Thighs be gone & bargoo & shcirerf I know you're right. I'm going to need to adopt your outlook in the long run. Thanks for the encouragement and support.

Also, congratulations on your weight loss, everyone! I'm inspired :)

How much time do you spend clothed versus naked? How many people see you clothed versus naked? And of course, beyond looks is the health factor which is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, answer those questions and you should have your answer of whether or not it is worth it.

You got the stretch marks from gaining weight rapidly. Now they are more apparent, but they will fade. It's the price for being over weight. I just call them battle scars and move on.

What she said. Seriously.

I am a living, breathing, walking stretch mark. But I would rather be a stretch mark that's a size 12 than a stretch mark that's a size 28.

My body is never going to look perfect, but my husband thinks I'm beautiful regardless, and I can certainly be healthy! That's what I care about!

I got stretch marks from my pregancy and I'm really angry that I will get more stretch marks for losing weight. What can I do?

Lol, at 51 years old, after having the twins, and losing and gaining and losing, my poor body looks like crap naked.

Long girls, stretch marks, loose skin, wrinkles, cellulite, flapping thighs and arms.

My husband and I were talking about this yesterday and he said, "you look good", "I know you have stretch marks, loose skin, saggy girls, but you're not 16 anymore and I wish you'd run around the house naked more than you do, because I like what I see.

So, I"m good with my body and it's flaws. Amazingly enough, I actually think I look good. I'm not 16 anymore, but for where I'm at, I actually look in the mirror in the morning when I get out of the shower and go, "Dang, I look good":carrot:

FYI, I'm 51. Have 2 precious granddaughters I love to no end.:hug::carrot:

aimeebell - It's less about what other people see for me than it is about me knowing it's there/seeing it. You're right, though - health should be my # 1 concern.

QuilterinVA LisaP916 - I hope I feel more like they are battlescars when I'm done losing weight. I'm only just getting started so I don't have much of a battle to corelate them with. Right now they just make me ashamed of paying so little attention to my weight and feeling overly comfortable in the past. Right now they make me feel guilty, not proud.

shcirerf Aren't we both lucky to have such supportive men in our lives! I can only hope mine feels the same way as long as yours has. :) I feel like you, too, have a positive experience to attach to your stretchmarks - the family you love! I think part of the reason I feel so guilty about mine is because I haven't even had kids yet, and I'm 24 - just finished school, just starting out, really. Still, age is relative, and my scars are as much a part of my life experience as yours are. Thanks for sharing your experience, I hope I will feel as confident in my body as you do again soon! :)

I truly am inspired by the self confidence and self love everyone here shows themselves when it comes to this issue. I need to take a cue from you guys. This is something I can't undo, but I can change my weight and hope for the best w/r/t stretchmarks. I have to accept that there really are things in life we can't do anything about. I appreciate the insights and the support so much, and I will return to this thread when this subject is getting me down in the future. Thanks, everyone.

No offense, but the damage is already done. It was done when the weight was gained in the first place, unfortunately. The red is coming from the skin not being stretched out anymore. No one gains stretch marks from losing weight - just doesn't make sense!

I have the same problem. I've had stretch marks since I was young, and as a whole, I can't even tell they are there. Until I lose weight - then they show up like the jerks that they are! It's so frustrating, but I'll take the weight loss in a heartbeat over no (visible) stretch marks.

Hang in there! Health is way more important overall! :hug:

I rub olive oil (lol not tons, just a bit) on them. The women in my family swear by it during pregnancy and whatnot. It won't stop/get rid of them, but it does help the skin. Massage also brings the bloodflow around that area, helping to circulate and condition.
Like I said, it can't stop nature, but it helps the condition of the skin :)

I've been fat since I hit puberty (11) but the year before I started my weight loss journey I put on about 30 pounds. Never really purposefully tried to lose weight before but there were several times we were broke and I lost a lot of weight. Never really stepped on the scale until my sister moved in and then I never checked it until I realized all my clothes were supper tight like a year later. :o

I've always heard that you can get stretch marks from losing weight rapidly. And I don't know about you guys but I've had stretch marks since puberty that have been white for years and I can still clearly see the big ones (stomach) in most lighting. So maybe I'm just too aware, but I don't see how they would be there without you noticing them.
On the other hand, I know a guy who gained like 40 lbs over about 8 months. He then lost it all in about 2-3 months and his stretch marks looked horrible. He said that he got some during the weight gain, but it was after the loss that they really looked horrible. So who knows, but eventually they will fade into almost nothing. Mine are kind of a curiosity to me anymore, I like to look at the kind of patterns they make, like I'm some kind of silvery exotic animal. Luckily I'm past the being upset stage.

Mine dont get red, but they are like ugly tiny vallys on my skin..especially around on the girls. :(

my stretch marks seem to become more visible with weight loss. it definitely sucks, but i'd rather have them than be fat. they're not as unattractive as fat.

When I was pregnant with my last child, I started out overweight so I weighted about 15 more pounds at delivery than I did with my other two kids. I noticed mega stretch marks on my stomach during preganncy but it was not until after the baby was born and I started losing the weight that I noticed numerous stretch marks on my hips, thights, calves (behind my knees, blah) and even on my boobs. . .None of those were apparent during pregnancy, they looked really bad at first when I first noticed them but since they have turned from red to whitish/silvery and are a lot harder to see, even the ones on my stomach. So they might have been there before you lost weight but since the skin was stretched out they werent as noticable. When the skin was not as stretched out any more they were mroe apparent and I think part of that may be because they get a little wrinkly then too. Hope I could help, they will most likely fade, mine did :)

I've gained and lost lots of weight, and on top of regular gains and losses had 3 pregnancy gains of 80 pounds EACH time.

My entire stomach area looks like a roadmap printed on jello. Jiggly skin and red lines running in every direction. I seriously doubt there is anything, even surgically, that would fix me.

Thank God I have huge boobs and light switches to distract my husband, so that he doesn't get sick from the view.