How to deal with extra skin after weight loss?

Ok, so i lost 95 pounds and i'm sixteen years old. why on earth do i look like an 80 year old woman when i'm wearing a swimsuit? its because of extra SKIN!!!!!!!!!! ITS SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!! i should be proud to wear a swimsuit after losing all that weight, now i look really gross and saggy and just gross. has anyone dealt with this? i'm only 16, imagine what will happen when gravity starts to take its toll and i'm like 25 and i look 500.

The younger you are, the more resilient your skin is for shrinking.  I had something similar when I first started to lose.  But thats why it is so important to lose slowly.   If you lose too fast, it not only messes with how your body gets desparate for food.  It also means that the elasticity of your skin does not have time to recooperate.

Did you lose that weight too fast?   I am not sure how to deal with it now that the weight is lost, I am curious to hear what advice others will add to help you.   But I can say...  DONT LOSE HOPE...  You are way too young and your skin is still able to shrink back easier then mine at 40.  There has to be a good answer out there.  Talk to your doctor?  And keep posting.  Someone out here will have your answer.  

Just remember, here I am at 40 and my saggy tummy skin is gradually sucking back with the fat lose.  It is happening for me.  If I can do it at 40, you are definitely going to be able to do it also.  Chin up, Missy Bear.  There is hope.  ~ Lost Artist
.

I've never heard of a 16 year old having saggy skin ... even after losing weight! I'm not saying I don't believe you -- this is just a first. Well, I'm sure it will take a little time but that your skin will shrink back up. I have heard that it does take some time for that to happen ... 

Yep, it definitely takes time.... after losing over 150 pounds, I feel the saaaame way about the wobbly bits, but it's gradually shrinking back enough that I notice the difference.  Just be patient and keep working out!

well i lost it over a period of 18 months so i dont think that was too fast...but its been almost a year since losing weight, and there has been no change. I talked to a doctor, but i need to talk to another one because he was really mean to me. he treated me like I was stupid when i ased about it, and i asked him if exercising to gain muscle would help and he looked at me like i was crazy and said, "You can't tone extra skin, it doesn't work that way." but anyways, there's been absolutely no change with the skin, but i'll keep trying. If by the time I'm 18 there's still no change (a year and a half from now) I'll go talk to a doctor. Right now I'm too afraid a doctor will treat me like I'm stupid and will just make me feel worse about myself.

missy, what is your water intake?  hydration has a lot to do with the skin's elasticity.  and, if you haven't been doing weight training, you will benefit from it in so many ways, and just maybe it will help with the sagging skin.

have you talked to your parents to see what their insurance would cover for getting some of it surgically removed?  I'd certainly try other things first, but if their insurance will cover it, at least you will have that option.  you deserve to look your best, and if other do-it-yourself methods don't work, there's absolutely nothing wrong with getting the surgery.

Wow, Aimee, I am so sorry you got those results.  How disappointing  :( 

I lost about 60 lbs in college from age 17 to 19.  I didn't have your problem but I am not dismissing it.

I remember seeing a Dr. Phil show this year about young woman who lost a lot a weight and was so ashamed of her baggy skin she wouldn't even undress for her husband.

I seem to remember Dr. Phil confirming that for SOME people, saggy skin is the result, and his show paid for her to have some cosmetic surgery to get rid of the extra skin.

I believe what your doctor said is correct about the skin toning issue, but he didn't need to smack you with it and leave you wondering if there is anything that can be done.

It might have been the story about Lori.  Click on it and see what her skin looked like.  I don't remember the pregnancy part, so maybe it was someone else, but it at least confirms the saggy skin factor.

oh my gosh, thank you SO much everbody!!! It's so nice to hear people telling me something other than just to live with it. I've talked to my parents, and they said that our insurance might cover it, I just have to get it done by the time I'm out of college. So, even though that is a last resort, I definitely have that to fall back on. Thank you so much, united2gether! Your post actually made me cry. it was exactly what I needed to hear. I know it seems silly, but I feel like a failure because I have this problem. I feel like I should't have sagging skin because I'm young, and I must have done something absolutely wrong to have it. But your post made me feel so much better! I'm DEFINITELY getting a new doctor!!! :D and as for the hydration, I'm getting a good amount of water, but i could be getting better. I'll definitely make an effort to drink more water throughout the day. I looked at that Dr. Phil thing, and t hat's EXACTLY what I look like. Thank you christinavt, that made me feel like I wasn't alone with this problem!

::CHEERS for Missybear::!!!!  You are doing great!

  I wish I had had that many options at your age.   Keep your chin up.  Remember that your health care is YOUR choice.  You are not a number at a deli counter.  I used to get so intimidated by Doctors, when I was a teen.  Then in my late 20s and early 30s, I flat out refused to see one unless I was violently ill or bleeding to death. 

It was only later in life that I realized finding a doctor is just like shopping for anything.  You wouldnt walk into a department store and let a clerk *assign* you an outfit and not let you test the fit or try others.  Dont let a desk nurse who you have never even met stick you with the doctor of *their choice*.  If the next TEN doctors do not help you, go to #ELEVEN.  Talk to friends that you trust, family you love, and ask them who they like as a doctor locally?  I have so much confidence in your chances at your age, to solve this, that I am not worried about you at all, kiddo.   ::goofy happy monkey grin:: 

You are poised to take over the world, Missy!!!  If you can lose 90 pounds and keep it off at your age, your ability to handle the big challenges of this world should seem easier.  You already understand about long range goals, setting limits, impulse control and extended attention to details.  Some of us older farts still cant get it together... ::laughs:: Or we get it together and forget where we put it.  Not you!

GO MISSY!!!!!!!!

::grins:: ~ Lost Artist. 

Before and after images of tummy tucks (abdominoplasty), including one teen with a large weight loss.

Hi I just read this great topic on a blog and was redirected to a site which is very interesting:

 

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/2006/07 /maybe-that-loose-skin-is-really-excess.html

I'm not quite sure if it'll be as relevant to you, but I lost nearly 20 lbs and was left with horrible stretch marks when I was 15 and 16. This year I'm 17, and all my stretch marks are gone. Completely smooth. I'm going to think it's partly youth and elastic skin and all that, but also exercise would help - turning fat into muscle really does firm up what's under your skin, so it looks like your skin is firm too. Oh and also - moisturize! If it helps wrinkles on your face, it helps your body too.

Some good advice. I had a 10 pound 2' tall baby with a 15" head. Before pregnancy I was 95 lbs 5 feet tall with a 23" waist. At the end I had gained 60 lbs (toxemia) had a 60" waist and had grown 2".

Anyways..... obviously when  your waist goes from 23" to 60" and then deflates in one day.....  you end up with extra skin. Know what I read that was very encouraging and seems to be working!?!?!?!?

http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm

Hopefully the link goes through. It all made sense and the more I focus on gaining muscle the healthy way and not just crash dieting.... the better it gets. Also, the wrinkly stretch mark lookin skin is getting better the more I put facial cream on it. Heavy creams/collagen builders. It makes sense..... works for my face and skin tone..... why would my stomach be any different!?!!?

Hope this helps!

And you survived...good for you.

Original Post by o8vhh32:

Ok, so i lost 95 pounds and i'm sixteen years old. why on earth do i look like an 80 year old woman when i'm wearing a swimsuit? its because of extra SKIN!!!!!!!!!! ITS SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!! i should be proud to wear a swimsuit after losing all that weight, now i look really gross and saggy and just gross. has anyone dealt with this? i'm only 16, imagine what will happen when gravity starts to take its toll and i'm like 25 and i look 500.

 

 Hey...I lost a total of 84 pounds when I was 18...I'm turning 25 later this year and my skin has improved greatly in terms of tightness...It takes time for your skin to adjust to your new body, believe me!! I do have stretchmarks still, but they've faded, and my skin is atleast 70% less flabby than what it was when I first lost all that weight. I'm still trying to lose my last 10 pounds, and am weight lifting regularly, and my body is looking even better and tighter. 

How flabby you are also has to do with your body fat percentage...I'm now at around 28-29% percent body fat, and though I'm less 'flabby' than I was 6 years ago, I have the potential to get an even tighter body...so I'm planning to get my body fat % down to the 21-24% range.

My advice to you would be to eat clean and healthy, take up weight lifting, drink loads of water...supplements like fish (or flax seed) oil is good for you, and I also take Zinc supplements for my skin. Other tips: If you want even better results, keep your skin hydrated always, massage some body lotion or body oil on those flabby areas every day or a few times a week, that'll help stimulate your skin to tighten up. The kind of cream/lotion/oil that you use to massage your body doesn't really matter, it's the massaging that works to stimulate blood circulation around your skin, and that in turn helps to stimuate skin tightening, and even improves the appearance of stretchmarks.

Good luck!

 

Original Post by o8vhh32:

I talked to a doctor, but i need to talk to another one because he was really mean to me. 

 

 I wanted to share with you that a few months after both my aunts died of cancer, I went to my doctor scared I had a major lump on my breast.  It was huge.  He was really mean to me (my first and last male doctor, I was so upset) and told me it was a rib above my breast.  I'd lost a lot of weight and found that my ribs above my breast are a bit 'lumpy'.  It's fine and nothing to worry about, but I was so worried.  Other doctors and midwives since have really been so angry with his response.  Medical people need to support people's efforts at self care and talking to doctors when concerned.  He was wrong to treat a young person like that.

Please don't let this random ill-tempered, under trained doctor break you down.  I'm so glad to hear of your success and all the very heart-warming advise shared here.  Stay well and keep up the great work!  Stay connected too.

I want to hurt your doctor. They wonder why people are embarrassed to ask questions that could literally save their lives and why they lie about smoking/medications/diet... I can't believe that! I don't see a doctor, so it's a bit scary but my dad is an E.R. doc so I have at least that. Get a different doctor if you can. A good doctor will answer all of your questions, and a good doctor will be impressed with what you've done. People have really lost sight of preventative medicine. Our health care system is getting to be a joke. :( It reminds me of my driver's ed teacher. He was so mean, and now I'm still scared to drive.

I'm 17 and trying to lose about 90 more pounds. I'm really worried about the state my skin will be in when it's all over. I'll try and do all the same advice you're getting but if anything works especially well, tell us about it, okay? ;)

I've lost almost 75 pounds (since age 18 - 29 now) and while I have stretch marks, the sagginess is minimal. I notice it, but I doubt anybody else does, and it's just a little on my rear end anyway.

It was worse initially, but after maintaining a lower weight for awhile most of it went away. I did not maintain the same weight, sometimes gaining or losing some, but I stayed significantly below my high weight and now even though I'm 30, I look fine except for the stretch marks. And those don't show when I'm dressed.