may not be a lot of skin or is that too soon to tell? Basically, when did you notice the skin and how did it look early on compared to how it looked at goal?

I am 29 and I have had two large babies (10 and 8.5 pounds) I have stretch marks but my skin did tighten up after having the kids. Of course, it was still filled with fat though. I lost 40 pounds then maintained for a couple years. I didn't notice any skin issues then but since I have lost this last 45 pounds since November, I am stating to see issues. My arms now have bat wings that are pretty big and my skin is wrinkly only if I push on it. I can rub my hand along my leg or stomach and the skin wrinkles and buckles, but if I don't touch it, it is not noticeable. I haven't noticed any sagging other than my arms and maybe just a bit on my inner thighs. I am still overweight at 176 pounds and have a way to go including quite a bit of belly fat. Is it too early to tell how much sagging there will be? I can't afford surgery even if I wanted it so it's really on my mind.

Thanks for any help

It is something very individual and it also depends on how fast you lost the weight and how much time your skin had to bounce back some.

I lost 75 lbs in 3 months and I started 'feeling' it. It was like my stomach was no longer as filled as it had been and when I'd bend over, my skin would bend inwards because it was no longer stretched outwards. Of course my highest weight was 100 lbs more than yours so your starting weight also contributes to how much your skin was stretched out.

Now, some of my skin has bounced back but it is definitely noticeable in my upper arms, stomach and upper thighs.

Maybe about 50 pounds in, I started seeing it.

Actually I remember the moment when I really saw it.

If you like a good long soak in the tub, like I do, and you lay back in the water completely immersed, the loose skin floats upwards in a way that other more firmly attached body parts don't.

And, once out of the tub, when you bend over, your skin almost appears to liquefy, as if it's melting off your body & collecting in sections are trying to become downward-reaching stalagtites. It's very wrinkly textured with lots of tiny folds in it, very empty-looking, not full & stretched smooth by what is filling it.

Mine has gotten noticeably better over the past 10 months or so. It wasn't cardio that did it, though -- it was my taking up yoga & pilates & using dumbbells regularly. The latter helped with my arms. But I am sad to report that you can indeed have both biceps, triceps & batwings.

I know it's not much of an answer, but I don't think you can tell how much excess skin you'll have until you reach your goal and stay there for a while. Not even a doctor could look at you now and tell you what your skin will be like when you reach your final goal. It's really individual and no two people are going to have the same reaction to weight loss.

Some people find that their skin tightens up naturally over time and others have discovered that weightlifting and building muscle can fill up some loose areas.

But there is one thing I can tell you for sure: 100% of people at 3FC who have lost weight say that they would much rather have some excess skin than to have tight skin all filled up with fat again!

I am like you with the extra skin. it is bothersome and have read and researched. I have been drinking plenty of water and using lotions and what not. I also do core work for my tummy and am working on my arms and thighs as well. The tummy bugs me the most though. I figure though it's better than what I had and I will just keep working on it. Would love to afford a tummy tuck but without having insurance pay for it - I doubt that it will happen.

sad but very funny. And I need to be able to laugh at them because mine aren't going anywhere!

Just wanted to chime in... I wasn't really concerned with loose skin as i'm pretty young... Well, I only started noticing the loose skin on my stomach recently. I've lost about 55 lbs, and I only have about 15 left to go, so yes, if you have only 30-40 lbs left to go, I'm afraid to say there is still a chance you can get it (but it's not definite!) However, even though I have it, it's only on my stomach, it's only when I bend over (I think Pilates has given me fantastic ab muscles that help), and it's not bad enough where I'm ruling out wearing my first bikini ever this summer hopefully over time it will get better as well.

The Good - I am so thrilled with my progress so far. I have changed many of my eating habits and have been doing a lot of cardio (mainly bike riding) and core and strength training 3 times a week with a trainer. My father who hardly ever pays compliments has even told me he has noticed a difference and is proud of me. See ticker below for progress.

The Bad - I have a feeling that I am going to have to buckle down and just save the money up for surgery. At a total weight loss thus far of 24 lbs, I am already noticing skin that is loose. Not necessarily grossly loose, but I can actually pinch and pull skin out. Everywhere - belly, bust ** and even thighs. I read somewhere that you should wait about 6 months after reaching goal to see how much your skin tightens up.

More Good - Underneath that skin is tight muscles. Especially in the legs, some in the arms and I am sure in the belly, but not quite there yet in that area. I have gone down in bra size and underwear size - Can't tell you how thrilled I was to go shopping for new bras and underwear.

**I have always been especially blessed in the bust area, even in my teens and early 20s at 130-140.

Thanks to everyone who has posted. I am glad to see that I am "normal" - loose skin and all.

This is the second time I've lost 50lb plus, 9 years apart. First time my boobs (which were always generously-sized at any weight) got that slightly-deflated balloon look, but I don't remember much else. When I gradually regained weight, I put more fat on the upper arms and around my face/chin than I had in the past. The boobs haven't got much worse, since when they put weight on the sag stayed, but now I've definitely got batwings and I also have a wrinkly neck where the double chin has vacated the premises. The neck bothers me a little, and at 46 I don't know if it will gradually tighten up again, but I don't want the chins back anyway!