excess skin anyone?

[fgamz89]

Has anyone experienced excess skin in their weight loss journey? I'm terrified of losing weight too quickly which will result to this but I've read some people are more likely to get it anyways..

Any feedback or tips?

[Blitz]

Yep!...You bet ya I have!
When you have lost 87 kilos and now weigh less than half of what you did in the glory days - loose skin abounds!
So yes...I know all about loose skin!!!

In my case loose skin was going to be inevitable.
I started to put on weight when I neared my twentieth year and stacked it on until I finally decided to do something about it approaching my 52nd birthday. That is a lot of time (and volume) to stretch skin.
I lost my weight reasonably quickly taking 60 weeks to do it - averaging 1.45kg per week.
But my weight loss dramatically slowed towards the end of my journey.
In my first month's weight loss I was averaging 2.3kg and my average for 6 month's was 2.03kg.

I don't know how long you have carried your extra weight but my feeling is that it will not be much of a problem for you.
Any loose skin you will have (if any) will be minimal.
If you like - you've only stretch the elastic band a little ways compared to someone like me so the consequence won't be dire.

The factors that determine loose skin are:
Genetics - If you've got a good gene pool you are lucky...but it is nothing that you can do about it. That is why some women can be pregnant a few times and show no loose skin on their tummy while other only have one child and do (like my wife for example). It is what it is.
Age - The younger you are the better able your skin is able to "bounce back". As you get older your skin gradually loses it elasticity. That is why older people get wrinkles. This is just part of life - get use to it...as much as you may stand at the shore and command the tide not to come in...sooner or later you are going to get wet feet.
Length of Time and How Much - The longer it is stretched and how far you have stretched it will determine recovery or how much loose skin you will have. I also noticed that there is some recovery that occurs after weight lost. Whilst it is true that I've still got a lot of loose skin, I have seen an improvement over the years. The loose skin isn't as pronounced as it was (please understand that it is still there and will not go away...just that it is better than it was).

Losing the weight slowly MAY help but it is really time that sorts that question out not the rate of weight loss.
Forget all those skin tightening creams...NONE OF THEM WORK. If they did then cosmetic surgeons will be out of business.
Studies have shown that they are ineffective.
The delivery of the "wonder ingredient" (insert your favourite name) via rubbing a cream doesn't put it where it MIGHT do some good (cellular and micro-bionic level).

That leaves surgery. Expensive, dangerous and ineffective. No matter how good the skin is tightened there will still be areas that will look horrid. Also the trade off is the scarring. After I had lost my weight I had to have a belly hernia fixed. The surgeon generously slashed off some loose skin from my gut (about 2 to 3 kilos worth - a soccer ball size). This was not plastic surgery by any means. The scar looks 100% better than it looked back then 3 years ago when I had it done but it still ain't pretty. But it has taken a real long time to get back up to speed. It has taken nearly 2 years before I was comfortable enough to swim again. Even now a sudden stretch of the body will make my stomach region feel awkward.

Now there is a popular book by a man who totes that you can lose weight using his "method" and end up like him without loose skin.
Don't let him fool you. Yes he did lose 103.5kg and he does look good...but that isn't the full story.
Firstly, he doesn't claim no loose skin at all. He carefully words it as "NEARLY no loose skin at all" (emphasis added).
If you look at the cover of his latest book where his right arm meets with his leg you will see clearly the tell tale folds of loose skin.
What about that wonderful body building shot of him in the first book? The pose is suggestive of being very selective of the angles shown.
What he doesn't tell you in his book is how old he was when he first gained weight nor when he lost his weight.
He doesn't factor in genetics at all in his equation.

Also you have to read the text very carefully (his first book...and the second rewritten version that most people will know - and his latest book) to get the stats on his weight lost. Once you know them then they aren't as remarkable as they seem.
It took him at least 938 days (maybe more) to lose 103.5kg (compared to me: 420 days to lose 87kg)
He lost 55% of his original weight (compared to me: 56%)
That averages out to 0.768kg per week (compared to me: 1.45kg)

From his start it took him 21 months to lose 53kg, then another 6 months to lose 23kg and then 4 months to lose 27.5kg...
31 months all up (compared to me: 14 months all up - the first six months losing 50.9kg)
It is interesting that around the time he had lost 50kg he entered a weight loss competition (somewhere in Perth there is a group of people who can tell me more about this). He gives no details but you see a rapid increase in weight loss from that time. He doesn't credit it as kicking him off but rather credits his visualisation methods. He also doesn't go into much detail about his exercising - particularly his weight training...which would have made a huge difference (something I would have done - but my belly hernia condition prevented me from even thinking of doing it).

He was relatively young enough to have his skin recover.
Before he lost his weight, he was a self confessed serial dieter...trying every method he could. He would lose some weight and put it back on. So he kept his skin elastic and not so stretched all that time.
He had good genetics.
He lost his weight very very slowly (much less than 1kg per week that experts recommend). Even during his "rapid" phases they were moderate rates (0.96kg per week and 1.72kg per week).
These are the real reasons he had MINIMAL loose skin.

His latest book literally advocates that you can visualise your loose skin away.
His method is nonsense and just sets people up for bitter disappointment.

Don't worry about it...far better good health and patchy skin than patchy health and good skin!

Kim

[Divalicious]

Excess skin is definitely an issue, however I agree, I'd rather look awesome in clothes with excess skin under them than look terrible dressed or naked!!!

I have "a bit" of excess skin (mainly my legs and arms) however I'm getting the "tuck shop" excess skin removed later this year, and next year I plan to get my legs tidied up. It won't be a cheap exercise, but I figured I've done the hard yards and it's a treat to myself!!

[Blitz]

Josie - leave the under arm ones alone. I reckon with a little bit more practise I can get those "bat wings" of mine to fly!

...but seriously Josie - don't be in too bigger rush to have it done. In maintenance your body goes through a bit of rearrangement. For me, my face became less drawn out, I got a bottom (towards the end of the weight loss journey it got very bony...to the point where sitting on hard sits was uncomfortable), also my fingers, hands and legs slimmed down.

Also when you do get something done, remember to take a long term view on how it will turn out.
It was early in June 2012 when I had my hernia operated on and they slashed away my soccer sized lose skin belly
(and my belly button - don't forget the belly button ).
That was nearly three years ago and yet I was looking at a picture of my stomach taken a year ago and still see remarkable improvement since then.

Kim

[Divalicious]

Hey Kim,
I'll revisit (and comment on) this post at a later stage, once I've managed to undo some of damage of the past few weeks!!!
What I do want to add (just quickly) arm exposure is different between men and women. Most women want to be able to wear a sleeveless dress, something that I cannot do with the excess skin on my arms. For men, the difference between a sleeveless shirt and a normal t-shirt is more about age (that is, as men get older wearing a sleeveless/muscle shirt type garment) tends to look odd as it's more a young man's thing but for women, regardless of age, a sleeveless dress which is non-age dependant can vary/limit the style of garment choice.
Does that make sense??? Sorry, I'm typing this in a rush........

[Blitz]

For men, the difference between a sleeveless shirt and a normal t-shirt is more about age (that is, as men get older wearing a sleeveless/muscle shirt type garment) tends to look odd as it's more a young man's thing

...so what you are saying is that I should quit wearing sleeveless/muscle shirts then?

Kim

[Divalicious]

For men, the difference between a sleeveless shirt and a normal t-shirt is more about age (that is, as men get older wearing a sleeveless/muscle shirt type garment) tends to look odd as it's more a young man's thing

...so what you are saying is that I should quit wearing sleeveless/muscle shirts then?

Kim

Sorry Kim,
But muscle shirts IMO on middle-aged men tend to look wrong.
The older person may have the body to carry it off (well) but the garment (much like a mini skirt on a woman) just screams "look at me" and at that age, I think it's unattractive.
Just my opinion (that's all).....
Bottom line, if mature folk are happy and comfortable in their muscle shirts or mini skirts, then that's fine! After all, life's about being comfortable and happy within yourself!!!

[Blitz]

The older person may have the body to carry it off (well) but the garment (much like a mini skirt on a woman) just screams "look at me" and at that age, I think it's unattractive.

True enough!
That is why I'm trying for the Jim Parsons look (Big Bang Theory)...the short sleeved t shirt over the long sleeved one. Unfortunately that look may be cool but in the height of a Perth summer can be a tad too hot to wear. Hopefully with the upcoming cooler weather I will be able to resume the look.

All fashion trends are dangerous for older folk to take up too seriously. You can see the doom of a trend when older people or people who don't have the bodies for that particular fashion insist on wearing what doesn't suit them. I well remember the days of "hot pants" and the "micro mini skirt" and seeing very large older ladies wearing them to horrible effect. Not a good look.

I fear for this current fashion trend of tattooing.
Bad enough that young good skinned bodies are putting utter rubbish on their bodies for life (one recent example I saw the other day were large poorly calligraphied words on the back of a young girl's upper thighs. One upper thigh read "Party" and the other one read "Please"...now there is a meaningful statement to have for the rest of your life ).
But when these kids' mums and dads or worse - their grandmothers and granddads have stupid artless tattoos done the results are never going to look good with their old skins (it would also help if people would actually do some minimal research and pick a tattooist who is actually good at his job...most seem to take more time picking out a frock than seeking out a good tattooist or even a good design).
Unfortunately - the results of this trend is going to be with them a lot longer than the halter tops, flares, platform shoes, super tight jeans, shaggy dog haircuts and the like of my day!

Kim