Question:
Why do some people look so much older after loosing their weight?
Some of the before/after pictures practically sold me on the surgery, but I have to say that some people look older when they are at goal weight. — [Anonymous] (posted on October 3, 2001)
October 2, 2001
It is mostly due to the fact that while we are overweight - the fat plumps
up the skin showing minimum wrinkles - once we loose the fat, like evil
magic - the skin sags a little, the wrinkles are no longer plumped with
fat...etc!!
— chance2lv
October 2, 2001
Really? I thought most of them looked younger. Some did get quite thin in
the face I thought though which may be why they looked a bit older. Just a
guess anyway. I've never been thin in my face myself though would like to
see my neck again! ;oP
— Karen L.
October 2, 2001
People have actually thought I look younger. One person that saw my picture
beside my post thought I was in my 20's until they read my profile and saw
that my daughter just (in her 20's) just got married.Just this week I had
someone to make the comment that they couldn't hardly believe I have lost
almost 100 lbs since I have no wrinkles, etc...especially around my face
and neck. All I can say is Thank you Jesus! I will add that my thighs are
another matter...LOL.
— TJSmith
October 3, 2001
An anonymous post? asking /telling a question? The people on this site look
fabulous , with VERY few exceptions.
— Rose A.
October 3, 2001
I'm going to assume that this is a serious question. I can't
speak for the pictures of people here because I never really look
at pictures. But I do have 6 family members & friends who have lost
over 100lbs. each some by wls and some by good old fashioned dieting.
Those who are now thin or averaged size, do look "older" than
they looked
when they were fat. Even my mom who is in her late seventies, looks
seventy-ish since losing 55lbs. When she was heavier she had fewere lines
and wrinkles. Also I notice that her shoulders are rounded in a way that
I never noticed before. My 42 year old sister (down 110lbs. after
dieting)
actually needs a facelift. She looks much older than 42 now that she has
"jowls". It makes sense. When people lose the cushiony fat in
their faces,
the skin sags and lines are more pronounced. That means they looker
older.
From a body standpoint, excess skin on thighs, stomachs and upper arms
tends to
make a body look "old". One of the reasons why I have decided to
maintain my
weight at 185 is because at 50 years of age I do not want to look any
older.
My extra fat is like a natural face lift that plumps up my skin and keeps
me
younger looking. Same with my thighs and butt. If I lost another 20 or
30lbs.
I'd fit into smaller clothes; but, I wouldn't look as good as I look now.
Certainly I could "fix" things with cosmetic surgery. But, I
don't want to
go that route. I'll keep a bit of extra weight on my body if it means I
look
ten years younger!
— [Anonymous]
October 3, 2001
People tell me I look much younger now. I do notice, however, that when I
smile my eyes wrinkle and crinkle in a way they never have before. *sigh*
Oh, well. At least I don't have that look like, "I'm really trying to
smile but my fat face won't let me do it!" Also if you're worried
about it, add some weight training to your exercise routines. It will give
you a "younger" body shape and help fill out your skin.
— ctyst
October 3, 2001
One of my aunts (who spent her life gaining/losing the same twenty-five
pounds) said that you lose first and gain first in your face, so you should
lose a few extra pounds so that when you regain them they will plump out
your face -- old wives' tale? Who knows.... Nina
— [Deactivated Member]
October 3, 2001
Bull Hockey
— Jackiis
October 3, 2001
Everyone tells me I look younger. Maybe coloring the gray hair helped too!
I have been having a problem lately because when I look in the mirror I
look exactly like my mother. The only problem is that I think I look like
she did when she was in her 70's because she had always been heavy. Even
when I get out of the shower I see her body instead of mine - thin and lots
of skin and other stuff hanging. I'm thinking about having a tummy tuck and
breast lift just so I can feel better about myself and feel like I'm 42 not
72 or 82! With clothes on I don't look bad though if I do say so myself.
— georgiacarol
October 3, 2001
Boy, I guess you hit a sore spot with your question. Got a few feathers
ruffled. LOL I have to agree with you. My sister had this surgery about
3 years ago and now that she is at goal weight she looks about 10 yrs older
than she should. I think it is all the skin that can not
"shrink" back. Also, I think it might have something to do with
the hair loss. Thinning, fragile hair tends to make you look older. I
think the key is maybe...excercise and protein.
— skymaxjr
October 3, 2001
I've noticed that too. Although the body usually looks 'younger',
sometimes the face looks older. I've also seen it in myself when I lost 50
pounds before my wedding. All of a sudden I found these wrinkles where I
didn't have any before, and I was only 29! Less fat to plump them up and
smooth them out. Who knows what I'll look like now that I'm forty :-<
— mom2jtx3
October 3, 2001
I don't get it. I looked through a bunch of the before and after pictures
and I don't think they look older.
— Meredith A.
October 3, 2001
DEOUGH!
— Karen R.
October 3, 2001
I think some parts look older and some parts look younger on me:)
BUT- I behave like I am in my 20's- not my 40's so I am happier.
Most people think I am younger- I have even been told my 14 year
old and I look like sisters. You knows? I'd rather look
older and be able to ACT younger:)
— M B.
October 3, 2001
I think most people look phenomenally younger. However, I agree that a few
of the After pictures look quite a bit older. I think it's the wrinkles
that are no longer plumped out, the fact that weight hasn't stabilized yet
and the face frequently loses weight first, temporarily thinner hair
sometimes, and the fact the pictures don't always give you a true overall
image of someone. Seeing someone's body and face in a picture do not give
you a true impression of what they really look like in person. I suspect
that even those people who didn't photograph well in the After pictures,
look much better in person! Not everyone photographs well, and in general,
plumper faces photograph better than thinner faces (in my opinion).
However, in real life, the thin faces win in my book!
— Kathy J.
October 3, 2001
i think that I look much older. Everybody keeps telling me, however, that
I look younger! I don't get it. Can't they see all the wrinkles on my face
that were never there before? I'm fifty years old and my skin has no
elasticity left. I have to assume that they aren't looking closely enough
to see the wrinkles, that what they are responding to is the bounce in my
step and the energetic way that I move now. It may also have something to
do with the wonderful clothes I've been buying, the great hair cut and the
care I take with my make-up. I may look older, but I never looked
better...and I am having such a wonderful time doing it all.
— Anne G.
October 3, 2001
There are SO many reasons that we do this, and most do, but thank goodness,
we don't see it in ourselves. LOL! My pix at 14 months were at the same
weight I am today, but I look much more "haggard". We lose the
"filling" under the skin and it goes south first. It does fill
back in, over time, with plenty of protein & water. Low protein people
& low water people will look older than the high pro/water people. But
eventually you can catch up to a degree and everything runs all around and
gets even. Color is better in a year, too.
— vitalady
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