[3fcuser291505109]

because everywhere else was getting too thin (at least for your taste) while maybe another 5 lbs could get you a flatter stomach (legs, double chin, insert whatever)?

For instance i suppose a few more lb's could further take the bit of fat still clinging to my loose skin on my abdomen but i REALLY am having a tough time with how slim my face is and other parts of my body. I mean why did my body have to strip every bit of fat off my skull, lol but i still have a bit of a spare tire (granted it's combined with loose skin)

Just wanted to know if anyone else was in that boat? And... i've slowly lost the last 12 lbs over a few months time and have kind of pretty much been at maintenance eating for maybe 6 months even though i've lost the 12 lbs during that time (don't want to lose any more) and i am wondering if over the course of this year maybe my skin or my body will "even out" so to speak--don't know another word to describe it.
Like--why do people that have lost a good amount of weight sometimes end up having that "gaunt" look to their face but others the same age/weight who've never been overweight--do not? I'm struggling (and have posted a couple times!!) with that still which is surprising because my full face was one of the things i was really looking forward to losing.

[Rana]

Well, I haven't gotten close my goal, so I can't answer the first question.

But when my father lost weight (and he wasn't obese, just had let the pounds pile on every year) when he lost the weight, he looked gaunt and sick. To the point that the rest of the family thought he was sick, had cancer, or something like that but was keeping it a "secret".

He wasn't. He had just lost weight!

Through the next few months, as he maintained, his skin began to even out and now, 8 years later, he's at a perfect weight for his weight/height/age and his skin is wrinkle-free and gaunt free!

So, I think eventually our bodies catch up to the weight loss, I don't think it's permanent.

[IanG]

When I was 21 and looking great after some fantastic weight loss, someone commented that I looked gaunt. I went home and ate like crazy. 17 years after that comment I was morbidly obese (again?). So stick with it, ride the wave and adjust.

[JenMusic]

Yes, I'm in the same boat. I'm an apple shape and - between a little belly fat and the loose skin that's there - I think I'll always have a little "pooch." When I was originally losing weight I got down to 115; my belly was still there and the rest of me was skinnier than I liked. I could clearly see my ribs on my upper chest, and my face was sort of, harsh.

It's a balance for me and something I've had to learn to live with. Right around 119-121 there's a "sweet spot" where I fit into my clothes the way I want to. My body isn't perfect, of course, but it's where I feel the most comfortable.

[Vex]

I hate that gaunt look too. I have it, but I hated my fat face look more

I can tell you that after my husband lost over 100 lbs he had it, but it's really more or less gone after about 2 years or so. I've read that from other people as well, that it takes a good bit of time for skin to adjust as much as it's going to. It may not ever fully recover though.