Experiences of big-weight losers

Hi, if anyone has been following my other thread (very fat unfit beginner needs advice), you will know I am very overweight and intent on losing several stone. I know several people on the forums have managed to lose a great deal of weight and would really like your opinions on the following ...

Now I've seen lots of progs on TV where people have lost many stones in weight and have been left with great sheets of baggy skin hanging down to their knees etc. I am almost put off losing weight just by the thought of what I might end up like!! I couldn't afford the numerous operations it would take to remove several stone of weight in 'excess skin' as they have done!

Does the fact that you exercise as you lose weight, and that you are losing through sensible diet rather than stomach bands or liquid diets etc. make a difference to how your skin copes with it? Does the skin tighten back better through doing this ... or do you have to do something else as well?

Hope no one is offended by the subject of this post but it is something I really feel is important to know.

Thanks, Shani

Comments

  • If you can be bothered, do small amounts of resistance training too - things like sit ups, low weight lifting exercises etc - and you should find that your muscles help to pull your skin back in.

    http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/weight_loss/losing_weight/loose_skin.htm

    Sorry, I have no idea how to do links on here so you'll have to copy and paste!
  • well i have lost 6 stone i was 19.5 and now 13.5 i was under 13 but put more on with weights. its true if u lose alot u will have like excess skin..its the way it goes!! i think too pull my stomach bk in id have to do tonnes of sit ups etc and really cant be botered to do that much if honest, i have worked on it quite a bit tho and it has come back to an extent..thing is i think uonly massivly notice if u have ur top off etc but iu can wear tighter stuff and get away with it..and look good
  • Hi... I'm not sure how much I can say but I do want to say something

    I lost 3 stone last year and lucky for me the only thing that's still wobbly is my belly... but that's really down to me being a lazy soul and not doing any sit up's

    BUT I appreciate you may be talking about more weight and this is a big worry for you

    What I was thinking as I read your post was have you approached your GP... I only suggest it because you may find they ar ewilling to help

    I am having a breast reduction later this year and was stunned to be asked if there was anything else I needed!

    You are doing something wonderful for yourself by running and also by loosing weight - you might find they would help you if you see that the excess skin isnt going away with weights

    I do agree that it'd be worth starting arm weights and sit ups now though... get good habbits started early and you may find your body sorts itself out

    GOOD LUCK.. take care
    x
  • Thanks for all the responses and advice.

    I think I will pop in and see my local GP - I want to try and get some of those lovely little pills that take away the craving for a cigarette for one thing (nooo, I'm not about to give up yet - too much,too soon - but would love to cut down enough to breath when running!) .. and whilst there, perhaps I can sow the seeds for some long-term support from the Dr should I lose the flab and become even 'flabbier' !!

    I will also seek out my old physiotherapist from the Pain Management Centre - maybe he can give me some tummy exercises that won't affect my back too much. Sit-ups are a definite no-no for me I'm afraid. They start the back pain off and 'cripple' me for hours (tried a while back).

    You have answered my question though - I can see that, even though there may be a lot of hard work ahead, I can probably get away with less loose skin by dieting and exercising this way than should I have taken the stamach band/staple/quick diet method. .. thanks again :-)
  • yorksroyal - thanks for the link - have put in favourites to look at tomorrow (off to bed now).
  • Hi Hoose - thanks for the tip. I've seen the book on one of the 'audio books' sites. I think I'll buy it and listen to it whilst running/walking - then I should be in the right frame of mind to take it in. The pills I mentioned are Zyban - they do actually curb the cravings dramatically but you can only be prescribed them if you agree to 'give up' smoking and not just 'cut down' (don't know if that's universal but it happens at my surgery) - it's a shame because any reduction has to be good and when I've used them on a couple of attempts in the past I was down to just 5-7 cigs a day, but the Dr refused to continue prescribing because I hadn't stopped altogether. A great side-affect of Zyban is it also removes all food cravings so you don't spend half your waking hours wishing you could have that choccie cake or kebab!!

    I would never personally go for the 'quick fix' methods of losing weight as I am prone to put on double when it is all over. I keep wondering if you'd burst out of your skin if you have lots taken away and then put masses of weight back on too!
  • Just a quick pop in to say I gave up a 20 a day habit after reading that Allen Carr Book!

    Definately the cheapest way to stop smoking!

    I'd tried the patches before and they hadn't worked.

    It's worth a think about at least!
  • Concerning weight , my wife has much experience of this and has met women who have had tummy tucks after much weight loss etc. However it really differs from each individual though the concensus of opinion is that steady gradual weight loss from healthy excercise as opposed to sudden diet allows the skin to take up the slack in its own time .

    So running is ideal its slow and steady build up allows the body time to adjust and avoids the yo yo effect that crash dieting can produce.
  • Well we seemed to have moved from flab to fags LOL. I'll take everything that has been said into consideration and do the best I can.

    I bought and downloaded Allen Carr's (audio) book today. I have listened to the first few chapters and am enjoying it. we'll see how it goes :-)
  • BimblebelleBimblebelle ✭✭✭
    Am struggling with patches in order to have more breath to run with....weight stable but could easily go up!
    I have Allen Carr book.....will read again in bath!
    Good luck
  • UTF - how are you? Good to see you....not *seen* you for a while...hope that calf is well rested?
  • I saw that '10 years younger' prog on C4 the other night. The 30yo on it had lost quite alot of weight over a shortish period of time...something like 6 or was 8 stone... Well, she had a fair bit sagging skin as she'd had WLS...gastric bypass I think. Needless to say her excess skin was caused by the rapid weight loss caused by an 'unnatural' way to lose weight. I have alwys been led to believe that if you lose weight naturally by healthy eating (no crash diets...) and of course plenty of fat burning exercise then the body seems to retain its skins elasticity as the weight comes off gradually ( 2-3 lbs a week is MAX ) and muscle is also developed where fat once was.

    The other thing is that everyone is different so unfortunately what works and happens for one person may not hold true for another.

    I have around 2-3 stone to lose having already lost 2. The main thing for me though is my fitness. The fitness comes first as I know that the fitter I become the more weight I'll lose and the more I'll tone up. I would rather be a stone or two overweight and fit than be my 'ideal weight for my height' but not have the energy/stamina to do my mtb-ing and running.

    Paul
  • I agree with that sentiment Paul - if I can get to the point where I feel fit but am still overweight then I will be happy - everything else will be a bonus. I lost a mass of weight in first week but am now steady at around 2lb per week (for all of 3wks so far - only started 4 wks ago), but what is more important is I don't feel like I am just sitting around melting into the sofa or wondering how long I can lay in bed before I must get up anymore. I now feel full of life again (albeit with lots of aches and pains from first-time exercise etc.). Even did the weekly shop today full of beans - usually detest it as I end up exhausted, back aching, feet aching and fit to drop.
  • Oh I am Hoose - it seems strange to be happy at what most people take for granted but believe me it certainly does make me happy. Everyone around me has noticed a difference too. I have always been pretty upbeat since I first got back on my feet after my back problems, but now I am 'lively' and happy too - first to suggest a walk, first to get up, first to ask where shall we go this weekend then ... etc. If you'd known me back in the dark old days you wouldn't recognise me now :-) I just feel like life gets better and better - each new chapter brings something to celebrate and be grateful for .... but boy! can I bore people with how much better I am now than then. If I sound pessamistic it is probably just the words I choose when writing - and the fact that I am an unreformed 'worrier'. Like now my problem has changed from how to fill the voids in the day, to how to find enough day to fit everything in !!!! LOL
  • I agree OTH, the increased energy is great...it's the opposite of a vicious cricle...I find the more I run or go out on the bike the more I want go out.

    Today was supposed to be a rest-day but I did a slow plod around the local woods with the dog and did two laps (around 4mile).....This is the most I've ran since getting back into it two weeks ago.
  • it does show through in your writing too OTH...I smiled with delight for you when you described your walk a couple of days ago and how you felt like "breaking into a run".

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