Info all Articles

On my recent Weight Loss Story post, the lovely Ffion left a comment asking me if I’d had to deal with any loose skin after losing weight (and apologising if it was a too personal question bless her) well you know me, I’m a pretty open book and not prudish at all so I thought it would be good to do a post on it!

source

To answer her question, yes I have some loose skin.

Skin is a living organ which is meant to adapt and change shape as we grow. The extent to which it can do this depends upon its elasticity which can be genetic or down to lifestyle factors such as diet or smoking. When you have been very overweight and then lose a lot of weight (especially if you lose a lot in a short period of time) then the skin doesn’t always stay tight and can be loose. Some people can also get stretch marks when they change shape quickly. When I was younger I developed stretch marks around my hips, back of knees and under arms but they have faded into barely noticeable feathery white marks.

source

I first realised I had loose skin when trying on bikinis for a holiday – I was in one of those god awful changing rooms with mirrors at every angle – here’s what I said from that post back in 2010:

‘I got quite down in the changing rooms when I looked at my body in the mirrors (those ones that show you at every angle possible!) I've worked very hard to lose weight and my arms, upper back and legs look great, I'm developing some real muscle definition, but the rest of me, there’s no other way to describe it, I'm saggy. My boobs, belly and bum are not good. I do have some quite good muscle under there but my skin is just loose. Those mirrors just seem to reveal how bad it can be! I feel well peed off that my life of yo yo dieting has stretched my skin beyond repair. Not happy.’

Since then I’ve developed a lot more muscle and dropped a few more pounds and things are definitely better but I still have that loose skin on my stomach, boobs and bum. I look fine when standing up straight, but when I lean over the belly hangs and the boobs sag. This is something I’ve grown to accept. I’d rather be a healthy weight with a little sagging, that let’s face it, only my husband will see (and he was with me when I was almost 15st and I have no doubt would love me whatever size I was) than an unhealthy high weight. I do think there’s a balance to be had though, the sagging actually looked worse when I was at my lowest weight, like my skin was hanging off my bones.

I know this probably doesn’t look too bad but I couldn’t get a better photo, this is some of the loose skin on my stomach

As the skin is a living organ it does take time for it to adjust and I think the amount of ‘sagging’ has reduced over time as the skin naturally tightens over my new shape. One thing I have had to consider around the loose skin thing is that loose skin has weight – what I didn’t realise was that loose skin will add some pounds to the scale. When I checked my body fat at the gym, I was at 20% which is fairly low, even though I don’t look ‘ripped’. According to this chart my 20% body fat levels are not healthy for my age, so even though I was a healthy BMI and my body didn’t look particularly muscly, my fat levels where not (this is something I’ve subsequently addressed as I’ve generally gained a bit of weight)

The lighting here is very flattering but I think it shows that despite having some loose skin when I bend over I look ok standing up straight

I think the best ways to limit sagging skin when loosing weight is to:

• Lose weight slowly and in a healthy manner – 1-2 lbs a week is usually what’s recommended. At this rate your skin should have time to adjust to your new shape
• Strength train – developing muscle is not only great for your overall health and shape, but I have found that it really helps the appearance of loose skin
• Moisturise – I was pretty lax with keeping my skin well moisturised while losing weight – I wish I’d had a better routine in place to keep my skin supple. Depending on your skin type of course, an oil based lotion should be best and may also help reduce any stretch marks

If your very big and left with a lot of lose skin I know you can opt for surgery in certain circumstances such as Jen from Prior Fat Girl has done – check out her blog for more details.

For me, the most important thing has been acceptance. I’m never going to have very defined visible abs or a particularly pert bum, but as long as I have a push up bra I’m ok ;-) I’ve even joked with James that when we eventually have kids at least I’m pre stretched!

So don’t be shy, what is your experience with loose skin? If your on a weight loss journey – or a weight gain journey, do you worry about your skin?