Looking to have the sleeve done but scared of excess skin. Any advice or workout recommended? I'm 5"6 n 268

IMHO there really isn't a lot you can do - it is kind of a game of chance.

Age, genetics, length of time you carried the weight, etc all affect your chances of excess skin.

In my case I am 52, weighed over 250 for past 7-8yrs and I am 5'8". I have excess skin.

When I was younger and topped out at 242 preg with my daughter at 22 my stomach bounced back very well (very flay - except for stretch marks). I was a lot younger, only that weight for about 2-3 months.

Five years later at 200 and preg with second son I also recovered very well.

I am thinking about plastic surgery may for Christmas next year on my stomach and getting the "girls" repositioned. Sorry I can only of my opinion.

I knew I would have loose skin after surgery and said to myself it was worth it for better health and appearance. Only you can have that conversation with yourself. Is loose skin a deal breaker? It wasn't for me, not by a long shot.

Age is the biggest factor and your overall weight as well. dont let anyone fool you exercise does NOT remove loose skin. It can build muscle under it, but it will NOT make it go away, but if your in your twenties hey you might do really well. Otherwise learn to live with it, or get plastics afterward. At least youll be alive and healthy when you deal with it.

I was 29, 5'7 and my highest weight was 290. I'm 163 now and I have loose skin but it has been tightening quite a bit over the last few months. I'll still need a tummy tuck and breast lift down the road though.

Shopping in regular stores and being able to be on my feet all day with zero pain at the end of the day is worth the loose skin. No one can tell I have it with clothes on.

Advice: drink LOTS of Water and give it time. It will look like a wrinkly mess but tightens some with time. Be realistic though that you will have it.

Edited December 15, 201510 yr by KristenVSG2014

Thank u guys

I was close to your starting stats at 5'7" and 278 pounds. I agree with others who have said there really isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do. Skin is just that....skin. There are so many factors that determine if you'll have a lot of excess skin or not including age, elasticity, hydration, genetics, etc. I am "fairly" young....was 34 at the time of surgery,.....and I hydrate A LOT. I didn't have huge, huge amounts of excess skin, but after a 140+ pound loss I did have enough to warrant insurance covering a tummy tuck and panniculectomy for it. I am an avid runner and fitness freak and no amount of weigh lifting or ab workouts was getting rid of that skin. Does it happen? Yep. Would I let it deter me from sleeve surgery? Heck no!

I was close to your starting stats at 5'7" and 278 pounds. I agree with others who have said there really isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do. Skin is just that....skin. There are so many factors that determine if you'll have a lot of excess skin or not including age, elasticity, hydration, genetics, etc. I am "fairly" young....was 34 at the time of surgery,.....and I hydrate A LOT. I didn't have huge, huge amounts of excess skin, but after a 140+ pound loss I did have enough to warrant insurance covering a tummy tuck and panniculectomy for it. I am an avid runner and fitness freak and no amount of weigh lifting or ab workouts was getting rid of that skin. Does it happen? Yep. Would I let it deter me from sleeve surgery? Heck no!

did you have the tummy tuck and panni, if so , as far as pain and recovery, how was it and how was it to the pain level being compared to being sleeved, ,thank you for responding

I was close to your starting stats at 5'7" and 278 pounds. I agree with others who have said there really isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do. Skin is just that....skin. There are so many factors that determine if you'll have a lot of excess skin or not including age, elasticity, hydration, genetics, etc. I am "fairly" young....was 34 at the time of surgery,.....and I hydrate A LOT. I didn't have huge, huge amounts of excess skin, but after a 140+ pound loss I did have enough to warrant insurance covering a tummy tuck and panniculectomy for it. I am an avid runner and fitness freak and no amount of weigh lifting or ab workouts was getting rid of that skin. Does it happen? Yep. Would I let it deter me from sleeve surgery? Heck no!

did you have the tummy tuck and panni, if so , as far as pain and recovery, how was it and how was it to the pain level being compared to being sleeved, ,thank you for responding

Yes. I had both the TT and Panni. To be honest with you, I didn't have a lot of pain at all with the sleeve, so the pain for the TT was therefore, definitely worse. I think I was not prepared enough mentally for the TT. I got the approval and scheduled the surgery quickly and went into it thinking the recovery would be a breeze like the sleeve. Wrong. Definitely wrong. The pain was significant. The extra weight I carried around, plus carrying 4 babies did significant damage to my ab muscles and there was a lot of repair work to be done. It was rough I"m not going to lie. And I'm 8 months post op on the TT and while it's not pain, there is definitely still discomfort sometimes from it. With all that being said, the results were exceptional and in retrospect, I would definitely do it all again. I have the nicest flat tummy, and a cute little belly button. He also did a little lipo on the sides as part of it and now all of my hard work losing the weight is complemented by a nice hourglass figure. :-)

Beauty can hurt... I'm just saying the truth for me

I was close to your starting stats at 5'7" and 278 pounds. I agree with others who have said there really isn't a whole heck of a lot you can do. Skin is just that....skin. There are so many factors that determine if you'll have a lot of excess skin or not including age, elasticity, hydration, genetics, etc. I am "fairly" young....was 34 at the time of surgery,.....and I hydrate A LOT. I didn't have huge, huge amounts of excess skin, but after a 140+ pound loss I did have enough to warrant insurance covering a tummy tuck and panniculectomy for it. I am an avid runner and fitness freak and no amount of weigh lifting or ab workouts was getting rid of that skin. Does it happen? Yep. Would I let it deter me from sleeve surgery? Heck no!

did you have the tummy tuck and panni, if so , as far as pain and recovery, how was it and how was it to the pain level being compared to being sleeved, ,thank you for responding

Yes. I had both the TT and Panni. To be honest with you, I didn't have a lot of pain at all with the sleeve, so the pain for the TT was therefore, definitely worse. I think I was not prepared enough mentally for the TT. I got the approval and scheduled the surgery quickly and went into it thinking the recovery would be a breeze like the sleeve. Wrong. Definitely wrong. The pain was significant. The extra weight I carried around, plus carrying 4 babies did significant damage to my ab muscles and there was a lot of repair work to be done. It was rough I"m not going to lie. And I'm 8 months post op on the TT and while it's not pain, there is definitely still discomfort sometimes from it. With all that being said, the results were exceptional and in retrospect, I would definitely do it all again. I have the nicest flat tummy, and a cute little belly button. He also did a little lipo on the sides as part of it and now all of my hard work losing the weight is complemented by a nice hourglass figure. :-)

thank you so much for responding, and being so detailed, your awesome, I'm glad to hear it was worth it, and congratulations on all of your progress ????????