Excess skin!!!

[momof3]

Can anyone tell me if your skin shrinks back?? I have had three babies and my stomach is gross!! I have skin that literally hangs! I need desperately to know if my skin will firm back up as I lose weight. I need to lose 70 lbs. I have been taking Vitamin E capsules and drinking 96 oz. of water a day. I am exercising, doing both treadmill and Denise Austin Get Fit Fast videos. Please tell me what your experience has been.

[BikerGoddess]

A lot of it depends on you.

My experience was that I lost slowly enough and am young enough that my skin shrunk with me. I have a few spots that aren't as tight as they were 15 years ago, but I'd imagine that would have happened anyway at some point.

I have very oily skin and look much younger than I actually am. I have tanned quite a bit, but I moisturize and take both fish oils and vitamin E. I lost 50 lbs over about a year. Not had any pregnancies. Still have stretch marks from gaining, though.

Hope it works out for you

Laura

[jerzeegirl]

I am freaking out over the same thing!!!! I gained 50+ and want loose it in the next 4 months so I am scared it won't shrink back. Anyway I have spent alot of time reading up on this subject and have decided to combine 3 methods.

1. Body Brushing
2. lot of fish oils/Q10 and copper
3. deep tissue kneeding

[Psyche]

Many who have "been there... done that" will tell you that exercise is the key. I have a friend who had the stomach reduction surgery and with exercise (having lost 150 pounds in a year) she has very little loose skin. Had she not exercised and toned the muscles her doctor says she would have needed plastic surgery to remove the hanging skin.

After having two children, I went into the Navy and ended up with washboard abs and no loose skin after 10 weeks of boot camp. And I had a 'lap' before.

[RidinDaLightnin]

I have a very small frame and my kiddos were huge babies. Had c-sections for all of them. In my case, since I am so tiny and my kiddos were so big, guess what I have???? Hanging skin and loads of stretch marks. It is not too terribly bad, but I'll never be able to wear a bikini or belly shirts again.

[luv143JM]

i am in the same boat as you. i was real skinny when i was little. then gained weight. then when i got in high school i lost the weight way to fast and very unhealthy. Met my husband gained the weight back and been so ever sense till now. now i look at myself and see lose skin everywhere and stretch marks which really was not bad before but after having my son there a lot worse. not really worried about the stretch marks but the lose skin eeeeeeeeh. :yikes i know how you feel.
Summer

[jhhayes]

I've found that the lotions marked "skin firming" have helped as well. While they aren't a magic bullet, I've seen a difference since I began using them in combination with exercise, water, and vitamin E. Good luck!

[kvarner]

Does anyone know if sit-ups/crunches particularly alone get rid of excess skin?

I can relate to everyone here. I had a HUGE baby 6 months ago (9 1/2 pounds) and my belly is still sagging with the excess skin and the tons of stretch marks. I've been trying to do sit-ups to target the area but it doesn't seem to work. I haven't thought of the vitamin E oils and I will have to try that, but has anyone had any luck with sit-ups??

~Karina

[crankle2004]

kvarner,

I can relate to you. My daughter was 9 pounds 8 ounces. I have stretch marks and they suck!! I do sit ups too. My fiance said that sit ups can be good and bad for you....I wonder if he is right?

[kvarner]

kvarner,

I can relate to you. My daughter was 9 pounds 8 ounces. I have stretch marks and they suck!! I do sit ups too. My fiance said that sit ups can be good and bad for you....I wonder if he is right?

Wow, my son was also 9 pounds 8 ounces! That's especially big for a girl. How does your fiance say sit-ups can be bad for you??? I'm curious!

~ Karina

[crankle2004]

I dont know, he said that sit ups help build muscle and it will make your stomach stick out. Not sure how true that is....My aunt did situps all the time and her stomach never stuck out, in fact she almost had a six pack.... ensive

[BikerGoddess]

Situps alone won't make your tummy flat or take up excess skin (based on personal experience and from what I've read). Full situps are considered bad for the back. Crunches or pilates are thought to be more effective.

Building muscle may temporarily increase bulk because muscles grow faster than you can lose fat, but it doesn't make you look fatter. And if you keep doing it, you'll look way better toned than if you just lost weight.

Laura

[Sprocketjones]

Of course there are absolutely tons of rumors about excess skin, how to get rid of it and where to get it cut off...

1. You can't excercise away skin - you can firm the muscles underneath, you can build the muscles underneath, but you can't excercise it away.

2. The amount of shrinkage of actual skin is fairly determinant of how you've treated your skin and your hereditary predominance...some people have really elastic skin - some people tanned most of their lives

I can't vouch for this so I might just be adding to the skin rumormill...but I was told that if you have a lot of excess skin after dramatic weight loss that it takes a good 5-7 years to notice enough sloughing that it's tighter...which is gross to think of.

The people I know personally, have all decided they went through the pain of losing it, they'll go through the paying to get rid of it.

-Stacie

[Donnie]

I know where you're coming from on that one. My daughter weighed in at 11pounds 11 ounces. My tummy (and my bladder) have never been the same! I've lost 49 really fast and I have a really horrible hanging basket. At least now it hangs down and not out.
I have pretty oily skin and I have really started working out, so I am hoping for the best!
I also started mowing our acre by hand instead of the riding mower.
Feel the burn!

[Spookybell]

Correct form for sit-ups

If you do sit-ups or crunches, suck in your gut as if you were trying to pull your belly button to your spinal cord. Keep good posture as you do each exercise. This will build your abs to the correctly inverted and attractive muscle. If you don't pull your belly in, your abs will build in a protuding form. That would be a bummer. I often see women at my gym with a great body but a gut that makes them look a bit swayed back. My trainer said it's from doing crunches wrong. Good luck!