afraid of extra skin

what kind of things can i do in the gym to make sure i don't get it because honestly i would rather be over weight then have it. i think ... i am 2 weeks away from getting surgery so yeah please let me know what i can do i am really worried and i want to do everything i can !

If you would rather be overweight than have sagging skin you are probably making a mistake by having surgery in the first place. Surgery is about getting your health and life back. There is really nothing you can do about the skin. It will depend on how much weight you have to lose and how long you have been overweight and you age.

Bravo Nate! 

This journey (if done correctly) is about regaining health and fitness.  Yes, there will be skin.  I've lost 170 lbs and quite honestly the skin isn't that bad, but I'll take the skin and the health I've achieved over the near death I felt as a SMO person. 

A big part of this process is exercise, so you should start sooner than later--alternate weight training with cardio.  If you've never done it before, join a gym and get a trainer. 

I NEVER thought I'd like running, hiking, P90X and many other activities, but I do!  When I run, I have my own "applause"!!! 

I would be more concerned with High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea, Diabetes, Cholestrol, and Heart Problems than I would be about Saggy Skin. I think there might be some soul searching that needs to be done before Surgery. I had Surgery so I could be around for my wife and watch my kids grow up. Saggy Skin NEVER entered into the equation until AFTER I reached goal. Then I had round #1 of Plastic Surgery to remove 11 pounds of the stuff, and will be going for round #2 in a few months to get the rest of it off. This is a case of puting the cart before the horse. Worry about your health first and then vanity later. Just my 2 cents...

I have to agree with Nate and Dan, and some soul searching needs to be done for you to commit to the new lifestyle you might have. This is about your health, not vanity. I have 2 kids 19 months and 4 years old. My number 1 priority was being the mom they deserve, and being the wife my husband deserves. He deploys a lot so I need to have the energy to be able to keep up with the girls and everything else that needs to be done, I couldn't do that at almost 300 pounds, I found myself at 26 years old feeling like an old lady. I worried about not seeing my girls graduate high school. I had no co-morbidities. I was only 26 when I had surgery, I'm 27 now, when you are heavy, your heart has to work so much harder to do simple life tasks, so even if you have no co-morbidities, you heart is still working overtime, an its only a matter of time before it gives up.

I have a lot of extra skin, I could probably fly away with the skin on my arms, and my stomach looks comparable to someones grandma, in all my race pics taken by professional photographer you can see the skin on my thighs flapping. Despite all this I am happy. I am living now and not just existing. I would rather carry around 10-20 of extra empty skin that the 140 extra pounds I used to carry around. I lift weights 2-3 days a week since 6 weeks post op,so my skin isn't as bad as it could be. I wear high rise jeans to tuck the skin in and I wear shirts with sleeves. I think I look pretty good.

If you would rather be overweight than have skin you might want to reschedule your surgery, and take some time to think about it. Its a total lifestyle change. If you need someone to talk to I am here, I am an Army wife too. I know everything can be a bit overwhelming at first, its a big deal.

How much you weigh
How long you have been overweight
How much you lose
What are your genetics

Those are the things that can have any bearing on your skin.
There isn't an exercise in the world that tones skin.  Skin isn't a muscle so you aren't going to be able to exercise it.

You can build some muscle under the skin, but unless you build as much volume in muscle as you had in fat, you are likely to have sagging skin.

For most people the only solution is plastic surgery.

Good luck

Scott

there is little to nothing you can do to prevent excess skin.

What the others said is true.

I have plenty of it.  I currently have no plans for plastic surgery, and I wear a two piece bathing suit anyway.

Honestly this mindset has always baffled me a bit - I suppose the difference between us is that I never found my fat to be particularly attractive looking.  Both the excess fat and the empty skin bother me appearance wise, but at least with the excess skin drained of fat, I know I'm living a far healthier and productive life.  Despite how much excess skin I have now (and boy is there a lot of it), I'd choose the skin over fat any day of the week.  My life is about so much more than how I look.  Yours is too - but unless YOU see that, I don't think surgery will provide you with what you're looking for.  

I echo the sentiments of everyone that has posted - really think about this surgery and whether it's the right fit.  Health was my highest priority and having WLS has helped me attain that.  

Like the one guy said-depends on age, genetics how long you've been overweight etc. I have lost 90# since my high weight & in the beginning my skin was very loose but it is firming up & my arms are no "flappier" than when I was at top weight-just smaller-same with my boobs. You can either have fat rolls or loose skin, some people carry on about never wearing short sleeves or shorts again but I think some loose skin is the lesser of 2 evils! I looked at your profile & was wondering if you were worried about your tattoos and wanted to tell you that a guy in my support group has loads of them & I asked him about it, he pulled up his sleeves & said they are just fine they didn't warp or anything and on the other end of the spectrum, I know a girl that gained weight & ended up with a stretch mark in the middle of a her cat tattoo-it looks weird! I posted once about using lotion for skin and people went off on me but I use moisturizing lotion daily & exercise, I figure I feel like I'm at least trying to combat loose skin whether it's backed scientifically or not it makes me feel much better.

I think maybe you might be thinking the sagging skin will be very visible and maybe you cannot truly imagine life without obesity. You will learn living healthy is much better than hanging skin. It usually isn't as bad as we imagine either.

There really isn't a way to avoid the extra skin issue. Plastic surgery is your only option here. However, it can be hidden and again, it's not as bad as we might imagine.

Best wishes with your surgery! I think you will be surprised by how great life is living it healthy!