Okay I have not yet had my surgery (July 10th) but I am terrified of this so I want to know if it really is common, or just over hyped by worriers like me. I am an active person, I actually enjoy weight lifting and boxing, so I know I will remain active post surgery but is that enough to help with excess skin? Or should I EXPECT reconstruction?

Everyone is different. There is no way anyone could tell you for sure if you will have loose skin. I know I would rather be healthy with loose skin than be overweight with a saggy belly. Funny to me how people become 400 pounds overweight and are all of a sudden so worried about how they will look if they have this surgery.

I'm ONLY "worried" about this because I have absolutely no way to pay for any form of reconstructive surgery. That's my concern. And my reasons for surgery are health, AND my self confidence. And it's hard to be confident with all that extra skin. I am much happier being healthy WITH extra skin than being unhealthy and overweight by far, but the way I see it if I was able to have this surgery to feel better about myself then I would like to explore options past surgery too.

This is kind of like worrying about which wedding dress to get before you have a boyfriend... cross that bridge when you get there...

It's based on age, genetics, how obese you are, how long you've been there, if you've had babies, how much Water vs crap (aka soft drinks) you drink, how moisturized your skin is, how much muscle you build under that skin, etc. No 2 people are the same.

I will say worrying won't do a dang thing for it

I think a big part depends on how heavy you start out at. How old you are. How long you have been overweight. My highest weight was 300, but I usually hovered around 270-280 for about 14 years now and I'm 25. I'm currently 202 and have a little loose skin at my arms , my chest and stomach are bad and will definitely need a breast lift plus augmentation and a tummy tuck Thanks to being over weight and having 3 children. My thighs look fine thank god. I have not really exercised but am more active with my kids and move around allot more.I will be starting an exercise regimen Monday that will include weight lifting to help tighten the skin on my arms & legs. Also to prevent hopefully any loose skin after my last 50 pounds are gone.

I'm only 20 but I've been over weight since I was 13.. Almost all my weight is in my stomach and boobs so I expect a tummy tuck and a boob lift with maybe breast augmentation. I keep picturing my self as a blob of extra skin. And it sucks cause I can't afford reconstruction surgery. I expect ill never be happy with my body but at least ill be healthy and able to keep up with everyone my age so that's a plus. My surgeon says almost every one she has done surgery on ends up needing some kind of reconstruction.