I have been thinking - and I am wondering if the presence (or lack of) stretch marks pre-op will help determine the amount of loose skin/how well your skin will bounce back post-op and once you've reached goal?

And I am speaking for the big loosers - i.e. - people that have 100+ lbs to loose.

I ask this because in my yo-yo weight loss throughout the years, my skin has always been very resilient. Now mind you, although I don't feel it, I am still *young* (30) and haven't had any children.

I have very minimal if ANY stretch marks. I am currently hovering around 335-340 and 6'2". I didn't notice belly stretch marks until around the 310-ish stage (and WOW you should of seen my flip out moment!! lol). Now mind you, these belly stretch marks I speak of are SO FAINT, you have to look SUPER close to see them....

I have been athletic my whole life, am blonde haired and blue eyed and fair-skinned (although am able to tan well), so idk if that factors in or not. I am also very regimented about moisturizing my skin, even though I do tan off and on.

I know SO many factors go into the outcome of weightloss vs loose skin.

I have seen a few individuals on here that have lost 100+ lbs and you would NEVER guess they were ever overweight, let alone morbidly obese. (There is ONE gal in particular I CANNOT think of her board name but she is AMAZINGLY svelte now and has NO loose skin after loosing 100+ lbs... help me out here ya'll if you know who I am talking about)....

So if you're on the losers bench - let us know what your experiences were - did you have lots of stretch marks pre-op? What about now? What is your loose skin situation and how much weight have you currently lost?

I hope ya'll can chime in or some people maybe even post some pics!! That would be awesome....

Have a great day ya'll!!!

Well, I've also been very athletic and worked out 4-5 days a week prior to being sleeved. I've now lost 54lbs (well, 61lbs including pre-op weight loss) and I have definitely noticed sagging skin! This is why I now workout 6-7 days a week and mix it up with spinning, boot camp type classes, barre method classes, yoga, and walking/hiking, and soon I plan to start jogging again. I've also noticed stretch marks (I think they show more as you loose weight). Anyway, I'm just hoping everything tightens up with persistence and doing something everyday. I'm going to loose ~60 more lbs and I'd rather have stretch marks and some loose skin than not loose the weight.

Have to say, I feel great!!! I need to post some pics some time soon.

One Love.

I had quite a few stretch marks. Our BMIs were probably similar to start. I am 5'4'' and started around 260... and I almost 29. I basically have zero loose skin! If you look closely you can see the stretch marks but they shrank a lot. I can mostly see them on my hips and sides of my breasts. I am pretty happy with my results! I do have to say that I am still pretty "thick" but that helps the skin and it is easier to maintain this weight..... Good luck!

Love the responses! thanks ladies!!

I have been thinking - and I am wondering if the presence (or lack of) stretch marks pre-op will help determine the amount of loose skin/how well your skin will bounce back post-op and once you've reached goal?

And I am speaking for the big loosers - i.e. - people that have 100+ lbs to loose.

There are always exceptions, but generally yes - your propensity for stretchmarks impacts your skin's ability to "bounce back." Stretchmarks indicate a lot of things, but chief among them are 1) the rate at which your weight was gained and 2) your skin's inherent ability to accomodate distortion.

1) Rate of gain isn't so much of a factor with skin (think pregnant women), but how much gained (small amounts rarely leave stretchmarks) is, as is the amount of time the distortion occured (some pregnant women's saving grace).

2) Some skin is more elastic than others. True for you vs. someone else, but also true for some parts of you vs. other parts (I have stretchmarks on the tops of my shoulders, which aren't THAT big, but none on my thighs, which are huge). If you have stretchmarks, and are "only" around the 100 lb range to lose, your skin is not the most elastic skin. Especially if you have stretchmarks in more unusual places (I've seen ankles with stretchmarks, elbows, etc.)

Elasticity can also have a large genetic influence, so consider your parents' skin (if they are/were overweight). But skin is a systemic organ, so everything from age to lifestyle to genetics to your personal obesity is going to play a role in the condition of your skin when weight is lost.

Along with everything you already mentioned. I think one of the big factors is how fast you lose your weight. Someone who loses slower has more time for skin regeneration and is more likely to have the skin snap back the way it is supposed to. Someone who loses the weight super fast isn't going to have time for the skin to adjust so is more likely to have a lot of loose skin and stretch marks. I lost the first 18 lbs very fast. I could see where the skin was starting to hang (a tiny bit). I intentionally slowed my weight loss to 2-4 lbs a week and now the hanging is gone and my skin is snapping back into place quickly. I am 6 weeks out and down 28 lbs. It may not be as fast as you may like, but I have a friend that lost 50 lbs in the same time period and is continuing at that rate. There is no doubt she is going to need surgery, whereas I will eventually get to goal and I truly believe I will be avoiding surgery and have skin tight enough to pull off a bikini down the road.