OK, you guys, I need some help. I am 13 months out from surgery and am close to my end goal. But I am so, so disappointed in my thighs... they are hideous. I am 44 and have seen better looking legs on 70 year old grandmothers. It's not only loose skin, but cellulite. And some of my loose skin is kind of drooping over my knees, so there is no way I am going to wear knee-length skirts or dresses or shorts. I am very grateful to live in a cool-ish climate where jackets and long pants are the norm 9 months of the year, which helps me pretend like my legs aren't as bad as they are.

I have some batwing action going on in my arms, but overall my arms are shaping up much better than my legs.

I exercise 5 days a week (and have been for many months) and my thighs get plenty of work during my workouts. I think it's just a matter of too much loose skin with nowhere to go.

Can anyone who is further out tell me if this will get better over time? Or is it something I'm just going to have to get used to?

While skin has some elasticity, the older we get the less it has. Exercise will only build so much muscle to replace the fat you lost.

Unfortunately, it won't get much better.

I would suggest two things. One--a personal trainer. Someone who has certification and experience. You could discuss with them the areas you want to work on and see if they can design a program for you that would help. On the other hand, it could be that this is something you will either have to live with or get plastic surgery. I know a great many people decide to have plastic surgery once they have taken their body as far as they can take it with toning. Good luck!!

Everyday I see that in the mirror I have to tell myself thats okay! it is just the tax I have to pay for looking absolutely someone I cant recognize. I have to find some words of encouragement to avoid getting depressed about it. I think at the end of the road it is either gonna resolve a little bit by doing bunch of squats & lunges or Surgical interference.

Either way I need to accept myself the way I look now and the way I feel.. Cause even if i got it vanished by a surgery there will still be scars and unfinished saggyness.. I am still 30 yrs old and having an 80 yrs old saggy thigh but a 20 yrs old spirit I think lol:)

Talk to a surgeon, trainer or a doctor but the best talk I Do is talking myself up about it everyday and pushing harder with all kind of squats.

Thanks you guys ... I have a feeling this is the "new me" unless I get surgery (though I've heard surgery on the legs and arms leaves horrible scarring, so that's really not something I'd probably pursue). I can live with the arms being a little flabby (kettlebell workouts are really helping to tone my arms), and of course I have a flabby tummy and saggy breasts, but the legs are the worst IMO because they are the most visible outside the face and arms, and are in so much worse shape than I would've imagined. I do tons of squats, lunges, and kettlebell swings so I know my legs are getting as hard a workout as my arms -- they just aren't responding as well as my arms.

I do plan to have some plastic surgery within the next year -- a neck lift to remove my wattle, and a breast lift/tummy tuck procedure to firm up the midsection.

I have a dear friend who is also about my age and she is considering weight loss surgery, but she sees the loose skin on me and is turned off by it. I just keep telling her it's worth it to me to be so much lighter and healthier now than I was (not to mention happier and more self-confident).

I have a friend who is a trainer and that's a good idea to consult with her. Maybe I need to spend more energy on toning my legs than I have been.