Looking forward to getting rid of it all. I have a question about excess skin...being down about 80 lbs. I haven't had many problems with it yet, though I have noticed a few areas that look a little saggy....but who knows that could just be fat... ;\ Anyway...I heard somewhere (can't remember where now) that you can tell when skin is getting loose if you pull it up some and then let it go and look at whether it snaps back into place quickly or not...anyone know about the truth of that?

Don't know the answer, but wanted to point this out. I had/have loose skin. As I got closer to my goal, it was noticeable...but thankfully in areas I could cover. As I continued exercising and was nearly at my goal, it diminished somewhat. I supposed as I tightened my abs more and lost the last bits of the fat, it became less pronounced. So people who sometimes get discouraged over loose skin...give it some more time. As you reach your goal, you may find it's not as bad as it first appeared it was going to be.

Congrats on losing 85 lbs! That's great!

As for loose skin, I've heard that if you exercise to build up the muscle underneath, and give it some time, it will diminish somewhat. But, the older you are, and the faster you lost the weight, the more likely it is to hang around.

Thanks for the replies!

I don't know anything about loose skin, but congrats to losing so much.

There is a very informative thread on loose skin over at the Maintainers area
It's the first sticky thread under Living Maintenance.

I haven't had any signs of loose skin from my weight loss (yet) but I do have loose skin on my stomach as a result of a twin pregnancy. Comparing my stomach to the rest of my body I can say that if you aren't sure whether or not your skin is loose then it probably isn't (or very minimally so). If you have it it is painfully obvious as it looks, feels, wrinkles, and hangs differently than "normal" skin.

Almostheaven is exactly right. Exercise helps a lot (I began to see a difference in my stomach after just a few weeks of ab work) and time will make a difference too. You will probably never have skin as taut as it was in your youth but a little loose skin is a much better alternative than a lot of extra weight.

wow! 85 lbs. That's incredible. Excellent Work!!