Hi All:

I was just wondering those of you have lost 80-100 pounds do you have extra skin. Is there anything I can do to prevent it while the weight is coming off?



Thanks

It depends on your age and your genes. Some skin is more elastic than others. I lost 200 pounds and I do have saggy skin on my upper arms and thighs but guess what - I don't care. I'm much healthier, look better and feel great.

Thanks for your response Susan. I am 26 and hoping since I'm toning it snaps back

I wonder abou this all the time. My skin is so gross right now. I am 28 but I don't think I have the genes for it to snap back and get tight. I have stretch marks all over the place my legs look like cottage cheese. It seems like I had the raw end of the skin stick and yoyoing, being pregnant, and basically just being over weight has done to much.
I hope it will shrink as I shrink but I am worried. I know its something I shouldn't waste a whole lot of worry on seeing as how I won't really know until I've lost a lot of weight. If it doesn't and I lose all the weight I want to, I will definatly look into removing the skin. Its mostly just my lower body. My upper body is a lot smaller and has been less stretched out. Who knows though, only time will tell. I better start my savings account now though, just in case.

There is an excellent FAQ on this topic right here on this board in the Maintaners section: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36040

I'm 40 and had been overweight all my adult life, plus on my second pregnancy...now that I've lost the weight. LOL The stretchmarks...lotions and creams don't work, but a good tan helps to reduce their appearance. The loose skin...besides with younger age and more elastic skin, you can reduce it a bit. I had it, but as I was shedding the very last few pounds, there was a huge difference in it. It seemed to hang on til the end, then it got quite better in those last few. Also, though the lotion won't help, constant massage does. So keep massaging on lotions anyway. As well, toning exercises will help to tighten it even more.

But face it, when we're overweight, we've stretched our skin out of whack for years. There's no way it's going to completely go back into place. It's not space age memory foam, it's abused skin. You can opt for surgeries or realize that the little excess skin we can easily hide with clothing is much preferable to the glaring skin that even clothing couldn't hide when we were overweight.

I am really hoping since I'm 26 and only had this extra weight on a few years it will be ok. I massage alot my grandma gave me that tip too. I was always 140 or lower then got sick and gained. Now its all coming off 130 here I come!

there was a story on the news recently about a woman who lost 170 pounds by doing the reverse diet (eat dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner). She claimed she did no exercise and didn't have a problem with flabby skin. They received tons of letters/e-mails and calls wanting to know how this woman didn't have flabby skin. She said soy protein (tofu) she ate it several times a day and gave a couple of recipes to help get in her servings. I tried to do a search to find out if this is true and haven't been able to find anything.

Here's the link to the news story
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/...18/detail.html

I just read the article on tofu. Would be great if it worked. Do you know if they sell tofu in all supermarkets?

You can usually find tofu tucked away in the "health food" or "natural food" section of regular supermarkets (unless you're in a region that eats a lot of it -- it sits right out in easy view in southern CA supermarkets), in the refrigerator section. It's sometimes cheaper if you buy it from specialty markets (like Whole Foods).

I'm skeptical that it will make much difference in loose skin, but it is good for you in general.

I am pretty skeptical as well. However, I was always curious about it. So I may by some just to try it not because I think it will help loose skin.

Sorry guys, but eating tofu is not going to make your skin snap back into shape! If only it were that easy!!

I'm 25 years old and have lost 85 pounds. I have the saggy skin syndrome too. It's on my stomack, my upper arms, and my inner thighs and everything underneath the saggy skin is all gooshy. I tell my friends that my stomach looks like I was preggo. I've been doing strength training, toning exercises, etc. and it really hasn't helped. The skin has been stretched out for way too long and I don't think it's going to snap back.

I think it's just one of the things that you have to deal with when you lose weight. BUT, it's all worth it. I'll take the saggy skin over the rolls of fat any day! And although I do have the saggy skin, I wouldn't do anything differently. It was all worth it.

My friend lost almost 200 pounds and her saggy skin is not that bad. Again , I 'd rather be heathy and deal with extra skin. However, I do feel positive it won't be that bad

So glad I found this topic, it's one reason I sent my tape in to Extreme Makeover (still haven't heard anything from them yet, don't plan on it either ). But anyway, I just told them I'd be glad to get the excess skin off my arms so I can wear tank tops and sundresses - anything sleeveless for the first time in my life ever. I've always had to wear shirts with sleeves long enough to at least go lower than my elbows because of all the fat on my upper arms, and I don't mean fat as in that it looks ok if I were to wear tank tops, I mean fat as in "bat wing syndrome" really bad and it sucks. My brother always calls them my "Elvis arms" because when I hold my arms out, it looks like Elvis' old cape that had the cloud outline looking thing on it from his arms to his waist. Or I can't leave the house without a jacket and that really sucks during the Texas summers when its 100+ outside.

I'm hoping that I wont have a problem with sagging skin either. I hope that because I'm younger, and have decent skin, I'll be ok. I have stretch marks on my stomach, but I don't really care about that... once they fade to that white color they aren't that noticeable anyway.

The only place that I'm worried about the extra skin thing is around my stomach area. But..oh well.. I'd rather loose weight then stay the way I am to avoid the skin problem.

~Liz