Sagging/Excess Skin

purple_magada

purple_magada

Cathlete
My co-worker is still in the process of her weight loss journey. She has currently lost 105 lbs and would like to lose about 25 more. She was showing me the excess skin in her triceps area. There is a lot there - I don't know how many inches but it is a lot. We were talking about weights and how she could tone it up but she thinks it is hopeless. Can one do anything to firm up this area? She said that once she reaches her goal she is getting surgery (for that area and her stomach). Do you know of anyone that has lost this much weight and has had success firming up?

She looks great by the way!
 
If it is truly just extra skin, I doubt she will be able to get rid of it through exercise. Sounds to me like she will have to have surgery to remove it if she wants it gone. Kudos to her for her HUGE accomplishment though! She DESERVES to get that surgery done after all of the hard work she's put in to lose that weight! That's incredible!:)

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

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EDD: 05/19/05
 
I can't be of any help but I just wanted to comment that Fitness magazine always has two or three weight loss success stories featured in each issue and some of the people have lost a tremendous amount of weight and look very fit and firm. I always wonder if they were able to deal with the loose skin through weight training or if they indeed had it surgically altered.

Perhaps it's a matter of losing the weight slowly, plus weight training, so you don't end up with all that flabby business hanging around.

Is your coworker exercising at all or is she strictly dieting and that's it? Look at Oprah for example...she has lost and gained and lost and gained so many times...think of her poor skin. But she can afford all the plastic surgery!:eek:
 
True skin is only one or two millimeters thick - most of the flab we confuse with skin is actually fat.

There was a lady on that sexist show (Howard Stern) who lost a lot of weight and she was parading in a bikini. Now she had almost no body fat and the only area that had loose skin was right there at the bikini line and it was a very thin area of skin, you wouldn't even notice it if you wear a panty hose.
 
My co-worker is dieting. She started her diet in June 2004 which consists of only eating 800 calories a day. She insists that he doctor is monitoring her. She also walks 4 miles a day. She doesn't do any weight training. I've suggested it to her but she has no interest.

She truly is a different person - so much happier and more confident.
 
I have lost and gained many times throughout my life. My skin always "sprang" back....until this time. I lost 55 pounds and have saggy skin that only shows on my stomach when I bend over, and a bit of sag on my upper arms. I really think my upper arms have toned up, though. As for my abs, I think time and gravity is working against me. I'm almost 53. Genetics also has something to do with it, and you can't beat that. I think she has done such a wonderful job that if she can afford surgery, she should go for it.
 
Age has much to do with it. I read that skin has a memory and the longer it is stretched, the more difficult it is to firm up.
 
Wow, 800 calories is so low!

Everyone has different levels of skin elasticity. That's why some pregnant women get loose sking after giving birth and some don't.

I think speed of weight loss also has something to do with it.

I bet weights would help her quite a bit, but probably not 100%.
 
I lost 80 pounds (almost 9 years ago) and still have some loose skin in the stomach area. It got better over time but simply, there was just too much *stretch* in that area when I was heavy. I would tell her to give it some itme before she goes and has surgery. Your body needs to sort of "even out" after that kind of a loss and it takes a while to do that. She may discover that she doesn't need it in one or both areas after a while and with some hard work.
 
My stepson lost 110 lbs. and, to my surprise, had no problem with excess skin. I was wondering if it's because he is so young and his skin is still so elastic? I lost about 75 lbs. when I was a teenager and had no extra skin; just stretch marks. Maybe it's different when you're older? Just a thought.
 
Hello. My cousin lost 100 pounds and has the same situation. My mum started doing research and found some burn units will preform the operation at little to no cost if the patient donates the skin to them. It's a win/win situation. They get skin for burn victims, and your friend could get rid of the excess skin.Tell her to research or call her local burn units. Good luck! Coleen
 
>True skin is only one or two millimeters thick - most of the
>flab we confuse with skin is actually fat.

I thought about this too and it gives me hope. I'm also a bit flabby after losing 100+ pounds. But given that what I feel is fat when I grab hold of my folds - I'm optimistic that through diet, LOTS of cardio and even more weight lifting, eventually it will get better. It's hard for me to believe that working really hard to get as lean as possible while building lots of muscle would result in a muscular body with skin hanging off it. There's a "natural" bodybuilder named Pam Brown (I think) who lost a lot of weight, started bodybuilding, and now just has stretch marks to show for her former full-figure.

Let's hope that surgery is overprescribed, and that the better option is hard work and a clean diet.

Bring on the Cathe!
}( }(
 
I haven't lost as much as that, but I can tell you from personal experience that it does take some time for the skin to snap back into place. I saw noticable changes for a year or more after my weight loss. If I had any advice, I would say to give it time. There are a lot of things in that would impact how well her skin reacts to the loss: genetics, age, how long she was overweight, whether or not she's working out, and how fast she lost the weight. In my case I have some looseness in the skin of my lower stomach and a little under my arms, but then again I am 46 and those areas may have sagged a little regardless of weightloss.
 
SURGERIES are OVERPRESCRIBED and surgery for cosmetic reasons take the lead! Cosmetic Surgeons usually look at their pocket book first and not the well being of their patients, otherwise most procedures wouldn't be done.
 
Cosmetic surgery may be prescribed but it is elective. Thank goodness we all have the freedom to choose.
 
A really good plastic surgeon should tell her if it is skin or fat. I have some extra, stretched out skin on my stomach from gaining so much weight with both pregnancies. My 4'11" frame was 160 pounds...twice...in 2.5 years!

Anyway...I asked my plastic surgeon at my last breast exam what she thought about it...surgery (once I'm done reproducing...of course) and what procedure. She said it is extra skin and not fat. She told me of the procedure and recommended that I DO NOT have it done! She said she'd be willing to operate on me but was sure I'd be unhappy with the results. She said the scar would be worse than the extra skin since my skin layed flat...her personal and professional opinion.

My point...a good doctor will tell you if you would gain from the procedure...so consult SEVERAL!
 
That is a good point. I wouldn't want long scars on my arms. I had one C-section delivery and that is scar enough for my lifetime (hopefully). And I'll tell you, with my fourth pg I ended up with a few really large stretch marks on my lower ab section so between the section scar with pg #3 and the stretch marks from #4...I won't be wearing any low riding bikini pants again!

I hate scars of all types. I can't even stand to look at them on other people...you know, when someone has a surgery or a bad cut they ALWAYS want to show you the scar...NO THANK YOU!:eek:
 
The recovery for some of those Extreme Makeovers looks so painful too! The excess skin removal ones....throughout their body...oW!
 
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