I'm sorry if this this is too personal of a post or something...but I'm curious and a bit worried about this. I have heard about people losing weight quickly and having alot of extra skin that stayed once the weight was lost. (Most of the people I'm talking about did the gastric bypass surgery, but on Atkin's you still lose weight pretty quickly.) Some go to a plastic surgeon to get it removed...that makes me so nervous. I really want to avoid this...doctors, hospitals, hospital bills..eek!

Does anyone know about this or have any experience with this? I don't know if I should be slathering on cocoa butter or something

Melaney

IMO these are just myths repeated by well meaning folks to make turtles and those who don't treat this like a way of eating and so cheat every other week feel better.

It really annoys me that people say losing fast will give you stretch marks and make your skin baggier. It's just not true, and while the intentions are good saying these things discourages people from losing at an optimal rate. First of all, stretch marks are scars caused from skin being "ripped open" faster than it can grow; stretch marks are caused by sudden growth or weight GAIN. Losing weight does not exacerbate stretch marks... ironically just the opposite is true. In fact, if your stretch marks are fresh and red (still in the process of healing), losing the weight as quickly as possible (coupled with lotions, adequate hydration and anti-oxidant fat soluable vitamins) will minimize the final scar's appearance.

It is also a myth that rate of loss affects the permenant elasticity of skin. The elasticity of skin (firmness vs saggyness/baggyness) is lost by breaking down collagen when it is streched out too fast. The damage happens in the process of gaining weight; losing weight as quickly as possible will stop the damage to your skin as soon as possible. Meaning, the less time you spend with your skin stretched to unnatural proportions, the less elasticity (firmness) you are losing.

Yes, it is true that in the begining, if you lose faster your skin will be "baggier" than someone who lost slower. However, this is only a temporary state. Since they lost so fast, they didn't have the time to let their skin slowly snap back. The good news is the person who lost faster will have their skin shrink back in time... and because they spent less time obese than the slower loser, the faster loser will have skin which is slightly more firm in the end (this is of course assuming all other things equal (i.e. starting weight, skin type, age, etc)).

So, in the end, it all evens out, and losing weight as fast as possible is the all around best option (while doing it responsibly in a way you can maintain for life, of course). Besides, you can't have plastic surgery until your weight has been stable for many months anyway, so does it really matter that much if your skin shrinks mostly before or after? Once you go under the knife, your skin has recovered as much as it ever will. In fact, the faster you lose, the less permenent damage you are doing to your skin. Obesity destroys skin, not weight loss. The less time you spend being obese, the better for your health and looks.

By the way, I think you should expect that your largest areas when you were heavy will have some loose skin and loss of firmness once you reach goal weight. When you've been as heavy as you and me, there will be some loose skin. It's just a fact. So, I think it is better to be realistic with yourself than to pander to quack cures (ex: "spot loss" with exercise to firm skin), or to feel really bad when everything is done and you don't look like the girl in the weight loss adds. Depending on a lot of factors, the bagginess may be bad enough to require surgery. I think you should come to terms with this now rather than be disappointed later.

Thanks for the response Wooo That's some comforting info...I was expecting some loose skin. (I have lost weight before, but not as much as I will be losing now.) They're cracking down on those quack diet progams and ads now, so hopefully people won't get mislead as much.
I just found a past post about this , so sorry about the repeat.

That the areas of my body where I have stretch marks, my skin is starting to look sort of baggy. The rest of me seems to be 'snapping back' ok. I don't know what will happen as I get closer to goal, but I am by no means losing quickly, so I will just have to wait and see. I would definitely have surgery if I am left with a whole lot of hanging skin. I have seen folks on TV who have had that, so it is possible.

So far, after losing about 100 pounds, I do not have much loose skin. We'll see what happens after another 80 pounds are gone!

I was watching the Extreme Makeover with the guy that had a complete body lift because of his weight lose and thought I might pass this on to you as well.

Apparently, if you get down to your ideal body weight, your skin will shrink back to fit the body. It may take a little time but the guy was told that if there is excess skin (like the belly flab), it was because he still needed to lose a little more weight to get rid of the excess fat still floating in that area.
In the case of the guy on extreme Makeover, he was impatient and was stuggling with keeping the weight off. Age is also a factor in how quickly the skin comes back.

I was wondering about this myself. But I think as long as you are doing weight training to firm everything, and cario to burn everything, then you should be okay.