Thread: Saggy Skin?

Hi everyone!
I am just starting my diet today and have about 93lbs to lose, but I am wondering what my skin will be like WHEN (positive attitude!) I lose my weight.

I have lost weight before when I was younger, however since I regained all my weight I formed lots of stretch marks around my stomach, so am worried my skin is over stretched already?

If anyone who has lost a similar amount of weight that I want to, and could let me know how their skin held up I would be so grateful!

Thanks all!

The skin issue is a common discussion on these forums! It was a concern of mine to be honest so I asked my doctor about it and this is the gist of what was explained to me.

Loose skin with weight loss is affected by three factors.

1) The amount of weight lost - people with more than 50lb to lose are at risk but it's still dependant on the next two factors.

2) The rate of weight loss - Losing large amounts of weight in a short time means the skin doesn't have time to adapt.

3) Age.... the older you are the slightly higher the risk.

Being very big or having stretch marks doesn't mean you will have sagging skin with weight loss. You can insure the risk is greatly reduced by doing cetain things.

1) Lose weight SLOWLY - Aim for a rate of 1-2lb a week for safer weightloss.

2) Resistance training. This will tone you up and help the elasticity of you skin. My doctor said to try to make up at least a third of my weekly workout this for best results

3) Use a firming lotion or cocoa butter daily.

If you do still find you have sagging skin, you may be entitled to surgery on the NHS so contact your doctor and don't worry too much about it.

I have lost ten stones, thank God, and yes I have saggy skin but it is not as bad as I once feared it would be.

The tummy area is the worst affected, followed by upper thighs and bottom. Under arms are not as bad as they might be and boobs could be a lot worse! They aren't too bad at all. It is the tummy I would most like to improve.

I am a bit nervous of the thought of surgery but once I have lost my final stone or so I will ask my GP for a referral to a surgeon. If I am offered a tummy tuck, and funding, I might go for it.

I would have to do a lot of reading and research, first, but I confess I am tempted. There is no way I could afford to do this privately. I am aware that some on this very site have had tummy tucks that did not turn out entirely well, and others that were very successful.

We can't expect to lose the weight of a whole other person, pretty quickly, and not have some degree of skin stretching. I am just thrilled to be slimmer again and I wish you all luck in reaching goal.

Wait and see if you have a problem, and if so, decide then to check out what you might be able to do about it.

You will have saggy skin but how much depends on how (as they've said) slow you lose the weight and how hard you exercise.
I CAN'T RECOMMEND EXERCISING ENOUGH, as as a teenager I crash dieted a lot, and now im in my early twenties, after losing about 6 stones, I ended up with saggy boobs and tummy as if I had given birth twice.. when I haven't had a baby!
my inner and upper thighs look nothing like a 21`s look like.. BUT thats because i never really exercised until now..
I am exercising (tonning up and weight resistance) and im seeing improvements in the bingo wings area LOL.
As for the NHS funded surgery, it's not that straight forward getting it. I've been to doctors who said that it wasn't that bad, others said i'd have to wait about 3 years on the list.
I hate my body and have never worn a swimming suit since I was 5 !!

But don't let the saggy skin put u off ur goal.. its so worth it being slim, because when I wear good lycra tights my thighs actually look alright.. until i take them off lol.. but my point is, exercise, exercise and exercise!

I've read that it can take up to 6 months to a year for your skin to catch up with your weightloss. So after you lose weight i would give it some time before you consider any surgery. During this time you could work on exercising and using toning creams etc to help with the condition of your skin. Try to drink more water too (during and after weightloss) as it improves the elasticity of your skin.

A really good cream for stretch marks is the concentrated coco butter cream especially for stretch marks. I have been using it for about a month and my stretch marks have really improved. I had deep set purple stretch marks from gaining weight too fast on medication and after a month of using the cream, they appear lighter and not sunken in at all. I use it day and night religiously. xx