Hello everyone! I'm currently 1 week pre-op. Loose skin is something I've been wanting to learn more about. My Dr. says plastics is the only option. So I'm starting to prepare for worse, and saving up. But! Is there any alternative recommendations? And anyone willing to show or there skin experiences? Thank you in advance! [emoji5]

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It all depends on how much you have to lose and how much elasticity your skin has to start with. I am 63 and lost over 100 pounds. My arms, thighs, belly, back, and chin were really saggy, to the point where I was seriously considering plastics. However, with time, a lot of the sag has disappeared. It has been about 4 months since I hit goal. I don't know how to explain it, but I would not even think of surgery at this point. (My boobs are hopeless, however, and there is no comeback for them outside of surgery.) My suggestion is to wait a year after reaching goal before deciding about plastics. You may be very pleasantly supervised and not have to undergo more surgery.

I think waiting also gives your mind a chance to catch up with your new body. There is a huge mental adjustment to make - from disgust/embarrasment to acceptance/embracing the changes, and only time can do this.

Edited November 25, 20196 yr by AZhiker

Agree with above..

The way I'm going I'll be at goal within 3 months..

I know it will take much longer for my body to catch up and some skin to bounce back..

I'm only one month post op so taking it easy with weights for now until I'm feeling stronger..

I'll eventually need to go to the gym and do more resistance stuff to try tone up but i know it will be a long process even after reaching goal

I'm relatively young so that helps of course..

it's also easy enough for most of us to hide that a lot of people decide to just live with it. I DID eventually have mine removed because I couldn't stand looking at it when I was in the shower, etc, but no one else knew it was there. I was somewhat restricted in what I could wear - for example, sleeves had to be at least elbow-length, I had to wear jeans or "tummy-control" pants/leggings (something like Spanx probably would have worked to hold in the gut skin, too - although I didn't try that), and tops had to be slightly oversized and long enough to cover my gut, but given I followed those rules, the excess skin wasn't noticeable AT ALL.

P.S. the photo of me I just added - that is me BEFORE I had plastic surgery. I lost over 200 lbs. See all the excess skin? I didn't think so....

Edited November 25, 20196 yr by catwoman7

Being frank, your doctor is wrong. Lots of people don't need plastics or have issues with skin. A lot depends on how young you are. I also highly suggest taking biotin and collagen before and after surgery. It'll help with hair and nails too. Additionally I'd get into weight lifting as soon as you're cleared. That helps too, especially with the legs and arms.

As a guy i really dont care to much about the skin - However i have been using a cardio workout and light weight work out to tighten up - So far working for me but only down around 100 pounds and I carried it well - I was told by a trainer to do a light weight daily workout to keep tight.

But I have lost a ton of inches and to me a ton of muscle, They say it was fat but i liked my beefy arms and legs better before

If you end up with excess skin (above poster is correct, there are some lucky few who elasticize back to normal-looking..,mostly the younger ones, the ones who have not lost and gained multiple times, the ones who have not been overweight for very long, the ones with great genetics, etc...) the only way to get rid of it is plastic surgery.

And you wont know if you will have excess skin until you lose the weight.

With that said, my excess skin looks better* than it did a few months before, not so much better that I am willing to forgo plastics, but enough that I am comfortable walking around naked.

*in particular, my neck and face look so much better now. my upper arms, side-boob are pretty drape-y, and have improved only slightly. However, the one place that seems to have not improved at all and in fact probably has gotten worse is my butt. *sigh*.

Edited November 25, 20196 yr by ms.sss

I think waiting also gives your mind a chance to catch up with your new body. There is a huge mental adjustment to make - from disgust/embarrasment to acceptance/embracing the changes, and only time can do this.

this is one of the best statements the mental game here is the strongest part of my journey to this point