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You can’t predict how much loose skin you’ll end up with but you can guarantee you’ll have some. I feel like I’ve earned my loose skin. And, for good or bad, a part of me thinks I deserve it too - I put on the weight & stretched out my skin. No one else did it to me or made me do it. I don’t have a lot of sagging skin but it’s there. It doesn’t really hinder anything I wear. I never wore a bikini when I was slim & younger so there’s no way I would now so no loss. I also have no desire to wear shorty shorts or mini skirts so no one will see the saggy bits on my inner thighs. And to hide my bat wings, I just don’t wave my arms in the air & don’t wear anything very strappy or strapless. Honestly, I had minimal pain after surgery. By day 4, I didn’t need any pain meds & I didn’t have any gas pain at all. My only problem was my back which went into spasm on day 2 but it really didn’t have anything to do with the surgery as such. I had quite a bit of swelling which caused me difficulty swallowing to begin but it was gone by day 4. I had no trouble sleeping on my side from day 1 & healed very well. But we’re all different. You can’t predict how you’ll respond to the surgery. Just be realistic & be aware of the possible side effects, but don’t let something that may not happen or is easily managed scare you from having the surgery. Stress is never good for healing or recovery. Good luck with your surgery & on your journey.

I'm 9 months out, and I am very, very happy with where I am at. I had my surgery March 11, 2020. I've lost a total of 52 pounds since I started - 48 pounds since the surgery date. SW: 208 CW:156 GW:149 and I'm 5'5". This means I lost about 90% of my excess weight, which studies show is a very typical result for a patient like me who started out with a relatively low BMI (35). Of course I would still like to lose those last few pounds and officially make it to a normal BMI, but I am very happy with where I am now and would still consider it a resounding success if I can maintain at this weight. I am big boned, and people tell me that I look like a completely normal thin person when I am clothed. You can certainly tell I have lost a lot of weight when I am naked. Even at my heaviest, I never had big breasts or thighs, so most of my lose skin is on my arms and belly. I am very happy not to have saggy breasts. The belly skin makes it so pants that fit great when I am standing feel uncomfortable when I sit, but that's a minor annoyance. I was very strict with my diet for the first 3.5 months. At that point, I had to have another surgery and was feeling bad for quite a while, so I was not so careful and more carbs and some sugar crept into my diet. However, I continued to lose well through that time. At this stage, it feels like I am learning how to maintain, although I am still losing a pound here or there. It is true that your appetite comes back at some point, and sugar definitely increases my appetite a lot. However, I had been having really bad problems with hunger and sugar before my surgery - I was about to get diabetes, and that is basically why I got the surgery. Right now, the techniques I was using before surgery to try and keep my hunger under control actually work. I eat pretty strictly during the week, and get about half my protein from my wonderful morning protein powder latte. I still eat a lot of eggs and cottage cheese - luckily I have always like them. During weekends, I eat more freely and allow myself to have some sugar. I don't count calories anymore since month 4, but I still weigh a couple times a week. I plan to keep this routine up for the rest of my life, and I think it is very doable. I kept a detailed weight chart. I did not record every up and down - I only recorded a weight if I had lost from the previous recorded weight. For the first two months, I lost about 3-4 pounds a week. Then I had a 1 month long stall, which was really nerve wracking because it was right at my lowest adult weight, where I'd gotten stuck with weight loss before. There were lots of ups and downs during this period that are not recorded on this chart, but still freaked me out. After I finally broke through the stall, I lost at a 1.5-2 pound per week rate during months 4 and 5. Since then, I've sort of slowly slid into maintenance with a total 7 lb loss over months 6-9. Before - my 40th birthday Dec. 2019 After - Nov. 2020 After Oct. 2020 (I'm on the left) Thank you so much to BariatricPal and all the amazing posters here, especially for the long term members who provide a great outlook for how things will change as time goes on!!!!

The only person who knows I have saggy skin is my hubby! I look pretty awesome in clothes if I do say so myself! LOL!!! When I was morbidly obese, the whole world knew I was fat. I'd rather be secretly saggy than obviously fat! ha ha! Besides, that's what plastic surgery is for, if you so desire (and I desire!!!!)

Correction: I would rather the excess skin vs. the excess body.

I am noticing this too. It seemed to always come up on here but lately the number of posts of people with the excess skin concern in increasing. To the OP: like most, I would rather the excess skin the the excess body. Note that I did have plastics to address some areas, but other areas (i.e., my butt, and to a lesser degree my inner thighs) are still pretty saggy/soft looking. Of which I would still rather have any day of the week vs firm skin that is filled with fat. You will get alot of responses about creams, exercises, and slower weight loss to ensure skin elasticity. The truth is you won't know how you will fare until you lose the weight. So many things will factor into your end result, as many of the above have stated. The only sure fire way to ensure you don't have loose skin is to NOT lose weight. Though even then, age will eventually catch up to you and there will be loose skin anyway. And fat. It's probably best if expectations are managed and assume that one WILL have loose skin, and there isn't, its just a lovely bonus. The goal here is to lose weight, not to be a bikini model. Apologies to those who DO aim to be bikini models! 😂❤️

For me, doing the sleeve, the post-op was a dream. Other than the first 24 hours in the hospital being so nauseous from the anesthesia, I never had a second of pain or gas or problems. Walk a lot during your post-op. Sip, sip, sip that water. Don't worry about the skin thing until down the road. If you lose slowly and tone as you go it might not be a problem.

depends on how much you have. Weight training might firm things up in some areas if you don't have much loose skin there, but if you lose a lot of weight, you're likely to have a lot of loose skin. Not much you can do about it...

post-op pain is all across the board, but just from my observations from hanging out on this and other forums for the last six years, it seems most WLS patients have little to no pain from this surgery. Uncomfortableness for a few days, yes - but most experience little or no true pain. And if you're one of the unfortunate ones who do, you'll undoubtedly be sent home with pain meds, so just keep on top of them. It's pretty manageable if you keep on top of it. It seems like almost everyone worries about sagging skin. I worked with my clinic for three years prior to COVID, co-leading one of the pre-op classes (1-2 per month). In every class, people asked about sagging skin. I worried about it as well when I was pre-op and early post-op. But I can tell you that almost all of us who are a ways out will tell you that we wonder why we wasted any brain matter worrying about it. In the grand scheme of things, it's really a minor issue, and for most of us, it's very easy to hide and you're the only one who'll know it's there. And there's always plastic surgery if it bothers you. I eventually had mine removed, but that was for me - it was easy to hide from the world. I just tucked it into my jeans or leggings and wore slightly oversized, longish tops to hide it. Ta da! No more loose skin. Here's a picture of me BEFORE I had plastic surgery. I lost over 200 lbs, so I had a LOT of it. As you can see in this photo, it's not noticeable at all when I had clothes on (oh - and I agree with the above poster - I would take my sagging skin any day over weighing 373 lbs again. ANY DAY!!!)

Thank you so much! This is very helpful. I'm extremely excited to start this journey. I have been heavy the majority of my child bearing years. I am now 45 with many different health issues. I can't wait to be active and not feel exhausted. Play with my grandbabies. Most of all, love myself when I look in the mirror. What about exercise to help with the loose skin?

Hi there, Full disclosure: I had the sleeve, not the bypass. The Post-op really wasn't that bad for me. I had some post-op pain but my surgeon worked with me to find the right medication dose to deal with that and I felt better quickly. At no time did I go for any extended period with out of control pain. Those first few days can be uncomfortable and I remember I didn't want to move much, LOL. But I did get up and walk with the nurses the same day as my surgery. I didn't suffer with gas pains as some people do, but walking is supposed to help a lot with that. I had ZERO hunger right after surgery, which was good because I was unable to do anything more than drink water for a while. But my surgeon said that's not uncommon and he wasn't worried. I spent one night in the hospital and was discharged. My sister stayed with me for 3 days just to make sure I was okay and then she went home. I was fine, able to get up, go to the kitchen and/or bathroom, etc. As surgeries go, the post-op was fine. As far as sagging skin, for a lot of us, it's a fact of life when we lose a massive amount of weight. However, most of the extra skin I have is on my tummy and when I'm dressed it's not obvious to anyone else. And I wouldn't take back the 120 pounds I've lost to have the tight, but huge tummy I had before 😀. I feel so much better in every way at this weight that it's more than worth it to have the extra skin. At some point, I plan to have a tummy tuck but until then, I'm not walking around showing my tummy anyway so it's okay, LOL. I've never met a single person who lost a lot of weight with weight loss surgery and said they would prefer to have the extra weight back rather than the sagging skin. There may be someone out there who feels that way but I think it's pretty rare. I hope that helps! This is a pretty awesome journey you're embarking on. 😉

Hello everyone, I'm, scheduled for Jan 4th. If this Covid stuff doesn't cause a cancellation. I would be lieing, if I, said I wasn't scared! I am very concerned about the post-op and the sagging skin. Any advice would be great. Sent from my SM-S102DL using BariatricPal mobile app

I feel like I am losing slowly when I compare myself to others but in general I am okay with it. I have read that losing slowly gives your skin more time to adjust. I was really hoping by my one month check up that I would have lost more than 20lbs but oh well. I am still losing and that is was counts. I go to the gym 5 days a week which is great even though all I can do with the elliptical, treadmill or bike. I am there for an hour but that is mostly due to Covid and the gym limiting everyone to 60 minutes. I have lost 16lbs since my surgery and that is great!

Speaking as a 39 year old, I can officially state you are not old 😂😂. Seriously though there is no age limit on anything. I'm planning on getting a breast lift and 360 body lift next year, to tighten up my loose skin left after 100 pounds of weight loss. As other posters have said, your skin may improve with time, doing pump classes three times a week for the last 6 months has considerably improved my skin. And my muscle tone.

So basically what happened is that you've adopted a plan in the beginning you couldn't follow through with because it was too strict and/or didn't suit your needs. Happens to a lot of patients. Being gung-ho about everything in the beginning (just as with every other promising diet) and once the rewards stop rolling in big (slowing weight loss), one starts to notice what a miserable drag life has become while still not being at "goal" (which is of course a trim and fit body without loose skin and a BMI of 21, nothing else is good enough). Tracking calories and water intake and carbs and grams of protein just sucks. Resisting foods you deem "bad foods" gets harder and harder. Going to the gym several times a week feels like a millstone around the neck while weight stays the same when you want to lose more. Sounds pretty familiar and you're not the only one with that problem. There is no "solid regimen to follow". Every time you catch yourself wanting to "follow a solid regiment" someone made up for you remind yourself where that got you the last time: nowhere No one has the perfect solution or eating plan or exercise plan (even though they may claim they have). That's both good and bad news at the same time. The good news: you can tailor a plan that suits your needs. The bad news: there is no one to blame but you if you fail with your experiments.

Thanks Hop Scotch. I guess logically it’s just not making sense to me. Low calories, low fat, exercise...you would think it would be falling off! Take surgery out of the equation....I’m still overweight and have weight to loose. At 500-600 calories you’d think the first 20 would come off fast. I understand when you get closer you your goal weight it will be slow. I’m not discouraged...I’m not going to stop what I am doing. I do feel healthy and good. I will say that I still feel a bit hungry after I eat sometimes. Just Thought if anyone else was finding a slower weight loss maybe they found some thing that helped speed it up a tad😁 wishful thinking I suppose.

Freezing in Florida! 55 degrees might as well be an Arctic blast. Socks, sweats and sweaters are now my new best friends! I experienced the same issue after my VSG. Surgeon blamed it on rapid weight loss, especially that nice comfortable fat layer below the skin. But as mentioned above, I'll take cold any day compared to the sweating associated with morbid obesity!

Give yourself some credit and pat yourself on the back for making the decision to get healthier. I think that it would be good to give your self grace. Be kind. Your body is not just going through a shock it's an entire way of life that you are changing. So make an effort to stay positive and optimism is key. Food intake should follow the dieticians recommended foods. You will loose weight. And to keep it off follow the plan like your life depends on it. Hang in there. And perhaps Journal your feelings and track your food. All the best,

To add to @Jaelzion excellent list: 9. You’ll lose some hair. The surgery & reduced caloric intake accelerates your natural hair loss cycle. It generally starts around month 3 or 4. You can’t stop it cause it’s a normal process. It does stop & your hair is regrowing as you’re shedding. How long it lasts is an individual thing. 10. Constipation is common. Add benefibre or similar to your diet & have some gentle stool softeners on hand. You’ll become regular again once you get close to or are in maintenance. 11. After surgery you may experience some nasty & very sudden attacks of diarrhoea. Pack some incontinence knickers so you’re not caught unaware & forced to toss your own knickers. 12. You will have lose skin. How much depends on how much weight you have to lose, your age, gender, weight gain/loss history, how long you’ve been overweight. 13. A lot of hormones, etc. are stored in your fat & as you lose your weight they’ll be released into your blood stream. You may experience changes to your menstruated cycle like heavier periods, increased cholesterol levels, incidences of low blood pressure, etc. Things will settle once you reach goal. 14. You will experience tiredness & loss of energy at times. Rest, nap as you need it. 15. Take each step slowly. Your tummy can become very contrary & throw tantrums like a 2yr old child. You may not enjoy foods you did before surgery. Food you ate successfully for weeks may suddenly upset you. Don’t give up on those things. Take a break & try them again later. 16. Yes, there will be foods you won’t eat again but they are the ones you won’t be able to tolerate after surgery &/or got you to the weight you are now. There will be foods you will only eat in moderation & foods that you discover healthier alternatives for or healthier ways of cooking them. 17. Listen to your body. It will tell you what you can or can’t tolerate. You may experience tightness or heaviness, vomiting or diarrhoea, even dumping. 18. You digestive system may gurgle, groan & whine like the ghost of the part of your tummy that was removed is haunting you. 19. Eat slowly. Put your cutlery down between bites, sit back & wait. Then ask yourself do you really need the next bite or do you just want it. 20. Don’t eat until you are full. Eat until you’ve had enough. There is a difference. 21. Sometimes, you may think you are having hunger pangs but it’s actually too much acid in your tummy. You likely will be prescribed esomeprazole to take at the beginning. If you weren’t, ask for some. My surgeon told me I’ll always be taking one every day. Of course you may not experience all of these things but it’s better to be aware of them in case you do. Good luck on your journey.

From my highest weight prior surgery I have lost 22 lbs. 16 lbs in three weeks after surgery. Having a stall now a days. Which frustrates me and gives ne the feeling I'm not going to loose anymore. Sent from my SM-N960F using BariatricPal mobile app

I was 192 lbs and 5'5" - at my highest weight (besides one week after surgery when I gained 10 lbs from the IV fluids/air they fill you with/swelling??)... I had never been over 200 lbs. I wore a size 10-12 in pants... and X-large in shirts. I lost ALMOST 50 lbs pretty quickly and I can't seem to get below 138 lbs... I lose like 1 lbs per month since September. It is one of the best decisions I've made for myself. I am a size 4 in pants now & a size small/medium in shirts. I still want to lose weight and get down to 130-135 lbs so I can have some room to gain and lose... but I know that some of my weight is saggy skin in my underarm region and some on my lower belly. Which isn't bad, but I think without that skin - I'd likely be 5-10 lbs lighter.

So sorry, you’ve had such a long delay. I know how frustrating it is, as mine had been delayed too, but now I’m on the other side, and soon you will be too. with the holidays the day will be here before you know it. All the sudden —- it’s here!!! Happy for you that the excess skin surgery will also be cared for! Wow- that’s terrific! You are very fortunate! Wish you all the best in your new journey!

minimamaz00m, Right now they are saying that they will. The surgeon said it should be easy to get it covered as a scenario where the skin surgery is needed as a result of the sleeve surgery. Let's hope they really do cover it when it comes down to it. Worst case scenario, I have a relative overseas who is a general surgeon so if they wont cover it I'll have to take a trip overseas and get it done there which will be way cheaper and I know I'll still be in good hands!

Spitfireash, your insurance will pay for skin surgery? Lucky!!

RNY was on 11/6. So far so good. Slower progress than wha I hoped at 21 pounds down. But, I try to remember that it takes a 3500 calories deficit to loose a pound. That is about 18K calories in a week. I’ll take it. Hope everyone else in the Nov 3rd week is doing well also.

Oh yes the famous stall. I was at a stall for weeks. I'm talking 6 weeks. I increased protein and water.. The stall broke then started loosing again.. Change things up a bit. Stalls are normal.. For now I'm at another stall over a month again. Mention im 6 months out of surgery. The ups and downs of the battle...keep your chin up weight will come off!