Preventing loose skin, possible or fantasy?

Has anyone been successful losing most or all of your excess weight and being able to prevent having skin so loose that you need plastic surgery?

Anyone have tips on things to do to keep your skin healthy and elastic and more likely to shrink as your weight goes down?

I have about 80lbs to lose and I'l really hoping I can minimize the loose skin and not have to have ANOTHER surgery down the road.  

There's nothing you can do now or later to make your skin more "elastic".  It either is...or it isn't.  Keeping your skin healthy - there's a lot you can do.  Dry skin brushing, massage, using oils and lotions to keep it looking nice.  However, done of that will make it more likely to shrink as your weight goes down. It just makes the skin you are left with look better. 

What WILL play in to this is your age (you look like you're young), how long you've been obese, how many stretch marks you have (that's permanently damaged skin that nothing is going to repair or help), and to some degree the oiliness/pigment of your skin.  Younger people who haven't been obese for lots of years that have darker, oilier skin seem to do much better post-op in the skin department.  

If you've been obese for a lot of years then you have actually grown new skin to cover your size.  When you shrink that new skin has no where to "snap back" or go...so it sags and hangs down.  Hopefully you won't hav as much of a problem as others. 

Sadly there's nothing you can do to prevent loose skin.  It either will, or won't, happen.  I started saving money on Day 1 :/ 

the younger you are , the less time your over weight , your genetics, not smoking , not drinking all effect how much your skin will sag 

 only fix is plastic surgery

 even though tummy tucks and face and boob lifts are not covered by insurance , skin removal maybe if you can prove it is a health issue

I'm glad you asked this because I was wondering the same I have to lose over 100 and expect to have loose skin.  Am I happy about it?  No of course not but if I had to trade loose skin or obesity I would choose loose skin every time.

Absolutely nothing, so don't waste your money on magical lotions, potions or wraps.  If there is any result, it's merely temporary

Thanks for all the responses.  They were pretty much what I expected to hear.  So basically, it is what it is and I just need to do what I can to keep my skin healthy and we'll see what happens! :)

While I agree with what everyone said...there are exceptions!  I am 61 and have lost 87 pounds to date (shooting for 90, so almost there).  I have very little loose skin and have been obese for almost 40 years (with a couple of very short sabbaticals along the way).  Before surgery I did a good bit of strength training in hopes of building some muscle to help take up the slack.  I have also used a lotion daily for all of those 40+ years.  The area with the most loose skin is where my butt slipped down into my thighs!!  Spanx are my best friends and work well to keep things in place!  For what I have, I would not consider the expense of plastics.  So...yeah...it is what it is, but get some weights and a good lotion!!  Good luck!

From "Weight Loss Surgery: The Real Skinny" by N. Nicholson M.D. and B.A. Blackwood:

On fretting over your post-surgery body:

- No one looks good naked after a certain age.

- That age is usually at least one year younger than you are unless you're a movie star, genetically blessed, have a full-time chef and trainer, a plastic surgeon on speed dial, and only have photos taken with a soft lens.

- Spanx works.

- You won't look like Angelina Jolie no matter how much weight you lose. Even Angelina Jolie doesn't look like Angelina Jolie.

- You did this for your health, not to look better.

psychoticparrot