Changing Skin

Ok veteran vsgers,

I wanted to ask you what you've done to combat sagging weird skin. I'm 4 pounds away from hitting my halfway mark having lost 60 pounds in the past 4 monthes and an overall 80 pounds since beginning this process. Now I'm proud of the weight but just overwhelmed by the body changes as I lose weight. I have bat wings for arms, a saggy stomach that looks like an apron and my legs look lumpy like I have golf balls under some panty hose. Is there anything I can do or is this something that passes ( please tell me so) any info on your skin progress would be great

Some people are lucky, and their skin after the lose a lot of weight gets not so bad. The rest of us need plastic surgeries. Some skin is due to stretching, but a lot is extra skin our body made to cover our fat. The stretched skin may snap back. But you can't shrink the extra skin our body made.

Some people don't mind the melted candle look. But if that bothers you - start getting funds for plastic surgeries.

Llifting weight helps -- and time helps. Lots of water and it all goes better....but it depends on your personal skin resiliency.

Sadly there is no non-surgical way to fix excess skin. We grow excess skin to cover our extra size and that skin won't shrink or bounce back. If the skin is damaged with stretch marks, that also reduces its elasticity.

Younger people who haven't been obese for decades tend to have better luck, and of course those who weigh less at their peak might have better results.

Exercise will build muscle that can help to fill skin, but it's unlikely that you'll build enough muscle to fill all the skin.

Ultimately the only solutions are to make your peace with your excess skin, learn to love compression clothing, and/or reconstructive surgery.

Some people are luckier than others. I'm 13 years out from my DS and now 48 for a couple more weeks. I find comfort that even the skinny *****es are sagging as they approach 50, so I'm not nearly as concerned as I once was. When I want to feel extra confident though, I wear lycra undergarments. It's usually a cami, but special occasions have me adding something that goes from my bra to my ankles. Hubby calls it "Ft.Knox", but darnit, you can bounce a quarter off of my tummy with that underarmor.

I'm 120 lbs down and I see some excess skin. Basically looks like a smaller version of my old self. I started working out, and I can see that I'm becoming more shapely in clothes, but pretty much have come to terms that I'll need plastics. Funny though, when I look in the mirror I like what I see much better than before.

I was overweight for most of my life (between ages 8 & 35), and 6.5 years after having my VSG (and getting to goal), my skin didn't shrink. I ended up getting a 360 body lift (torsoplasty) and BL. Now, my tummy and breasts look great. My thighs and upper arms are still flappy, but I think I'll just live with them (plastics is pricey! and ouchy! not sure if fixing these 2 parts is worth it. fixing tummy was DEFINITELY worth it ;))