Loose skin

[John105]

Hi Jordan

I’d be interested in your thoughts about what characteristics of weight loss create a high risk of loose skin (total loss; loss as % of bodyweight; rate per week; age; other factors etc)

For example, I’m a 35yo, 6ft man at c107kg and 43inch waist. I’d like to cut to 100kg by end of February so my BMI is under 30 (and as a result my waist also probably under 40”).

Is that type of cut (7kg in 8 weeks) a risk for loose skin? Should I cut more slowly to reduce the risk of loose skin?

Many thanks in advance. Really appreciate all your excellent material.

John

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

I don't think losing 7kg is likely to cause any loose skin. Most common cause of "loose skin" is the amount of weight loss. I don't predict that you'll have any issues.

[John105]

Thanks very much

I’ll crack on!

[MSupply]

Sorry to piggy-back this thread but is there anything someone could do short of surgery to aid/reduce loose skin if someone already has it? Some miracle cream, drink Cider Vinegar or that one weird trick? Thank you!

[tfranc]

Do you know if there a grey area between weight loss and the speed that it is lost?

For example, if we knew that losing 30 lbs for someone over 2 months would cause the appearance of loose skin, is it possible to produce less of an appearance of lose skin if they lost 10 lbs over 2 months instead?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Sorry to piggy-back this thread but is there anything someone could do short of surgery to aid/reduce loose skin if someone already has it? Some miracle cream, drink Cider Vinegar or that one weird trick? Thank you!

Not really, no.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Do you know if there a grey area between weight loss and the speed that it is lost?

For example, if we knew that losing 30 lbs for someone over 2 months would cause the appearance of loose skin, is it possible to produce less of an appearance of lose skin if they lost 10 lbs over 2 months instead?

I don't think I'd expect that amount of weight loss to cause loose skin or that rate of weight loss has anything to do with it. I certainly haven't seen anything convincing me of this at this point.

[OBruce]

Another loose skin question, is there a health risk associated with loose skin? I've lost 80lbs and have considerable abdominal loose skin (went from a waist size of 56 to 38) and wonder how much fat is still being stored there.

BTW, thank you for all of the awesome real world advice you give regarding diet and caloric deficits in particular. You helped me realize my "plateau" wasn't due to "bad genetics" or any of that other bullshit, but was associated with not being honest with how many calories I was taking in every day. Much appreciated.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Another loose skin question, is there a health risk associated with loose skin? I've lost 80lbs and have considerable abdominal loose skin (went from a waist size of 56 to 38) and wonder how much fat is still being stored there.

BTW, thank you for all of the awesome real world advice you give regarding diet and caloric deficits in particular. You helped me realize my "plateau" wasn't due to "bad genetics" or any of that other bullshit, but was associated with not being honest with how many calories I was taking in every day. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the post and nice work on your progress

As far as risk to loose skin, no- not in and of itself. More of a cosmetic deal as far as we know right now.

[Stärken stärken]

I hope you don't mind if I chime in with something anecdotal. I had a dermatologist friend of mine tell me once that risk of skin problems could develop through excess skin that would warrant surgery on health, rather than cosmetic, grounds. Not sure if it happens consistently past a certain point of severity.