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Hey guys,

Looking for any advice on how to better re-absorb my excess skin after having lost an excessive amount of weight (142lb). I already am working on my cardio more and towards improving my overall body fat % (currently 17%) which will help. I take Vitamin E as well which is known to improve skin's elasticity.

I guess my question then is if anyone out there has any other suggestions; other than surgery as I know that is a very real option down the road, but it's invasive and I've prided myself getting this far naturally so don't really want to settle for surgery for this.

As far as pictures go of my excess skin if that's necessary i'll post some, but Im not going to initially if I can get advice without haha =). Thanks guys

Bro, this isn't going to be the answer you are probably looking for but I can tell you it is the truth. Most of what people call excess skin is localized deposits of subcutaneous fat. Surgery is rarely necessary if the other necessary elements are present. The chief element being the ability to cut down to very low levels of body fat. People will swear up and down about loose skin and being unable to lose it but it can and usually does go if the person gets to a low enough body fat percentage. Think about something for a second, surely you've seen the concentration camp photos from WWII and other conflicts. These are people that lost insane amounts of weight very, very rapidly and had no ointments, no vitamins, no essential fats, no chemical cosmetic wizardry; yet have you ever seen a concentration camp victim picture in which someone had loose skin? I haven't. No I'm not suggesting that you starve yourself into looking like a concentration camp inmate, but the point I am making is that the body will reabsorb the skin and subcutaneous fat that gives the appearance of loose skin. The trouble for guys is that certain areas,especially lower abs, and low back, and for a few inner thighs are biologically more stubborn in giving up the fat stores. These are the first places it goes on and the last to come off. In order to get rid of it, the body usually has to have almost no other place to take it from. For some guys this might mean dropping down to 8% body fat, for some it might mean 4%. But once you get down to that level the body will take that fat and use it, and when that happens the skin will go with it. The skin is not some static unchanging bag that holds contents but it is a biologically active and alive tissue that responds to it's environment, it can and will change when the body fat is low enough and enough time has passed. It may take up to a year after the weight loss to complete its remodeling, but in most cases it goes rather quickly as the body fat levels go down. In the mean time, the biggest thing I would recommend is making sure you are getting your essential fatty acids, Omega 3's; fish oil being the most common supplemental source. Things like salmon, eggs, peanut butter, albacore tuna, etc are also high in the kinds of healthy fats that help rebuild, repair and replace skin.

Keep up the killer work man, 142 lbs is one hell of a lot of weight to lose. Congrats on having the internal fortitude to do the hard work necessary to accomplish that kind of success. I see clients in the gym everyday that find every excuse why they can't do and a very select few who give up the excuses and take action. You should be commended on one hell of an outstanding job of doing the hard work it takes to change your health. Keep up the work and keep losing and the skin will eventually go with it. More exercise and healthy eating beats surgery any day.

Best of luck to you.

Congrats on the weight loss!! Awesome job.

I don't think any concentration camp people went in with 142 extra pounds on them Yng, but I could be wrong???

A close firend lost almost as much and he is a freeak at the gym going from a size 44 waist to a 33. He has very low b/f% 9% now, but he will not take off his shirt in public because of excess skin. I believe alot has to do with how fast the weight was lost, age and genetics. Same reason some people get stretch marks and some don't.

I am not an advocate of elective surgery at all. Too many poeple die every year from it. All in the name of vanity.

Continued success.

mike3

I have to say that I've known people that lost a lot of weight and had loose skin. It makes sense. If you use a plastic baggy and stretch it out and then remove some of the contents your skin is going to be loose. I had a friend that was going to have plastic surgery to remove the excess weight. His surgeon said that his skin would eventually tighten back up but that it would take about 20 years. And the older we are the longer this process can take.

Even in my case last year when I was very sick with cancer and had a fever for nearly 6 weeks I dropped from 245lb to 185 in two months. My skin was a tad loose from the very rapid weight loss and I was even leaner with less body fat back then. In my case it shrunk back up after about another 4 months.

I also think some people have better skin than others.

Much,

It great to hear you are still going strong!!!

mike3

Thanks for the responses guys. I will continue to work on my body fat % then as that seems to be my best bet to healthily work on reabsorbing this skin.

Appreciate the input, thanks again

MikemikeMike saidMuch,

It great to hear you are still going strong!!!

mike3

Thanks Mike (to the 3rd power)