Going to have to disagree with people saying it is just a matter of body fat. I have lost 90lbs now from where I was in Feb. and I for sure have loose skin. I have another 40-50lbs to go. I can pull just deflated skin away from my thigh, stomach, breasts, and under arms. It is paper thin with no fat in it. Consulting with 3 different doctors they have estimated on me once I reach goal weight and maintain for a year I will have 10-25lbs of excess skin. Now to be fair at my highest weight I was 356 I am now 204 and at 38% body fat and stand 5'8. I am hoping after a year of maintaining weight I will be more towards the 10lbs of loose skin.

Edit:
I am 29 and female

According to some research that I've been doing, people who follow a mostly raw vegan diet (with *LOTS* of greens, and not too many sweet fruits) have a much lower incidence of loose skin.

Most of the time, unless someone has exceptional skin elasticity genes, eating lots of cooked food and animal products wreaks havoc on skin (among other things!).

Daily dry skin brushing would probably do you a *lot* of good (about five minutes each sessionsie).

I've also read that applying aloe to the skin and MSM cream are extremely effective for preventing, and probably even reversing loose skin.

If you don't want to go raw vegan, at least drink one or two big green smoothies every day. It will helpie! A green smoothie consists of a few big leaves of kale, dandelion, etc., and any sweet fruits that you like.

In the case of green smoothies, even though sweet fruits are not very good to have a *lot*, they are necessary when starting to drink green smoothies, otherwise they will be undrinkable, heehee ^-^

I would recommend mixing it with a banana and some mango! It's delicious ^-^ Because of the sweet fruits, you will *not* taste the greens at allsies.

A Vita - Mix blender is best for this, but a regular blender will probably do the jobbie, alsosies ^-^

Anywaysies, the point is that your skin will improve by leaps and bounds when you start eating more live plant foods ^-^

Also, bee pollen and royal jelly are supposed to be magical (as long as you're not allergic ^-^)! ^-^

These are some things that I'll be doing in order to ensure that my skin goes back to the way it was before I gained weight, as I lose the extra weightsie ^-^

Try these things and see how your skin improves! ^-^

With having been pregnant and morbidly obese there is no way 15-25lbs of skin will magically go away with out surgery. Not to be rude since it is good advice and for sure will help "IMPROVE" texture and elasticity there is no diet or cream to make it go away at level I have it. I use scrubs and lots of lotion but the only way it will ever all be gone is through surgical means If I ever get brave enough and people are interested I may take and post pics so everyone can see what it looks like.

BUT I would like to add that just because you may get loose skin is NOT an excuse not to get healthy eat right and work out. Even with my elephant skin it can be covered by clothing and not noticeable the 90lbs of fat that is gone so far that is VERY noticeable. I will take my loose skin every time to being as heavy as I was. The trade off is a life changing energy boosting happier life for myself, my daughter, and my husband. If I look like a deflated tire naked I will take it any day over being as heavy as I was!

Hope?

Logic:
Loose Skin and weight loss - how to lose loose skin after losing weight
The Myth of Loose Skin

Examples:
Mr. Low Body Fat’s Blog » The Snowman Effect, Loose Skin, and Fat Loss
Bodybuilding.com - Stephanie Greiner - Transformation Of The Month - Stephanie Greiner.
Bodybuilding.com - Female Transformation Of The Week - Female Transformation Of The Week - Mende Gibbs!
Bodybuilding.com - floridablonde's BodySpace: Progress Pictures

Well, I still think that it will be very helpful ^-^ The body is capable of amazing things ^-^ May I ask how long you had the extra 90 lbs?

Hellosies, againsies, heehee ^-^

Actually, now I'm wondering about *my* skin, heehee ^-^

My highest weight was 280 in 2006, but now I'm at 264 (at 5'7) and it's been fluctuating between like 253 and 265 since mid 2007 :s

I have always been slightly chubby, but never *this* chubby :s

In sixth grade (at 5'5), I weighed 180 lbs at the most, and then I went down to 137 before I turned 13, heehee ^-^

My weight fluctuated mostly between 147 and 170 after that ^-^ I was always slightly chubby at those weights, but I felt quite comfortablesie, although at 170, I felt a bit too chubby, heehee ^-^

I went from 170 to 260 (from being depressed as a result of a really poupy relationshipsie :s) between 2001 and 2004 :s I reached 200 lbs in 2002 :s

I've been around 260 (and higher for a short time) since 2004, and I'm wondering if my skin will be okay? I'm only 24, so I'm hoping that my skin will still be very elastic ^-^

I look about 14 or 15 years old (no wrinkles or anything ^-^), so I'm hoping that my skin will snap back to where it was when I was at a normal weightsie, heehee ^-^

I keep reading that age is a factor when it comes to loose skin thingies. What age is it, exactly?

Is there anyone here (around my chronological age) who needs to lose or has already lost a similar amount of weight, and has carried it for around five or six years? Have any of you experienced skin problems as a result?

Also, my bewbies have gotten bigger by about a cup and a halfie :s I used to be a very small B, and now I'm a medium C :s I think that they are also being pulled down because of the fat on the sides :s I'm *really* hoping that my bewbies will go back to their normal size and perkiness when I reach my normal weightsie ^-^ Has anyone had their bewbies go back to normal size and be perky after they lost a significant amount of weightsie? ^-^

Even though I have a very thorough plan, I am still a little bit worried :s It's really been the main subconscious thing that has prevented me from actively trying to lose weightsie :s

My goal weight is 133, heehee ^-^

Any thoughtsies? ^-^

Thanksies ^-^

Heehee ^-^

Invariant doesnt come to the forum too often - but she lost a similar amount of weight to myself. I am sure that I remember her saying that she didnt have any loose skin. She was in her late teens when she lost the weight...

I am nearly 50 years of age and have quite a definite amount of loose skin. It is not that I have more weight to lose - I am actually quite a bit thinner now than my BMI would imply. I am lucky because it is localised in my tummy and boob area. When I am wearing a t-shirt and jeans - very few people would imagine that I had any loose skin.

I wear a 30HH bra and the fact is that it is all loose skin. I am actually flat chested - but my once enormous boobs have lost almost their entire contents.

I have a fair bit of skin that squash up into the front of my jeans too. It is not that I have more weight to lose. Both my Slimming World and Weight Watchers leaders plus my doctor advised me to stop losing weight at a heavier weight than I did - because I wanted to get to a lower number. My keep fit teacher also voiced similar concerns to me.

In the end it was pointed out to me that my veins on my arms were visible because they were standing up. People were also concerned that my face could easily become "too thin".

Accepting as a once severely morbidly obese person that you have lost enough fat can be hard enough - without "one size fits all" statements about loose skin indicating that more fat still needs to be lost. Sure - for some people that may be the case - but others could appear underweight before loose skin totally disappeared.

I actually think this is part of my stallout with weight as well. I do think I have a good 15 lbs in excess skin in places. For me, my stomach and under my arms are the worse. I should take some pics and just blot out the 'sensitive' areas. Seems like something worth doing since so many people say they don't see what people look like under the clothes. I'm good in some places, but my tummy is still a mess from stretch marks and sagging.

I just wanted to add, that I lost 90 lbs (was 285 down to 195 - I've since gained 10 back for being a lazy ass). Anyway, I had what seemed to be loose, flabby skin on my stomach and arms. I maintained 195 for over a year and gradually the skin tightened up. It just takes time.

Yeah any good surgeon will tell you that they will not touch you until you maintain your goal weight for at least 1 year so your skin has a chance to "bounce back". I am thinking I may brave pics as well just so people can see. I mean when I reach my goal weight I will have lost over 200lbs. That is another person + some, in fat I will have lost all told. Now I won't have a whole second person in skin but there will be excess. But again do not let that scare you off of loosing weight, clothes can hide the skin it can't hide the rolls of fat.

absolutely! I posted myself in a two piece no less in my pic thread and I showed how the bottom covers up the little slouching skin pieces easily and then a pic with it down showing what it is hiding. You really can't tell at all. Like you said, I could never hide the rolls of fat no matter how hard I tried.

Okay, Thing is, I am 18 yrs old. MY age has not helped me with my skin. I was able to lose 160lbs in about 18 months. My BF% is about 24.6% I have HORRID skin. I'm talking. HELLO Where'd my belly button go? And why do I have a sad face for a stomach? I have hanging arms, hanging thighs. EVERYWHERE on my body is just loose skin. I'm not joking. When I lay down, I look way too skinny, unhealthy, I can feel my bones, see my bones. I can count every rib. And even stick my hand UNDER my rib cage. I dont believe people who say skin cant sag, and blah blah with out fat being under it I CALL BULL SH**! And age SO has nothing to do with it. And Ive been kicking my butt up and down on my treadmill to continue to try to loose weight because I feel FAT and its only because of my skin. you know what happened? Nothing on my stomach changed. my thighs, or my arms. but guess what did! MYH BREASTS because that was the ONLY place I had any FAT at! Like i said, when I lay down, I look TOO skinny, when I stand up, I look heavier than average. When I bend over, all my skin droops into the front, and my Boyfriend will stand behind me and tell me I have an unhealthy waist line, too thin. I HATe hearing people tell me hanging skin is just skin with fat in it. UGH! If it is, why is my bf% fine? why can i grab and flap anywhere on my body and i get just skin everywhere. If it is fat under my skin, I'm thoroughly convinced it's not going to go away. I have lifted weights and such too.. helped my arms a little bit, but considering they were over 20inches AROUND and are now down to about 11 1/5 skin and muscle combined, I gotta be a darn muscle competitor to not have anything hanging!

Amen sister. Loosing a whole person in fat off you will leave you will loose skin. Besides chopping it off there is no way to get rid of it. Your fat % is healthy and normal. Unless you are planning to start taking steroids and bulk to a manly girth you will need a good 'ol hack and slash. The human body is amazing but it can not defy physics. Some people who loose 30lbs and complain of loose skin still just have fat and need toning. But when you are talking 150+lbs of fat loss you are talking JUST skin. Loose skin is paper thin. It can be pulled away and is just a empty flap no fat or anything else inside it. I can say there are multiple studies that show once you maintain for a full year some of that skin will bounce back but it will not ever be completely gone with out surgical intervention at the level we have it. Just know (and I know it sucks after working so hard) that no one knows we have droopy sad looking stomachs, thighs and underarms with our clothes on. But they all know we look damn better then we did 100+lbs ago

Well, anywaysies, I've been reading about some amazing results that people have had while following a raw vegan nutrition programmesie ^-^

They don't really get loose skin! I've seen a lady on a raw foods forumsie that has lost 150 lbs (or more?), and she has NO loose skin! ^-^

When one feeds one's body with raw, living foods, one's skin becomes so much healthier and younger! ^-^

Cucumber juice is also *very* helpfulsie ^-^

I still think that any of you who have loose skin will benefit from a raw vegan (including bee productsies) nutrition programmesie ^-^

The excess skin *can* and *will* bounce backies on its ownsie with the right nutritionsie and care ^-^

Please provide proof of this claim. I would love to see this 150lbs weight loss with no loose skin. I would also need to see her total loss backed by a doctor and other professionals not just someone claiming propaganda on a random forum to try and make their beliefs of a raw vegan diet be the next miracle cure all.

The problem is with any fad is there will be people claiming it cures anything. Sadly once science steps in to do unbiased testing and research almost every fad has been debunked.

While I respect your life style choice toting it as some sort of thing that can defy basic physics by making matter (loose skin in this case) just poof is not a feasible or possible thing. Spreading propaganda like it is possible with no science or medical back up is not healthy or helpful to the people who are struggling with this very real problem.


Also everyone is different. Genetics plays a huge role in stretch marks and elasticity of skin. Some of us are not blessed in this area and no diet will make our genetics change to suddenly "cure" this problem.

I look forward to seeing you at 133 and hearing your thoughts then after a 147lbs weight loss.