I'm stuck in this crazy cycle where I desperately want to loose weight but I'm afraid to loose too much too quickly and end up with all the loose skin I keep hearing about. The problem is that I don't know how to loose weight slowly. I only know how to jump in and pummel at the exercise and the food control until I get results. Whenever I ease up I take it as liberty to screw up and stop exercising altogether, or to overeat. Is there anyone who lost a lot of weight (I started at 267, I'm now at 235) but did so slowly through diet and exercise but did not end up with all that extra skin?

Thanks everyone.

I don't think how fast you lose the weight really has anything to do with the excess skin...if it's already broke, losing weight slowly ain't gonna fix it.

If you're gonna have extra skin, you're gonna have it. It doesn't matter how slowly you lose the weight. What matters is, how elastic your skin is. If you're young, you'll fair better. It matters that you exercise to firm the skin up some. It matters that you massage the skin (rubbing lotion on daily can help). But ultimately, if your skin has been stretched out of shape for a long time, it's not going to likely snap back to how it used to be. You can just minimize it with some of these steps.

I had this fear too. I still kinda have it. But when I lost 40 pounds I didn't really notice any lose skin. I was still big but I could tell I was smaller. But I'm young, so that could be why my skin kept up with me, even though I've always been big.

Anyways. I figured that it would be better to have a bit of saggy skin rather than skin stuffed with fat. Ya know. I figured I wasn't going to run around in a bikini anyways, who cares if I have a pouch of skin under my belly. No is really going to see it, and the people close enough to me to see it would know me well enough to not care. @_@.

Almostheaven is right, the more elastic your skin is, the better it will keep up with you. While it is true that the slower you lose the weight the better the skin acts. (as long as it is still elastic) I wouldn't let that worry you right now. Worry about getting healthy.

I had a lot of fears about extra skin too. I read the Skin FAQ sheet under the maintainers forum and learned a lot. You should check it out.

Oh yeah, i'm right there with you...Didn't want to have to go through it It wasn't until I saw a number of peoples' pictures, here and other places that it dawned on me what was going to happen. Scared the crap out of me, but like one man said "i'll cross that bridge when I get to it." The thought of surgery scares me, but I decided I would do whatever it took for me to feel better about me. If that includes starting a bank account specifically for medical expenses then so be it. I can't let it stop me.

We all have to decide for ourselves what is best for us. I wish you the best on your journey!

Karen

Yah I have concerns about that too but figure I just have to focus on getting the weight off and taking things as they happen. Especially at my age, the skin is not going to go back like I want it to. But I am just doing my best and getting the weight off, exercising, moisturizing my skin all over with cocoa butter cream, and trying not to worry about what the skin results are going to be. I can't afford surgery and insurance won't pay for it unless there are health issues... so even if I sag it's still better than being fat.

The skin isn't so bad. There's no guarantee that you'll have horrible loose skin, and even if you do it's better than being fat. You can hide skin under clothes, or you can possibly have surgery. It's far easier to hide and deal with than 100 excess pounds believe me!

No reason to be scared. Right now, this minute, you've already got all the skin you're ever going to have. It's just stuffed full of fat now. You won't grow any more skin as you lose weight, fortunately.

Your decision is whether you'd rather keep your skin filled up with ugly, unhealthy fat or lose the fat and live in a slim, healthy body. No one knows until they've reached goal and stabilized there for six months or a year how their skin will react to weight loss. And I've never meet anyone who regrets losing the weight because of leftover skin.

Why not lose the weight and see where you are? You can always get fat again if you aren't happy with how you look! (but I guarantee that you will be )

LOL I guarantee you too that I won't want to do that!! I am not going to overly worry about it but I do hope I don't end up with big bags of skin hanging all over!

And Helen, you are right... at least it will be easier to cover up than this fat! Not to mention how much better I will feel!!!

Thanks to both of you for the encouraging words. You are certainly the experts at weight loss! Good job, both of you!

I have to admit that I am one of the people who, even though I lost my weight at a fairly sensible rate, ended up with quite a bit of loose skin. I truly look upon it as my "Badge of Honour". I EARNED this skin. I get many people asking me how I did it WITHOUT all the loose skin, because I cover it so well, and nobody believes that there is excess skin underneath the fashionable, SMALLER clothes. I wouldn't trade it for being overweight again, that's for sure! I LOVE being healthier, fitter and lighter than I have ever been in my adult life. I also love being able to buy nice clothes now, in lots of different stores.

Age and the flexibility of the skin certainly make a difference, but I truly wouldn't let the worry of loose skin stop you from making such wonderful changes to your life.

Well... I'll climb off my soap box now, and get ready to climb into bed. I just wanted to get this post in before I fell asleep at the keyboard.

Take care,

Zelma

For me it is not only visualizing how I can LOOK but how active and energetic I can/will be! Already after my 45 pound loss I am amazed at the things I can now do which I couldn't before! And when I think about losing TWICE that much again (I am slightly over 1/3 of the way to my goal).. WOW I can't wait, and my hard work is worth it. If I end up with saggy skin I will just have to deal with it.

While we all vary, I am 53, have lost weight slowly (lose, maintain, lose, maintain, lose, maintain), and I don't have much loose skin. I don't have a hanging belly, although I do have a roll at the waistline (I've always had that, however). My arms don't seem to have that bat wing look either, although they certainly aren't as firm as a 20-year olds by any means. I started lifting weights about six months into the weight loss, plus running, which I started about six months ago, seems to be leaning me out.

As the skin FAQs mentions, there are a lot of factors that go into having extra skin, but, hey, it's certainly better than carrying around all that extra weight that damages your joints and organs.

keep in mind... goal first and worry later! I guess you are right... I just want to do everything i can now to avoid disappointment later.

Kayemu