Question:
Losing Excess Skin after Surgery

I haven't had my surgery yet but I was wondering if it is entirely possible to loose 150 and be able to firm up all the excess skin with exercise, toning, wraps, etc. I am 54 years old and have been heavy the last 30 years. I am afraid that having the extra skin after surgery will be impossible to firm up. Any suggestions or ideas or answers??? Thank You!    — Yakkity-One (posted on January 17, 2010)

January 17, 2010
I was worried about that too, I did a little research. Weight training is the answer. I hired a trainer 3 days a week, two hours a day for four months before my surgery. I could not do cardio, to heavy and I had an old lower back and knee injury. I lost 140 pds in 12 months,NO skin. I take my veggie and fruit supplements, B12 complex, calcuim, gummie vites, 369 omega oil cap and vit C. I am 46 yrs old. two yrs postop this month. I have not been back to the health club. I do plan on it, lost my butt too. Best wishes
   — twig202

January 18, 2010
It really does depend a lot on the person - genetics, age, amount of weight lost, number of years carrying all that extra weight and where the excess skin is! I am 54, and lost 170 lbs before having lower body lift. I already had a pannus (apron) before losing the weight - losing the weight just made that pannus even worse. When you have a huge pannus, no amount of exercise is going to firm that skin up! So it really does depend where you are carrying the weight. In addition, the skin around the thighs and upper arms is different than that around your abdomen/stomach, and I was told by surgeon that there is less elasticity in the skin of the thighs and arms. Unfortunately, I was one that carried a lot of the weight in my thighs as well (I wish I was one of those that had thin legs and carried the weight elsewhere!) - so again there was no way the skin was going to shrink THAT MUCH! It also depends on how uncomfortable you are with the excess skin and just where it is. I had my lower body lift before I lost all my weight because the pannus was so cumbersome and was causing all kinds of problems (skin infections, difficulty walking, etc.). My thighs, breasts and upper arms definitely need help as well, but those areas are more likely to start sagging if you have the surgery before you lose all your weight - and I don't know if I'll ever be able to afford the additional surgery. The lower body lift was just as much a need as a want, and I am so glad I did it! Now to get the rest of these pounds off!
   — Wendy M.