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Excessive Skin/Overhang etc.

I don’t know the best way to address the issue, so if I sound to blunt it’s not intended. I’m wondering the possibility of excessive skin after losing weight in a rather quick way is there any way to prevent it or does it happen. If so is there exercises that are best to help it & to how extreme/amount is surgery the only option to address the issue. Thanks in advance for your replies/advice.

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Unfortunately there is not much you can do. Body shapers will help minimize the downward pull on the skin. Cocoa Butter and Vitamin E will help with dryness. The only real remedy is surgery.

It's not a big deal most of the time but it depends on how your weight is currently dispersed on your body. If you have a large belly you will likely need a tummy tuck due to rashes and sores from sweat and movement. Legs and arms are really hard to deal with weight lifting might help.

Some people can lose quite a bit of weight without much excess skin. Others have tons. It's hard to predict who is who, but, if you have more than 50-70 pounds to lose, chances are good there will be excess skin.

You can try to "fill up" the skin with muscle, but that only goes so far. Plastics or a "devil may care" attitude are common solutions.

Age, size and genes brother....Those are the biggest determinants of how much excess skin you will have in the end. Your age and genes determine the skin elasticity. Younger people tend to have more than older people. If you have great genes, you might also have great skin elasticity. Size can cancel out all of these. If you lose 2-300 pounds, it would be a miracle if you had no excess skin. I am down 73 pounds since June, and have no excess skin so far. I have about 35 pounds left to lose, so we will see if I luck out.

Weight lifting will not make enough of a difference, but can help a bit depending on where your fatty tissue resides. If you had nothing but fatty arms, and built biceps and triceps, it could help. You definitely aren't building enough muscle to really help your midsection if that is where a lot of your fatty tissue resides.

Ultimately, what you will end up looking like in the end should be the last consideration of having this surgery. Your health is way more important. I wish you the best on you journey.

2 hours ago, DropWt4Life said:

Age, size and genes brother....Those are the biggest determinants of how much excess skin you will have in the end. Your age and genes determine the skin elasticity. Younger people tend to have more than older people. If you have great genes, you might also have great skin elasticity. Size can cancel out all of these. If you lose 2-300 pounds, it would be a miracle if you had no excess skin. I am down 73 pounds since June, and have no excess skin so far. I have about 35 pounds left to lose, so we will see if I luck out.

Weight lifting will not make enough of a difference, but can help a bit depending on where your fatty tissue resides. If you had nothing but fatty arms, and built biceps and triceps, it could help. You definitely aren't building enough muscle to really help your midsection if that is where a lot of your fatty tissue resides.

Ultimately, what you will end up looking like in the end should be the last consideration of having this surgery. Your health is way more important. I wish you the best on you journey.

This is an awesome post. I can see, though (I bolded this part), where working out and building great muscle definition might make the skin surgery better? And might make your body tone look even better--even without skin surgery.

  • 1 month later...

I have a lot of excess skin. Upper arms, stomach, thighs and calves show the most. I have to wear 3/4 sleeves to hide the upper arms. But I need something to help pull in the rolls on the stomach. What can I get to wear to help? Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SM-G892A using BariatricPal mobile app

7 hours ago, nytx57 said:

I have a lot of excess skin. Upper arms, stomach, thighs and calves show the most. I have to wear 3/4 sleeves to hide the upper arms. But I need something to help pull in the rolls on the stomach. What can I get to wear to help? Thanks in advance.

Sent from my SM-G892A using BariatricPal mobile app

There are literally hundreds of brands of body shapers. I have a full body shaper meaning it is similar to a tight bathing suit but is flesh toned. There are many options. Spanx is one of the most widely known brands but you can get cheaper at Walmart or Target. They all work. You will have to try a few to find what works for you.

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