I'm hoping someone can share their experience in regards to loose skin. I am noticing minor loose/stretchy skin about half way through so I'm not sure what to expect going forward. For those that reached their goal weight and also noticed these things along the way, did it improve?
F, 37, 5’7’’ SW: 208, CW: 174, GW: 140
TLDR: went from 208 to 174 so far. Previous highest was 180 and didn’t really have loose skin after losing that weight in my late 20s. Now 37 and was over 180 for 2 years (over 190 for 1 year and over 200 for about 4 months.) I am able to pinch some skin and pull it away from my stomach, love handles, upper/inside arms, upper thighs/back of legs and a tiny bit under my chin/neck. No new stretch marks with the recent weight gain (but have some really old ones from who knows when on my legs and love handles). Is it normal to experience the stretchy skin while still losing weight? Or is this a sign that I will likely have visibly loose skin once the fat is gone?
Background: before 2019 I had never been above 180. I’ve gained and lost weight over the years with no issues. Got down from previous highest of 180 to 135 about 10 years ago and had no loose skin (other than stomach hanging when in plank position). Started slowly gaining weight shortly after and then hovered between 150-170 for the first half of my 30s.
- 2019 I went from about 165 to 190.
- 2020 I lost a bit and then was hovering between 180-low 190s
- Dec 2020-Jan 2021 started heading higher in the 190s.
- End of Jan 2021 passed 200 for 1st time. Slowly climbed and the actual highest was 208 which was for 1 day.
- Monthly average weight for Sept 2019 - June 2020 was in the 180s, average for Jul 2020 to Jan 2021 was in the 190s, and for Feb 2021 to May 2021 was between 200-205. I don't know if the shorter time period is helpful in my case.
- Feb 2021 started to change eating habits but was still consuming too many calories. Once I started tracking I started losing weight.
- Since May I’ve been doing very well, making sure to stay within calorie goals and hit macro targets, especially protein, even on the weekends. I’ve had only a few reasonable cheat meals since May. I aim to lose 1.6lbs a week so it's slow
- End of May got back into 190s and currently 174
- Earlier this year I was running but switched focus to strength training.
Since I started losing I’ve been watching my skin very closely for signs of looseness. Some things I’ve noticed:
- Stomach: at my highest my stomach got big almost like I was pregnant and it never hung down. My stomach flattened out relatively quickly (I'm guessing between 180 and 190) and I can now mostly suck it in past my ribs (if that makes sense) but I couldn't do this when I was bigger. It looks and feels jiggly and has that cottage cheese look (and when I do the stomach vacuum thing it makes my belly button look strange and droopy). There are some minor horizontal lines/rippling on the middle of my lower stomach and I am able to pinch actual skin so I know it’s technically loose (and stretchy) but I am hoping it will just firm up some more with only a “pooch”. I already have a “pooch” and it’s not hanging, it still has the D shape which doesn’t bother me. I am hoping this is a good sign?
- Upper arms: My upper arms still have a lot of fat and they are jiggly if I stick my arm out. I can also pinch the skin on my inner upper arm but I am hoping that when the rest of the fat goes it will go back to looking how they were before (not great but wasn’t really a huge issue). I plan to build some muscle but don’t want to get too big there so not sure how helpful it will be. Does anyone have experience with it being thin/stretchy during but not hanging at the end?
- Thighs: I can also pinch skin on my upper inner thigh but it doesn’t look loose, maybe slightly but it’s hard to tell. In general my thighs are still more jiggly than I remember, and if I extend my leg out, the fat sort of hangs which I've never noticed before.
- Neck: I didn’t really get a double chin, my face got more wide but I did have additional fat on my neck/chin and it would be a double chin if looking down. My jaw line is back but I still have some fat under my chin. I am able to pinch a tiny bit of skin but not as much as other areas. But I am still worried I will have a turkey neck when the rest of the fat goes a way. I am using retinol and plan to get tretinoin soon. My face profile is discouraging but I hope it improves when the fat goes
I have a large frame and thought I carried my weight somewhat well. 140 looks good on me. If I count 208 as my highest I am aiming to lose about 70 lbs. I’ve been wearing the same clothes since I was in the 160-170s. I guess size 10-12 is the highest depending on the store (and some of the brands may do vanity sizing). But my clothes got pretty tight at the highest. I know loose skin comes down to genetics, etc and everyone is different, but I am hoping I am not too old to still have elasticity? I haven’t tanned since my mid-20s and have actively tried to stay out of the sun since then. I wear sunscreen everyday on my face and don’t drink much (and haven’t at all in the past 2 years). And I don’t smoke. I have dealt with stress/anxiety so I know this is not good for my skin. Does anyone have similar experience with the skin at this stage and had improvement when they were at their goal weight?
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/loseit/comments/pqef0n/another_loose_skin_question_things_im_noticing/
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