Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
I am a 38 yr old woman that dieted healthy and exercised regularly. Within a year, i went from 210lbs to 140lbs. Size 20 to a now size 7. When i was at 170lbs my body was fine. Within 4 months of losing 30 more (to a now 140) pounds my tummy,breasts,and thighs now look like a Sharpei dog! My breasts are all shriveled like a 95 yr old lady. I can pull the skin and it just stays there pulled up! I tuck all the skin in a bra,and its ALL just skin. It's an unbelievable horrible sight. I don't know what happened to me all of a sudden, within four months. I've been to my doctor and he said "oh wow, that's ....that's... from your weight loss...wow". I felt really embarrassed. I don't understand how at 170lbs looking normal to how i am now with this disgusting skin, can happen. I even look at before and after pictures of women with loose skin after weight loss,and try and find anyone that looks anything near to what i look like and can't find anyone! I wish i looked like most of the before pictures of women! I look normal with clothes on but cannot look at myself with clothes off. People say you look good, but they have no idea of the disformed mess that i hide underneath my clothes. It's horrible. I can't afford any surgery. I love all people and am a very good person. I try to go on living normally and to be happy everyday, but it's depressing, and hard,as this isn't supposed to happen to a woman that just turned 38. So to all of you Dieting, i know this sounds crazy, but please watch your skin changes closely as you lose weight. Don't wind up like me. Thanks for reading.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Hi, I too am worried about that. I am 40 years old and started my diet March 27 and I weighed 205. I am at 188.5 now and want to be at around 140.
My husband asked me if I loose all my weight would my skin hang? I told him no but deep inside of me I am afraid it might happen. Last weekend we went out on our boat and I got sunburned. All I could think about is I just damaged my skin, and how now I know it will sag.
Did the doctor tell you or give you any ointment or medicine or tell you what to do about it??
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Hi Chloe.Roma, Unfortunately no one ever warned me that this could happen. There are no medicines or oinments to help. Like I said i was looking great and when i got down to 140lbs this happened. The only thing i was doing wrong that i could think of, is not drinking enough water. Try to hydrate your body and please drink lots of water through out the day. Everyone's body is different,some people's skin elasticity can snap back, unfortunatley for some reason mine didn't and i am very depressed about myself and have no self-esteem anymore. So please just watch your skin changes, and drink plenty of water as you lose.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Yes I will drink alot of water. In the mean time I will do some research on this and if I find anything helpful I will post it here. I am also wondering if in time the skin will go back to normal.
Do not feel depressed. You should feel very proud of yourself for what you did. I know that is easier said than done but it is true.
I like to solve problems, so lets try to solve this one.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
my my,
did you lose your weight to fast? what type of diet was /are you on?
I think that maybe you should put a little more weight back on, then if you have good insurance or can afford surgery they can help you with your skin..I seen that on TV one time about a man that lost over 500lbs and he had sagging skin he put some more weight back on and had the surgery/s and is doing just fine.
I hate to hear this happen to you, but try to remember your not alone, each and everyone of us on this healthboards wish you the best
Hang in there things will get better for you.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
One site I was on said that it can take up to 6 months for your skin to "remold" back after weight loss.
Another site said to exfoliate your skin in the shower on a regular basis. That it promotes healthy skin cells to grow, flaking off all the old dead ones.
And to use sunscreen and stay out of the sun. (ooppps for me on the sun one).
I will do some more research again Saturday and will post my findings.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Hello....Chevyman, My diet was eggwhites with dry toast in the morning, Chicken and Broccoli every evening, then worked out. I didn't lose it fast, it was 70lbs in a years time. Now I eat regular foods and still excersise, but nothing helps. It's really horrible to be a woman and have this happen. I find myself looking at other women all the time,and wishing i was normal again like they are. I can't afford surgery, nor will my insurance cover it. Insurance companies don't see it as a necessary medical surgery, they see it as a cosmetic thing and don't cover it. I do thank you for your best wishes and for taking the time to write.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:07 PM.
Reason: please do not clog the thread with quotes
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Hello Chloe, Thanks for writing again. Unfortunately it has been 10 months that my skin has been this way. I don't think it will go back. If it's pulled it just stays pulled up, it's so gross that i can't even stand to touch or look at myself. I will try the exfoliating, at this point i will try anything. I used to tan in a tanning bed from time to time, but not for a couple of years. I know this had nothing to do with the tanning. But sunscreens should be used. I posted my message to warn people of what could happened when your not informed of the changes that could rapidly happen to your body and skin while dieting. I never thought i'd wind up looking like a 95yr old lady's body at the age of 38. Every morning i wake up wishing this was all a bad dream,then realize it's real. It's sad knowing my future doesn't look like i will ever be happy again. But it's the good people like you that take time to respond and try to help and try to make things a bit brighter. Thank you for your research. You are a good person.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:07 PM.
Reason: please do not clog the thread with quotes
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
maybe theres a way for your skin to fill back out, if you can't afford the surgery, do some reserch on the puter, there just has to be a way for some one to want to help you.
are you married? do you have any family /friends support? you need that mostly right now, you need to try to bring up your self-esteem and stop dewelling on the fact that what happen to your skin by dieting is not your fault so stop blaming yourself..stop looking at yourself get up get dressed then go on about your day, when you dewell on things you can't change or do anything about it makes it much harderd to cope with other things that are far more important..I know you want to have nice looking skin/ but maybe this is a reality for you until some one can come foward to help you.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Believe me, i've researched many sites on here so much, looking for answers. I even look at plastic surgery sites just to see the before pictures of women, and like i said,i wish i looked like some of the before photo's of them.
Most of my family knows, but aren't financially able to help me. They really love me and tell me it will be ok, and may go back to normal one day. They would help in a minute if they can, as they see how sad i am everyday. I have a 18yr old daughter. I just turned 38,i had her young. She is supportive to me, but there's only so much that can be said. I am not with her father, but i was dating a guy for 5 years. He joined the military and was away for awhile. Now that he's back, he calls me, but knows nothing of what happened to me and how badly my body changed since i last saw him. I know it's said that if someone loves you, they love u for who u are, and not for what u look like, but not when your body drastically changed and have hanging skin tucked in underneath your clothes.I can never have an intimate life again. How could i? If the guy tries to feel my breasts his hand wouldn't be able to feel smooth firm round breasts, he'd be feeling shriveled up layers of skin folds tucked in my bra,that his fingers would get caught in. It's embarrassing even to type.
I really do try not to dwell on it, but it's kinda hard when you gotta look at your body everyday. Sometimes by the end of the days, when i lay down, i sleep with my clothes on, cause i dread taking them off. I do know that i have to go on and live life this way, and i do try not to worry or bother anyone with my problem. I'm the kind of person that tries to help others before myself. I try to keep busy and if it wasn't for people like you and others on this board to help, things would be alot tougher. I thank you again for your thoughtful and helpful words.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:03 PM.
Reason: please use the reply button - do not clog the thread with quotes
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
First I want to Thank You for starting this thread. I was concerned about having sagging skin after my weight loss is complete but now thanks to you I can try and do somethings to hopefully prevent it as much as I can.
I found out that up to 90% of people lossing weight have some sort or another of sagging skin. So you are not alone.
Here are some more things I found out today:
1) Do not restrict Carbo-hydrates from your diet. (hint=Hydrates)
2)Take 1000-1500mg of Lecithin per day. Lecithin has been known to increase the elasticity of the skin.
3)Skin-Brushing techniqies. She said to do a search on the internet for Skin Brushing to get all the information on how to do that.
4)Deep Massages.
5)Option also is to take a supplement called Collagen.
When I found out more information on this, I will post it here.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
thats true roma bout the carbs, but hine sights 20/20,
I never really understood why for some people when there dieting they only consume /eat egg whites?
I eat the whole egg sometimes two eggs? they say eggs do not cause high cholesterol...so why not eat them if you like them!
breakfast is usally the only time I eat eggs, toast beacon,sausage, a piece fruit, maybe a small glass orange juice/ low-fat-skim milk.
but her diet seem reasonable to me and as to why her skin is doing this? maybe its a whole different problem than what we think cause it(dieting)
there maybe certain exercise she can do for this and like someone mention while bathing getting old skin cells off so new ones can start to grow.
I think I would eat more and try to gain some weight back, not much but say 10 or 15 lbs but be carefull doing that..just to experiment to see what the skin will be doing? if you let the air out of a balloon you see what happens then when the air goes back into it you see what happens.
I realize your body is not a balloon but go figure?
its always good to look and feel great at a decent weight we all want that, but sometimes if the weight you put on is not a health issue for you then I don't see a problem with that.
I realize thats double talk and an over weight person is more prone for health problems, but somewhere sometimes we have to make exceptions to the rule.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Chloe.Roma
You truly are a great person for caring. Your helping and educating others on here,that may have this problem too. If anything, I want to Thank YOU for taking your time to do research on this problem. Yes, I did submit my story to this board to let people know the rapid skin changes that can happen. I know the reality is reconstructive surgery to be normal looking again, but I have to do something. I will try the things you researched above. I'm eating lots of "Carbs" for a while now. I am going to research more on that "Skin brushing" technique, that's something i never heard of that may help. And also will look into the "Lecithin" that you mentioned. I want you to know, that you can go on today knowing that you helped my mind and are helping many others too.
Thank you so much for taking your time to help and find out answers.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:05 PM.
Reason: please do not clog the thread with quotes
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Hello Chevyman, Yes, my diet was normal. I do have a Thyroid disorder that i had for years now, but my doctor told me it has nothing to do with what happened to all this loose skin. I recently did try to gain a 5-8lbs back slowly to see if i'd start to look normal again, but the results were the loose skin was just on top of the weight gain. So now i gained a bit, with still being able to pull the loose skin and watch it stay in that position! It's not a good sight. But i know what you mean with the deflated ballon theory, and thats how i thought too, and basically no change. Maybe if i gained 50lbs of it back, i don't know. At this point i'd rather be the weight i was and be normal and Happy, than to be living in this nightmare. Thanks for taking your precious time to write, and giving your thoughtful advice.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:06 PM.
Reason: please do not clog the thread with quotes
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
One thing to backup what Chloe said, is that Collegan is a key. One thing I've read recently is that major factors for the reason that skin will sag is age and genetics. Whenever possible, blame it on the parents!! Kidding aside, this is a fear of mine also and when I read that as we get older or bodies do not produce as much collegan, so collegan injections might help as Chloe mentioned. Good luck and I feel bad for you. My sister has lost 90 pounds and she has loose skin too and I really don't know what to tell her. Just hang in there.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Thanks Boisecougar, I know this happens to some people, and it's horrible to go through. But it happened all of a sudden, toward the end of my diet. I may try the collagen supplement this week, that Chloe researched. I'm trying to keep busy and not be depressed, but it's hard. Thanks for taking your time to write.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:08 PM.
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Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
NY1969 I got a great idea on how you can get the surgery done. (Please bare with me on this).
You said you could not afford the surgery. And when I was 23 my sister and I wanted to get plastic surgery. We did not have the money either but this is what we did.
First you need to immediatly start saving money, the most you can save, If you have cable and the movie channels cancel the movie channels. Change your plan on your cell phone to a lower rate. Do not go to the movies or out to eat with friends, clothes shopping , or get your nail done etc.
Just from this and there are many more things you can think of will save you money right off the bat.
Now you start saving money from your paycheck. You need this money for your recovery time that you will be out of work.
Order your TRW credit report ect. You need to see what is on your credit reports. There are 3 companies and order all 3. Most of the 3 will send it to you for free or a small fee.
When you receive your credit reports fix anything negative on them as much as you can. This is important. You want the best credit score poosible.
Now you are cutting back, savings as much money as you can from your paycheck and fixing your credit. Perfect.
Next step: Go to as many Plastic Sugery Doctors (min. 3) as you can. The key here is they all have to offer a payment plan. It is a loan you apply for at a doctors or dentist office for just cosmetic surgery. (must have this).
Now from all these doctors you go to you will get a rough estimate on what it will cost you. PS, you also want to get all your procedures done all at once, it will be cheaper that way.
Your credit is clearing up, you are busy saving money, you found all the doctors. Now when you get your credit cleared up the best you can, you go and apply for a loan at a Bank. Say the surgery on average will cost $10,000 you apply for the full amount. The bank will aprove the loan or aprove the loan for a portion of that amount say $5,000 or not at all. You want to go to the bank first because your interest rates will be lower then through the one at the doctors office. So say the bank aproves you for 5,000. Then you go to the doctor you liked the best that has that payment plan and apply for $5,000.00. There is your 10,000. If the bank does not aprove you then obviously apply for the full about at the doctors. If one doctors office does not work out go to the next.
The money you have been saving is for when you are out of work recovering and any difference in the cost of the procedure that you could not get a loan for. This is what my sister and I did. It took us about 10 months to get everything in order and make our appointment date. I would do it all over again too.
I hope this helps you if you haven't already thought about it all already.
Last edited by Chloe.Roma; 04-23-2006 at 12:11 PM.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Hi Chloe, Wow thanks for all this advice. I wish it was that simple. I already have bad credit due to alot of different problems, including someone stealing my idenity,that i tried to clear up but is going to take a few more years. So my credit is bad right now. I don't have the best job,so i don't have much money to start with. When i do try to save,something always comes up in an emergency that i have to use to fix the problem. So the little bit of money i have and try to save, i wind up with nothing again. You may know how that can be.
I did go to a plastic surgeon just to find out how much things would be,and i'd have to win the lottery to be able to afford any procedure to fix my loose skin.
Today I am having a bad day. I don't even want to shower, because i'd have to look at myself. Usually I'm pretty much ok though. It's just not a good day today. This week, i am gonna try and find the collagen supplement and ask about the Lecithin that you researched on. I thank you again for that. I will let you know what happens. Thanks for thinking about me and taking your time to write. You truly are a caring person.
Last edited by moderator2; 04-23-2006 at 01:02 PM.
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Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Wow, i'm really sorry you're going through all of this. It must be so frustrating that you're massive achievement of losing all this weight is being overshadowed by the problem of loose skin. I also understand that people can only sympathise and not fully understand quite what you're going through and how much this is hurting you. Hang on in there, you never know, you may well just find something which starts to help. They can do amazing things these days.
I saw a lady being interviewed who had what they called a "body lift". She had a large large amount of loose skin, it sounds somewhat similar to how you've described yours. Anyway, its an extreme measure, but the before and after shots were incredible. There was obviously some marks where they'd done it, and it wasn't perfect but it was an enormous improvement. I don't know how much you've considered surgery though. I also wanted to ask, i'm not sure, as i dont live in America how the health service works there, but I know that here, in the Uk, they cover certain cosmetic surgeries when they patient is being seriously affected by whatever they have, so maybe thats an option where you are? But like i said I'm not entirely sure how it works in the US.
I've also heard, i know this is incredibly simple and you may well have tried it already, that intensive intensive moisturising throughout the day helps alot, particularly when you've just come out the shower, and then maybe before you go to bed at night. I know they advise pregnant ladies who are concerned about their skin stretching and then losing shape to do this too so maybe its worth a shot?
Anyway, keep us updated, this is a really interesting post and i hope you start to feel better about yourself. On the bright side, your health must be so good having lost all this weight.
Re: Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !!
Wow do I ever know how you feel
I started at 324 and lost 125 pounds over a couple of years so it came off slow for sure, eat right and exercise. Well I got to 199 and I look horrible, sagging skin beyond belief and the thing is that I would love to lose 30 or 40 more but I think if I feel and look this gross now then how can I even consider going lower? cosmetic surgery is not even a consideration for me finacially .. what I wish is that if OHIP (I live in Canada) will cover weight loss surgery then why not help us out to finish what we started, the Dr's complained I needed to lose weight so I did and now I'm going to end up staying like this, my skin is far too loose and saggy to firm up. I often wonder how much I truly weigh, if all this skin was gone what would I be?
Happier when Heavy....I Now have EXTREMELY LOOSE SKIN !! 
