:help: I should be getting surgery in Jan 07. Over the past couple years I have been off and on treatment for HEPc, and became extremly fatigued. I have lost lots of muscle mass, and for the first time in my life, I am lumpy and flabby. I am almost 48, have a BMI of 42, I am 5'10 and 300lbs. I was athletic when I was younger. Always was one of those that people would say, oh you cant weigh that much. Since I had a lot of muscle hiding under the flab. Now, I am worried that I will sag and have all this loose skin. I have heard of different types of massages that will help with tightening the skin up, and was wondering how much, what kinds, and how often should I exersise, once I am able. I bounce back pretty well after surgeries, and hope to be feeling up to exersise within the month after. Thanks and I will let ya'll know how it goes. Geri

For what it is worth, I was told by a dietitian that drinking lots of water does help with loose skin. Of course, every dietitian I know advocates for lots of water, but evidently it helps keep the skin supple and flexible, better able to shrink back to size. My .02. Drifter

All IMO.

There are lots of things that might contribute in their own way, but once something is stretched out, it's pretty much stretched out.

Exercise itself may help indirectly by promoting better blood flow, etc. but in and of itself it isn't going to tighten up the skin. What it CAN do is add msucle bulk under the skin, which would then help take up some of the slack and make the skin appear tighter.

The most prominent factors are going to be your age, the natural tendency of your skin (genetics), the extent to which your skin was stretched, and the duration. Also, how quickly the skin was stretched.

Younger people (and I'm talking 16, 18...) have a better chance of their skin tightening up. Certain skins are more prone to scarring and lower elasticity than others. Skin that was minimally stretched out goes back than skin that was extremely stretched out, e.g. you hear a lot about tummy tucks, but you don't hear too much about ankle tucks. And skin that was stretched for wsay 9 months can snap back a lot more frequently than skin that was repeatedly stretched, or stretched for long periods of time.

Lots of other factors, too.

But as I think of it (for myself) - unless you're 17, or just really lucky, you're going to have some droop.

Wheetsin is right! I have some looser skin the the arm flap, legs, and a bit o'tummy. Nothing that I would have surgery for...it's just skin. If I had a severe droop, where it interfered with my life than I'd consider surgery.

Everyone is sooo different. Shawn

:biggrin1: I would say "Just Stay Fat" - but I have done that for 30 yrs - and the skin sags, fat and all.

*sigh*

Good luck!!

my doc said the two main things that contribute to whether or not you will have loose skin is age and if you are a smoker. People who smoke have way less elasticity in their skin so they are more likely to have loose skin. But he also said there is no way to know no matter who you are. But bieng older and a smoker will pretty much guarantee you will have loose skin.

What a crappy thread ,

Where,s the miracle i,m looking for.

crappy thread.

:help:

My dr always tells me that the slower you loose weight the more your chances of having less amounts of flabby skin in the end...'cause slow weightloss gives the skin a chance to shrink with the rest of you...dunno if this is a medical fact but he is VERY certain of it!

I personally think that how much Water you drink is directly related to sagging skin. Fortunately for me, I have been gifted with great elastic skin. I don't know how much of it is hereditary or how much is the amount of water I drink. I drink at least 96oz a day minimum most times more.

I have been a Yo-yo for 10 years now going up and down from size 8 to 1x at least 3 times. I haven't had sagging skin any of the times, however I am very consistent at drinking 96oz+ a day. I am not a Dr. so if you are drinking that much water and still having sagging skin then there is a good chance that it is heredity. I am not really sure.

Hmmm. I am a smoker. I dont have any sagging skin anywhere yet. I have that tummy roll that I will definitely get rid of (via tummy tuck?), but the skin looks great on my arms and legs, neck, ab, etc... Maybe I am just lucky. I personally think the factors that affect how your skin will bounce back are how severly overweight you were, for how long, and genetics.

Age, genes, length of time you've been obese - factors into how saggy your skin will be.