Hey guys, I'm 3 weeks post OP and have already lost 19lbs, however I've been thinking about the possibility of loose skin, I wasn't overweight by a lot (285lbs), target weight is around 200Lbs as per my doctor, mainly due to my height (1.80m). Is it true exercise cannot tighten the skin? I'm currently exercising at the gym and eating properly as expected, this worries me because I'd hate to have a surgery only to remove excess skin.

While I do have stretch marks my doctor said my skin heals abnormally fast (which is good), but I don't know if this would apply to when my skin is tightening up.

Edited March 22, 201511 yr by Cujucuyo

I have 71 lbs total to lose and I've lost 55 so to date. So far, the skin seems to be tightening as I loose weight and exercise. The only problem area is my upper arms, but even that skin appears to be getting firmer as my muscle increases.

But, I know people in my support group who have had to do skin removal. But these were people who have lost close to 200 lbs. I also know my NUT told me that younger people have more elasticity in their skin and therefore the skin will tighten up better.

Hi it depends on your body, age, and exercise I know people in my group who extra skin and their young like in their twenties it depends on each person body and how they carry their weight . Good luck

It is almost impossible to predict. I would think, since you didn't have so much to lose, that it should bounce back nicely. I recall reading somewhere that areas that have stretch marks do not shrink back 'as well', since the skins elasticity has already been stretched past its limit.

Factors that seem to affect it are the amount of loss, how long at the highest weight, age, genetics, and LUCK, lol.

I agree with the stretch mark theory. I lost 100 pounds in 5 months (112 lbs since pre op diet) and have loose skin in only the one place I had stretch marks, my lower abdomen. The reason stretch marks reside there was due to a past pregnancy in which I gained 70 pounds in a short period of time.. The stretch marks were flat and faded, but the area refuses to flatten back out.

I was worried about my chest, but it has improved slightly in the past few weeks. I'm going to give it more time, especially after I hit my goal weight.

My friend had some results tightening up sagging skin with a silicone body wrap she wore under her clothes everyday for awhile. You have to be quite consistent with it and it's not cheap.

I have also read on another discussion that taking fish oil will help with loose and sagging skin, however I am not sure if thats right. I thought fish oil was to help with the heart. Has anyone taken this and had results?

If you do a search on this topic you will find hundreds of posts on this topic. I know as a newbie loose skin and hair loss were two of the biggies that concerned me. I recently went back and posted a picture of myself 11 months out from surgery exposing all of my goods on an thread titled - "My top 10 ways to prevent loose skin." I'm convinced genetics and how long you spent over weight have the most influence on whether or not you will have excess skin. I also was a sloooow loser. I once read it takes skin 2-3 months to adjust every time you lose. There were times my thighs look horrific and a few months later they snapped back into place. If you lose too much too quickly, your skin may newer fully snap back. My loose skin is limited to my lower stomach. I have had two very large babies and my lower abdomen had Freddy Kruger stretch marks on it. There is no way that's going back to normal without a tummy tuck! There's likely some tell-take signs you will have loose skin in areas. For example, if you have fat pockets that start right above your elbows, you will probably have bat wings. I carried most of my excess weight in my mid-section, so it doesn't surprise me this is where I have excess skin. It doesn't look bad standing up, but when I bend over, I look like I would whelp a litter of puppies! What I can tell you is part of this journey is accepting our new bodies. I decided to post a pic of myself exposed because I noticed most people are wearing pants and long shirts in their after photos on this site. It always made me wonder what was lurking underneath. Many of us will be left with more excess skin than what we are comfortable with. Some can afford plastics. Many cant. Regardless, I wouldn't trade the new active lifestyle I live for anything. For reference, I am a woman in my mid-40's. 5'7" and was 241 at my heaviest. I was 226 the day of surgery. I was 152 when I took this picture a few days ago. I am currently 7 pounds away from my stretch goal of 145. I haven't exercised with much consistently during the 11 months post surgery. I took this photo as my "before" picture and hope to see how tone I can get after I start doing squats, sit-ups, and lifting weights! I have to say I'm a tad more motivated now that I can actually SEE my muscles! Who would have thunk I had abdominal muscles? Albeit pretty separated post child-bearing, I'm sure!

Edited March 23, 201511 yr by Bluesea71

I've read that your end result will look the same no matter how slow or fast you lose the weight. Your body (or skin) may not snap back if it takes you two years or 6 months to loose excess weight. Your skin has more time to catch up when you lose slowly, however. It just takes the skin a little longer to shrink when you lose quickly. It doesn't mean it will never shrink.

Thanks for your replies everyone, I'll keep exercising and see how well I fare, crossing my fingers here as I have some stretchmarks along the abdomen.