So with being in our 30's (for me 31) I am curious as to how many people have had issues with excess skin? I would think that a lot of us still have quite a bit of elasticity. Just curious as my surgery is on Monday and just thinking about the future.

Thanks!

I am 6 months out, down 111lbs and while my skin isn't what I wish it was, it's a hell of a lot better than it could be and what I think I expected it to be. I thought my stomach would be worse than what it is. My inner thighs are worse than I anticipated, probably because I never even considered it. And my arms were getting pretty bad but are bouncing back already as I have been doing weight training exercises and Insanity. I have noticed improvement as a whole since starting Insanity. My PCP told me that he's very optimistic about my skin. I was 31 when I had my surgery 6 months ago, turned 32 in September. Because we are still in the age range where we can rebuild collagen and have elasticity, we have a good fighting chance of things coming mostly back together. I can't help but wonder if mine would be better if I didn't have 2 pregnancies while being overweight. When I was 9 months pregnant with my fist daughter, 4 days before I delivered her I weighed 297lbs on my doctors scale. That was after a starting weight of 235lbs. If I wasn't so overweight when I got pregnant, I may not have gotten the stretchmarks I have. At least 90% of my stretchmarks are from being pregnant. Now I'm stuck with them. But anyway, you have every reason to be optimistic about your skin.... I'm slowly seeing improvement already. I was told it may take up to 2 years for your skin to retract, so I'm trying to be patient. I've seen pictures of others who are older than me and have lost less weight and have worse skin. Try not to worry too much about that for now. Just focus on being ready for your surgery and then healing. Good luck!

aclabombard13 You are definitely one that I am following on here! Your pictures are amazing and I am hoping for the same results! I have surgery Monday morning so I am very EXCITED to say the least!

I am 30... I have had 4 pregnancies .. I had my 1st son at 17 delivered him at 175 and bounced back to 107 within 6 months my stomach was loose then ... My ob had told me then I didn't have good luck with the skin so then three more pregnancies followed with gaining all kinds of weight and yo yoing .... So I def know I will need work on my tummy ... Im a lil nervous about my inner thighs and my arms but prepared for my stomach

One of my concerns going into the surgery was not wanting to look like one of those older people who have obviously lost weight, but can't do anything about so much excess skin. Not having had a bypass done, we seem to lose the weight fairly slowly. The definitely gives our "younger" skin time to come back. I guess lots of good lotion, not smoking, getting lots of water, and avoiding excessive sun damage will help us.

I am 35 and the skin thing scares the you know what out of me. I have 4 kids and my last pregnancy was twins that weighed 7 and 8 pounds. I lost 80 pounds after them with no extra skin but still a little pooch of a lower yummy. I am hoping that I have my grandmas jeans she had surgery when she was 60 and hardly had any skin. I can dream right?

My arms are definitely going to need some attention. I am down 60lbs already and am not pleased with my arms. Other than that, I am doing well in the skin department.

While I was on a previous weightloss journey, the clinic told me to take Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's). These are supposed to help rebuild the elasticity in your skin and help it to retract. You may want to discuss it with your doctor before you start taking them, just to make sure. You can find them at any health store like GNC and such. I know that I am going to start taking them about a month before my surgery and then throughout this new journey. I would love to avoid having skin removal surgery. Best of luck to all!

I've heard that lotions and creams don't make too much of a difference but I find that hard to believe. I know you can't get rid of stretch marks, but I would think lotions would help tone up the skin and add moisture. Do any of you have a favorite cream or lotion? I was sleeved on April 25th and when I got home I started using Palmer's Cocoa Butter Massage Lotion. It says it has vitamin E, collagen, and Elastin. I have no idea if it's working because I haven't lost enough weight yet to notice loose skin. I'm wondering if there are better lotions out there than what I'm using.

I had my surgery on April 23rd. I am sure I'll have lots of loose skin. Has anyone used undergarments to keep it all in? Any recommendation will be helpful.

I know that I'll have skin problems. I'll need my arms, boobs, belly, butt and thighs done. I hope I don't need a facelift. I'm 37. I have given birth 6 times and the last pregnancy was twins.

aclabombard13 I can't believe your results. I need to be friends with you. I want to know exactly what you are doing!

i hate my arms too, my highest weight was 286 then i got the band lost 110 pounds and my arms are sagging, 2 pregnancies later and band removed i am up to 220 going to get sleeved, my stomach no strech marks i can't believe it, but arms and inner thighs ughhh

I really appreciate this group and I'm just beginning my journey, please keep posting updates