Warning: What follows is graphic and probably waaaaay too much information.
This is really hard, please be kind.
I thought I would pop in here on this skin issue as I am currently and for the last several months or so dealing with this very situation.
Right up front, I can only speak for myself and my own individual experience.
There is a lot of information/propaganda out there about the loose skin issue, how and what exacerbates it and what can or cannot be done to “fix” it. From my fairly surface level examination of this information it seems like the vast majority of it comes from surgeons, surgical centers, and people who have had surgery for it.
There are some dissenting voices that assert that surgery is not needed if you lose all of the excess body fat. Fine line there, between normal needed body fat levels and excess.
Looking at images of “loose skin” (pretty gross, don’t go there unless you need to); it seems to me that there is still excess fat in there. Skin is thin and I think would look more like an empty envelope than the deflated rolls look that I have seen.
I say this from the position of someone who has been and still is watching this process in a mirror.
There I said it, I’m not proud of it but reality strikes.
The general consensus seems to be that losing a large amount of weight fast, and/or aging persons not producing much collagen anymore are at the greatest risk for this.
Great, I’m 50 years old and so far have lost 145 lbs in 11 months.
The first 50 didn’t do much but make me a smaller version of round; most noticeable was in my face and neck, the wrinkles deflated a bit and I started to look older. Yippee.
The next 50 sent me into deflating rolls territory. Okay, be patient.
The next 30 and gravity kicked in full force. Well, at least I know I am healthier. And I will wear sleeves to the elbow and knee length shorts for the rest of my natural life. Naked? Um no, never, not for any reason.
Recently, as in the last 6 weeks or so, things have started getting a tiny bit better.
The flesh flags, formerly known as my upper arms, are getting smaller and less saggy.
The “apron” (how disgusting is that?) if you haven’t heard that one yet is the big belly fold that hangs down in front just like the name implies; that is pulling up and pretty much holding its own and flattening out, I have hope here.
The bag-o-thigh areas on the inner thighs are shrinking up pretty well.
This is a work in progress. I will absolutely not have surgery. I think that if I do (and I will)go ahead and lose the rest of what I consider to be excess fat and then give my skin 2 years to get over itself I should end up alright. My health is the most important thing. I am starting to see visible evidence that things are getting better on the visual front. By the way, I look pretty okay in clothes now; but this is a skin conversation.
My understanding is that the skin is our largest organ and regenerates itself every 18 months or so.
I don’t expect to end up looking 30. I know that I have done hugely damaging things to my body. But things are looking up, and I think it will be okay in the not too distant future.
I know this is a huge overshare, I just hope not a mistake.
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