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Old Fri, Mar-10-17, 14:06
khrussva's Avatar
khrussva khrussva is offline
Say NO to Diabetes!
Posts: 8,671
 
Plan: My own - < 30 net carbs
Stats: 440/228/210 Male 5' 11"
BF:Energy Unleashed
Progress: 92%
Location: Central Virginia - USA
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I'm sorry that you are unhappy. Perhaps you are just focusing on the wrong things. There has to be many, many good things that have improved in your life for having lost 70 pounds. I have lost a lot of weight. I have some loose skin. I can't say that I'm happy about that, but I prefer where I'm at 100 times more than where I came from. Some consider loose skin battle scars. I tend to think of it as an inevitable consequence of getting so large. I am doing what I can short of surgery to make it better, but even if nothing changes I'm happy to be me - even with my sagging skin.

I've read much on the subject of loose skin. How much it bounces back depends on age, how large you were, how long you were large, and a roll of the dice with genetics. I lost 70 pounds back in my 20's and had no loose skin. It bounced back completely. Then I proceeded to spend 25+ years weighing in the 300 to 400 pound range (with an added bonus of 40 pounds at the point I started eating low carb). It took me 30 months to lose 250 pounds. After seeing the 'biggest loser' type shows on TV I was mentally prepared for the worst as far as loose skin goes. I expected it to be bad.

Frankly, my loose skin is not as bad as I thought it would be and it continues to get better. I didn't lose the weight as fast as those 'biggest loser' contestants and not as fast as those who have had weight loss surgery. I have sagging skin. No doubt about that. But it never did hang as badly as those examples I saw on TV. Along the way the more I lost the more my skin would sag... up to a point. Then as I got closer to my goal weight the less it would sag. In other words, the sagging was at its worst while I was in the middle of my weight loss journey. There was still plenty of fat in that skin to weigh it down with the forces of gravity. With time and increased fat loss, my skin has started to tighten back up.

My goal weight was not very ambitious. It was simply not to be obese. So I picked 210 pounds. I didn't think I would ever get there, anyway. But I stuck to this WOE and to my surprise I actually surpassed my goal. Right now I am still classified as "overweight". I still can pinch more than an inch. I have fat remaining in my sagging skin. I've been maintaining my weight loss for nearly a year now. The loose skin continues to slowly improve. Again, from what I've read, I can't know how far it will bounce back until I lose that last bit of excess fat. So my goal between now and the end of the year is to see if I can get down to a normal BMI. I want to lose this last bit of fat. But losing the last 20 is proving much harder than the first 250 pounds. I'm working at it. Time will tell if I can get to where I want to be.

I am over 50 years old and I used to be twice the size I am now. Even if I can make it down to a normal BMI (179 pounds is my max) I have my doubts that my skin will fully recover. I do expect that it will be a little better than it is now and right now it is not bad. It is certainly better than it was 2 years ago.

One last thing... I had some serious 'bat wings' under my upper arms. Lifting weights, time and continued weight loss helped quite a lot. If you look at the 1000 Days of Healthy Eating milestone (see my signature line) - I have a photo there that shows much improvement.

I don't know how bad your skin issue is compared to mine. But your journey is not yet complete. With time and additional weight loss it should improve. Keep working at it. Perhaps you will need skin removal surgery when all is said and done. Perhaps you won't. Lose the weight. Be happy with what you have accomplished. Enjoy the freedom of being light on your feet.
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