Losing weight quickly and saggy skin

[girlyjim]

Did anyone do the Cambridge 1:1 diet or similar where you lose weight quickly and not get saggy skin? I'm starting it next week and this is my biggest fear. I have about 4/5 stone to lose.

Bump

Saggy skin varies from person to person depending on factors like genetics, ethnicity, age and skin elasticity.

Things like stretch marks are an indicator that there is poor skin elasticity, so a greater likelihood of sagging.

If it's your biggest fear, why not lose more slowly so there's less chance of it happening?

I lost 2 stone 11lbs last summer/autumn in 4 months and didn’t get any saggy skin. In fact I was really pleased how my body shrank, the weight came off evenly and I love my smaller body.
My biggest fear though wasn’t saggy skin it was the health implications of being overweight.

My biggest fear though wasn’t saggy skin it was the health implications of being overweight.

This. Although I did get sagging, which I fully expected as I already had bad stretch marks even from being a teenager, it would never make me regret losing weight.

I lost over 2 stone in around 4 months 3 years ago and although I did originally get some sagging in my lower belly, it soon tightened up as my body got used to my new size and there's no sign of it now.

I have lost over 4 stone in nine months (Ozempic/Wegovy), now a size 10-12 and at 50+ yes I do have some sag (mainly turkey neck and lower belly; two old c sections so overhang) but not as bad as I thought and I swear it's tightening up slowly on its own and with moisturizer and a lot of water. I don't do much exercise but take HRT, oral collagen and omega 3. Extra skin is quite manageable with shapewear and way better than the alternative.

My friend lost a lot of weight in her mid 50s - maybe 4 or 5 stone - on a VLCD about 15 years ago. She didn't have any issues with loose skin at all.

Mine looked not great after losing 3 stone in 5 months just calorie counting. But as @cosynightshome says, it does look a lot better once your body has adjusted a bit.

I find body brushing, washing with an exfoliating mitt and giving it all a good massage, weight training and rubbing in oil/body lotion religiously makes me feel I'm doing all I can for my skin tone. Fake tan helps too.

But I also try to remember that I look miles better in my clothes and no worse out of them than I did overweight, and also the health and mobility benefits are ace and well worth it.

Worth knowing that my friend has since regained all the weight she lost and more, which is high risk on any diet but probably more on a VLCD which is so drastically different to maintenance. That doesn't mean they aren't sometimes a good thing, just that you need to take maintenance really seriously and listen to anything they tell you about how to make it work.

Good luck!

I've tried that before. I've tried every diet going and nothing works. I'd rather have saggy skin than be at risk of diabetes or heart disease etc but I just wanted to hear from other people that have done the same.

Thanks for all the replies, gives me hope! Day 1 today and I've got about 4 stone to lose. My consultant advised me to walk as much as I can and hopefully that'll tone me as I'm losing the weight.

Its not the speed of the loss which dictates the skin issue

Its a mixture of factors such as elasticity, age, amount of weight loss, how long you have been overweight etc

It shows more in someone who loses quick because its not adjusting itself as you go along, so if you lost 6 stone in 6 months, you'll see it more than if you lost 6 stone in 2 years because over that 2 years it will be adjusting itself. But the person losing it quickly, their skin will also adjust over the following couple of years.

That's really interesting and helpful, thank you!😊

Soupfiend, you sound like you know what you are talking about! Can I ask if this is based on some reading/research or your own experience? I ask because I tried to do some research when I first lost weight 10 years ago, and there was very little about that I could find.

I think it's an important issues because I think dissatisfaction with our post weight loss bodies can be a factor in regain. I didn't think it was possible for me to lose weight and finally managed it in my early 50s. I felt deeply dissatisfied with my post-weightloss body, tried to lose more weight and got to a point I couldn't sustain. This time round, I've settled for a higher weight that is more sustainable for me.

I think I had to get my head round the fact that a thin middle aged body still looks like a middle aged body, but knowing the sagginess would improve with time might have helped me accept myself sooner.

The main literature out there seems to be about skin removal, so any kind of research on weight loss and loose skin that is more reassuring would be very useful.

What I found was I lost weight but it didn’t show straight away, it took about three or four week when my body must have shifted around and then it was noticeable. This happened about three or four times when I recently lost 2 and three quarter stone. I went from 89 kg to 71 kg in about four months. You can’t compare photos of me know with then, clothes look lovely on me and I look like a normal’ not obese middle aged woman. Honestly there have been so many positives that even if you get some saggy skin you will still in my opinion look healthier and nicer. I did not look or feel good when I was obese. The best I looked was the pretty really fat girl with the nice dress on.
I have found since I lost weight I actually feel lighter and kind of bounce around more and want to do more which I think burns more energy and tones me up. I am certain my fitness has definitely improved.
For me there have been so many plus points that saggy skin wouldn’t even register. I would prefer slimmer legs with some sag than big fat chunky ones where my knees may go from carrying excess weight.

Good luck OP!
I've gone from 120kg to 70kg in about 18 months. There's some saggy skin, but it's not too bad (I do a lot of exercise, which may help). But I'm in my 50s and have been overweight for most of my life so wasn't really expecting to develop a taut bod - and it's a hell of a lot better than before, in every way!

I completely echo what @NewYear24 said.

Also, another way of looking at it is that I was not confident showing my abdomen skin when I was obese, and I'm still not now due to the skin. But I am more confident about how it appears in clothes (which is most of the time). So where I was unhappy with the appearance the whole time before, at least I feel it looks OK in my clothes now, which is a gain overall.

Good luck to you OP.
Could someone shed light on monthly cost at all please 😊

Well done all who have lost weight, and good luck, OP.

I'm losing weight with the 'NoBS' programme. It's based in the US (and is bloody brilliant for long term, permanent significant weight loss). Lots of women have more than 6 stone to lose, and loose skin is a common topic.

It's never wanted, but everyone agrees it's way better than the weight alternative.

Well its a bit of both to be honest. Im on a weight loss group who are all ages, sizes, races, sexes, some of whom have never been the right weight and some who only put on weight recently etc etc

You can see some who lose masses of weight, 10 stone or more, yes they have a bit of sag but nothing extreme, being able to wear shorts and t shirt for example

Then you see someone who has lost similar, or perhaps less and yet has a large about of skin.

The speed at which this weight has been lost is all the same, its about a stone a month (although mine is a lot slower)

Its true it seems the younger the loser, the less likely the skin issue. Also black skin generally has more elasticity than white skin

Now for me, I do have lots of skin so far but I find that this fluctuates in terms of how it looks, it seems to go through phases, Im still losing. My face for example, sometimes it seems like its more saggy than usual. Then it will suddenly change and look tighter. Its likely only me that can see this, not others.

So the conclusion I come to is that this is the normal way of it adjusting but in a couple of years it wont look like it does now.

I dont think I can put myself through the plastic surgery needed to get rid of it all but I am not saying I will never do it, Im not ruling it out.

@soupfiend thanks for that, really interesting. Do you feel able to tell us more about the group, sound interesting. I'm in an (online) weight loss community too, it's very supportive and I think is why I've never got back to what I was pre my 2012 weight loss, though I have had my ups and downs. Being in a group is so helpful, I've learned so much from for seeing the people who do achieve it and also those who don't!