Hi there!!!

2012 is my year to finally exercise! I'm doing this ultimately for my health! But I'm excited to see if it will help my main problem areas (thighs-inner and outer and stomach). I have lots of loose skin, and saggy back thighs and cellulite on my thighs.

OK so I was wondering if there is anyone out there in their 40's who was able to accomplish such a feat???? Would you happen to have before and after pictures you don't mind sharing??? Just using exercise, nothing else.

I am going to finally take some before pics (for myself) showing the skin front, back (eeewww) and side and compare them next January 2013.

I'm super excited! Thanks y'all!!!

You're a brave woman! I'll be watching this topic, for sure. I am nowhere near goal, but I'm amping up my workouts daily and hoping against hope that my surgeon is wrong and I WON'T have to have surgery to get rid of my tummy skin.

Sleeve for me,

The best thing you can do are squats. They hit the inner thighs like crazy and also the outer thighs. Unfortunately the leg sleds do not hit the butt and inner thighs.

also lunges are really good for legs and butt. good luck on your journey we are all rooting for you.. cuz i know im also worried big time about this... so i will keep following this as well for updates!

You are in your 40s????!!!! Dayum! I always thought you were in your late 20s, MAYBE like 30-31 at the most.

Anyway, I still have cellulite even though I work out hard and am at a healthy weight. I'm sure if my bodyfat was like 10%, it'd go away, but when I look at every single woman in my family and see thighs that look like an old mattress, I admit defeat against genetics.

Hey Sleeve... get and do some squats... they are brilliant for the legs. I have to admit that since I started taking exercise seriously, I have found a huge difference in the shape of my legs. I have really strong calf muscles, no fat there... infact they are a lil too muscular - my hubby said he wants them! And my thighs are pretty good too... ok, so there is fat there but I can see muscles underneath! We do a lot of squats when I go to the boxing gym as part of our circuit and inbetween the rounds. Another good thing for legs is running/jogging ... but you've already got that in the bag!!

As far as the tummy goes, try a range of sit ups... crunches, v sits, chinnies.... a variety will target the whole core, which is what you want. Oh, and don't forget to stretch out afterwards!!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress... x

I'm 42 and I agree with Coops- for legs and butt, squats and lunges are the best exercises. Just be careful to do them properly. Also the leg press machine will work both calf and thigh. If you don't have access to a trainer, refer to the fitness magazines, they are full of exercises of this nature. If you can afford a trainer, get one, it has made a huge difference for me. Any thing you do for cardio will help to tone. I do know that weight training is vital to women over 40. It helps fight osteoporosis and makes you look hot too! I am only six months out and I don't think my skin has had time to "catch up" to my weight loss, but when I went to the Dr for my check up last week he even commented that he could tell that I have been working out, he said that most patients don't have this much muscle tone at 6 mos out, I was happy to hear that i may be a little ahead of the game.

You are in your 40s????!!!! Dayum! I always thought you were in your late 20s, MAYBE like 30-31 at the most.

Anyway, I still have cellulite even though I work out hard and am at a healthy weight. I'm sure if my bodyfat was like 10%, it'd go away, but when I look at every single woman in my family and see thighs that look like an old mattress, I admit defeat against genetics.

YOU HAVE TOTALLY MADE MY DAY MY DEAR LOL!!!! Girrrrrrl I don't see any cellulite on you in your pics! IF I could ONLY have a body like yours that would be AWESOME!

I totally agree I need to do squats,squats, squats...my problem is my knees limit me UGH! They crackle and pop like crazy, especially the left one. I'm hoping that using machines will help!!

So I will ask a stupid newbie question, I understand that doing exercise and strength building will toneand build up the muscle, but how does that help the saggy skin?

Gosh ... I'm in my 40's and the loose skin is TERRIBLE. I've found nothing to help, but will follow this topic carefully. I'm up for trying anything since TT seems to be a fading dream.

LoserMama,there are no stupid questions here! Pretty much the working out builds muscle and tone, this, in turn, helps support your outer layer- your skin. You won't really "tighten" the skin from working out so much as you will help "fill it out some". Unfortunatley, once we have done the damage and stretched our skin out there isn't much we can do to repair that. I have read several times that Vitamin E, Selenium, Niacin, and Omega 3 fatty acids all help with the skins elasticity. I'm sure there are others, this is just a list shared with me by my support group gals. Hope that helps. My theory is- if I'm in great shape from working out, maybe people won't focus on my loose skin so much!

I want to say yes to this, but it hasn't happened yet. I just wanted to comment on this post, so I can stay updated on it.

LoserMama,there are no stupid questions here! Pretty much the working out builds muscle and tone, this, in turn, helps support your outer layer- your skin. You won't really "tighten" the skin from working out so much as you will help "fill it out some". Unfortunatley, once we have done the damage and stretched our skin out there isn't much we can do to repair that. I have read several times that Vitamin E, Selenium, Niacin, and Omega 3 fatty acids all help with the skins elasticity. I'm sure there are others, this is just a list shared with me by my support group gals. Hope that helps. My theory is- if I'm in great shape from working out, maybe people won't focus on my loose skin so much!

Right! My hope is that building and toning the muscles will help the skin to look better...fingers crossed.

OK so er um I noticed no one in their 40's has actually come out and said that exercise has actually helped their skin look better (((sigh))).

I wish I had been brave enough to take pictures of my self with skin exposed in it's worst condition- I should probably take some now and compare in another three months. If I see a marked improvement I might even share them! nOw that is ScARy for SUrE.... but I'll think about it!