If not - what did you do (if anything) to prevent sagging and loose skin? I am worried about how much loose skin will be there after I lose weight. I am about 250ish right now..

I have zero lose skin! and as you can see I almost to goal. my stomach looks a little wrinkly-- but I am the only one that has noticed this. I work out 3-4 days a week- speed walking 30 mins and lifting light weights for 10 mins!!! There is hope that you will look good- I think I do!

Hi Angie,

I am a lapband revised sleeve and I DO have excess skin. I am wondering if age has anything to do with it. I do workout regularly and my tummy still looks nasty. I am very close to goal so it is no longer fat. It is just wrinkly looking. I plan to do a tummy tuck after I have been stabilized at goal weight.

I will say that my tummy is the worst. I have been able to keep the rest under control with the exercise.

I have met several in our face to face support group who have had to have additional work done after the weight is gone.

Embrace the idea you are healthier and the weight is gone. Rejoice that your biggest problem is getting rid of excess skin! :-)

Good luck!

Smiles!

Wow! that sounds fantastic! I've been questioning the loose skin thing. I know my inner thighs have alot of loose skin but I'm only 3 months out and starting the gym today with a personal trainer. Not really looking forward to it. Thanks for the information.

I am 34, so I am hoping my "young skin" will be able to bounce back. Thanks for the replies!

I have loose wrinkly skin around my waist, on my lower abdomen, my upper thighs and my bat wing upper arms. I think it is a combination of the fact that I didn't exercise much during the losing phase and my age (mid 50's)

This is a much debated topic and to tell you the truth there is little to nothing you can do if you are destined to have it you will.

It mainly depends on your genetics, skin health, age and just plain dumb luck. Bad genes with a tendancy for this will seal your doom as far as loose skin is concerned. So look at mom and grandma for a possible future. If you have "bad", dry skin that you sun burned the hell out of as a kid all the time then that too will make it more difficult to lose and not sag. Age is also a factor, the older you are the more prone you are to it.

I lucked out pretty well, I went from 375# down to ~205 and have very little. My doctor was even surprised as he initially said I would more than likely need a tummy tuck afterwards. He said he's seen other men of my age sag more when they have kept their weight right to begin with.

I wish you well!

Creams, potions and processes help very little. A good moisturizer halps but not a lot.

I heard of people using spandex sleeves on their arms and belly to avoid the loose skin. I don't know if that works or not. I been using coco butter to help keep my body mosturized.

It all has to do with your age, the amount of weight that you have lost, your skin type, how fast you lose the weight and the amount of exercise that you do while losing the weight. No 2 people are alike. When I had my surgery the doctor told me that I would not have much excess skin after my weight loss as I did not have that much stretch marks and that my skin was good. Not sure what she meant by that but I hope that she was right.

I think genetics play a huge role here- like with stretch marks. I have HORRIBLE stretch marks from pregnancy and weight gain on my belly, so I'm going to guess that because of those I'm most likely going to have a lot of tummy wrinkling once I'm done. I also think it's dependent on how your fat is distributed. I imagine someone who is 300lbs who carries weight mostly in their abdomen is going to have a much worse tummy than those who are 300lbs but the weight is evenly distributed across their body.

Yes, yes, and yes.... I blame the stretch marks. They are horrible and have left my skin in the land of no return. However, I am sure a lot of this has to do with how long I carried the weight (over a decade), genetics, and my poor hydration habits.

I agree with the above posts, it depends on a lot of factors and everyone is different. I have lost about 105 lbs. and I am about 12 lbs from goal. I started walking prior to surgery, walked after surgery and started serious exercise as soon I was allowed and that was 6 weeks out. I have built a lot of muscle and that has taken the place of a lot of fat. I still have some loose skin but My bat wings are getting a lot tighter due to muscle. I was expecting to have a lot more loose skin than I have so I think the exercise has helped. I am 47 years old, I think it will be easier for the skin to bounce back if you are younger, a little harder if you are older.

I may have loose skin on my lower abdomen, but I doubt I'd ever have plastic surgery. I'm not squeamish by any means, but it looks barbaric!

I lost 120 lbs in a little less than a year, 80 of it in the first 6 months. I weighed 263 at 5'9". I now weigh between 143 and 146.

I don't have much loose skin. I am also over 50 so I should have what I have. I can wear sleeveless tops again and shorts. My stomach is not what I would show but I have friends that are my age who have never been fat and have similar skin.

I did it exercising. I started well before my surgery walking and got up to 2.5 miles per day. I also use the wii fit plus on the weekends for an hour each day. It really helped loose skin along with fat as I lost. I also kept in mind that whatever I was going to loose, it would be in the first year so I was totally committed to success. I also mosturize a lot. I went out and got a tan after loosing and I think that was a mistake, my skin aged quite a bit after that (no one else notices, but I do).

I've lost 120 and I have a lot of loose skin...a whole f'in lot

If you are young it will probably bounce back pretty well.

I'm as jiggly as jiggly gets! Loose skin everywhere, but you know what? At least I'm not 350 lbs anymore! At least I can breath when i climb stairs or walk long distances. Yes, I look a fright, but I don't really mind. My hubbie doesn't mind and says I look as beautiful as the day he met me (34 years ago and about 3 pairs of glasses later! :aureola: ) He is soooo very sweet. . .I've talked about getting the loose skin removed, which would probably put me to my 170 lbs, but we have decided that after 18 major surgeries, I don't need anymore. . . after all, I've never been a beauty queen and never will be . . . . as long as I'm loved and love myself, that is all that matters right now.