Loose Skin

[Newsoulz 11]

I'm so nervous about loose skin and know that it will be inevitable with quick weight loss. I'm planning on doing plenty of weight lifting and have looked into skin tightening creams and taking collagen supplements. I also read that taking beef Gelatin can help with loose skin. Just wondering for those that are a few years post surgery if you have any suggestions that worked for you?

[Clementine Sky 708]

I had the VSG in August of 2015; I've exceeded my weight loss goals and do not have any loose skin, but I lost at a much slower pace than many others. If you experience stalls or a slower rate of loss, try to not be discouraged because they could be silver linings for you, as they were for me. I also never lost much hair. There are many factors that contribute to whether you'll have loose skin, though, such as your age, the amount of weight you lose, how long you were at your highest weight, and your rate of loss. I've read that swimming is excellent for firming your skin, though I haven't personally incorporated it into my routine. My main form of exercise has been biking to and from work. I use an in-shower body lotion and scrub, and apply another body lotion while I'm still damp after getting out and lightly drying off. I've never taken supplements or regularly used special skin tightening creams (I tried a few, but did not repurchase them). Best wishes.

[Stella S 613]

I lost and did not think would be a problem. I lost 100 lbs. I have skin issues. The trade-off is I feel great can do anything and do not have helth complications. It is well worth the trade off for me. I have gone the PS route.

[RickM 1,753]

First and foremost is to not get fat in the first place, and second would be to get better parents - it's primarily a genetic thing. There are lots of potions and creams out there that purport to tighten loose skin, and some might actually do something in minor cases. The problem is, beyond the nature of the industry for cosmetics, nutritional supplements and other miracle cures, is that it is very difficult to validate the claims with any kind of double blind control testing. With all the personal variables involved, it's virtually impossible to get two groups of effectively identical people together to test the value of these products (assuming the manufacturers were so inclined, which they rarely are.)

So, yes, we will find people who used this or that product and report a certain result. The problem is that they have no idea whether that product did anything at all versus having done nothing. Give it your best shot, use what seems to be the best product, and see how it goes.

Losing more slowly has some merit, though the major difference would be in losing your weight over five years versus six months. The difference between getting to goal in ten months versus eight months would be insignificant. Some are naturally slower losers than others due to their metabolism; however, the danger in trying to lose more slowly by consuming more while losing is that you may never get all the weight off that you want to get off. Our overall metabolism (resting plus activities) will trend lower as we lose since we have progressively less weight to move around (the main exception being those who seriously ramp up their exercise as they progress - as in marathon training levels,) We go into weight maintenance when our consumption meets that declining metabolic burn, so we can end up short on our loss if we consume too much.