Weight Loss and LOOSE SKIN!

[booty_frijoles]

Hey everybody!

I was just wondering if anyone else here has the problem with loose skin after wight loss. I went from my highest weight of 220 lbs 2 years ago, to about 175 lbs currently. I used to have a pretty big belly and now I'm pretty toned besides my stomach and love handles. There just seems to be alot of excess skin on my stomach and around it, which really sucks cuz I wanna get that six pack  for the ladies. After doing abs I can always see the outline and stuff when i tighten up my stomach but when just standing normally it just looks like I have a gut.

Just wondering if anyone has this problem and what kinds of things could be done to correct this. I'm only 18 and since this weight loss is pretty current I'm hoping the skin will shrink back. Hopefully I wont have to have surgery for that too. Maybe i'll talk to the doc about gyne surgery with a tummy tuck or something. I just want the excess skin gone.

BTW, im 18 yrs old --- 6'1 and currently 175 lbs.

[DrBermant]

Hey everybody!

I was just wondering if anyone else here has the problem with loose skin after wight loss. I went from my highest weight of 220 lbs 2 years ago, to about 175 lbs currently. I used to have a pretty big belly and now I'm pretty toned besides my stomach and love handles. There just seems to be alot of excess skin on my stomach and around it, which really sucks cuz I wanna get that six pack  for the ladies. After doing abs I can always see the outline and stuff when i tighten up my stomach but when just standing normally it just looks like I have a gut.

Just wondering if anyone has this problem and what kinds of things could be done to correct this. I'm only 18 and since this weight loss is pretty current I'm hoping the skin will shrink back. Hopefully I wont have to have surgery for that too. Maybe i'll talk to the doc about gyne surgery with a tummy tuck or something. I just want the excess skin gone.

BTW, im 18 yrs old --- 6'1 and currently 175 lbs.

After Weight Loss, loose skin can be an issue for many.  How well skin shrinks depends on age, skin damage from stretching, how long it was stretched, and many other factors.  For many skin shrinks well, for others there are various operations to deal with remaining drooping and sagging such as Tummy Tuck Abdominoplasty, Lower Body Lift Surgery, and Male Mastopexy Chest Lift.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia of Male Chest Ptosis - Sagging and Male Mastopexy Chest Lift Sculpture

[Rexc]

i use to weigh 300 pounds and am now down to 240. i have so much extra skin its not even funny and my chest hasn't shrunk a bit

[DrBermant]

i use to weigh 300 pounds and am now down to 240. i have so much extra skin its not even funny and my chest hasn't shrunk a bit

It can take quite some time for skin to shrink After Massive Weight Loss, sometimes up to 1 1/2 years according to the literature for gastric bypass patients. No Surgery Body Shaping Garments can be an option.  But for many, the loose skin remains a deforming factor that surgery becomes a necessary consideration.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Body Lift Surgery

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Being significantly overweight at any time of your life can diminish the elasticity of your skin.  When weight loss occurs early in life, the younger skin has a better ability to tighten -- though there can still be some residual skin laxity. 

Unfortunately, the older you are and the longer you are overweight, the less elasticity your skin will have.  If you have gone over two years at your lower weight and if the skin is still loose or even overhanging, then the only way to improve this is with body contouring surgery. 

This type of surgery will provide a tighter, trimmer contour -- but at the price of scars.  However, most men with this problem will gladly trade the scars (most of which can be hidden in a body crease or by appropriate clothing) for a better and more comfortable shape.

Dr Jacobs

[modman126]

For things like six pack abs and really trim looking physique, you need to drop your body fat percentage into the single digits.  Most of the battle is going to be doing cardio every day and keeping yourself on a very strict diet.

This website really helped me out when it came to losing weight.

http://scoobysworkshop.com/

Hope all goes well, sir.

[DrBermant]

For things like six pack abs and really trim looking physique, you need to drop your body fat percentage into the single digits.  Most of the battle is going to be doing cardio every day and keeping yourself on a very strict diet.

Following your fat with a body fat analyzer can be valuable.  A low body fat percentage does help let the shape of the underlying muscles show through.  However, even single digit body fat does not help damaged loose skin as shown loose skin deforming male chest after massive weight loss.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction

[Bowie]

If an 18 year old needs to drop 200 pounds will they have excess skin? Or will they bounce back because of their age?

[DrBermant]

If an 18 year old needs to drop 200 pounds will they have excess skin? Or will they bounce back because of their age?

How skin adjusts depends on many factors, age is but one.  The younger someone is, the better the skin can compensate. However, 200 pounds is a lot of weight.  Here is one example of a 17 year old who lost 185 pounds and had so much loose skin she needed a Lower Body Lift to tighten and lift the loose tissues.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Body Lift Surgery

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

Bowie

Even if you are young, dropping 200 pounds will undoubtedly result in lax, hanging skin.  On the other hand, losing 200 pounds will "buy" you many more years of a healthy life.

Dr Jacobs

[LWNDAY]

I heard that using firming creams and exfoliating will help tighten loose skin. Is that true or not?

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

That is untrue!

Dr Jacobs

[DrBermant]

I heard that using firming creams and exfoliating will help tighten loose skin. Is that true or not?

Sorry, it is not true!  Watch out for hype that is not substantiated with good before after pictures / movies under the same lighting and other conditions.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Male Breast Reduction