Yup, I said it. Those dreaded words. The words most feared by anyone who has a lot of weight to lose.
When I mentioned before that at times I feel like I’ve traded one set of problems for another, this is what I was talking about. Extra skin.
People often use the fear of extra skin as an excuse not to lose weight. I myself used it, and now that I have lost a lot of weight, I see what a patently ridiculous excuse it is. It is simply that. An excuse.
Don’t get me wrong. I have a lot of it. I hate it. No, I despise it. It is a constant reminder of how I tortured myself, hurt myself, in the past. I guess it could be seen as battle scars, but I’ll tell you that I would rather be seen as battle-free. I hate what I’ve put myself and my body through over the years.
While I do shudder at the mere thought of it, I see that it is simply such a ridiculous excuse because regardless of how much extra skin I may have, the lost weight makes up for it. All of the other advantages to weight loss make up for it. And all but the absolute worst of the extra skin can be hidden beneath the right clothes (which I’ll admit can be difficult at times to find). You know, unless you don’t want to be hidden beneath the right clothes… 
Then it can be a problem.
I do have days where I feel like this, but I honestly feel like this most of the time (but not nearly as cute). And sometimes when I look in the mirror, I feel like this.
I guess it is only fitting that this is posted on Friday, the 13th.
i hate loose skin and stretch marks! would you ever consider surgery?
Pamela – I think it takes some time for the skin to shrink back to fit your new body. Plus, you’re young so your skin is more elastic. I bet after another six months or a year it won’t be that bad.
The first time I lost a hundred pounds (yes, I’ve done this more than once) I was 40 and hardly had any loose skin. In fact, it never even occurred to me it was a problem. I never heard of the loose skin problem until I started reading the WW 200+ board. Seems to be a recurring theme there.
Surgery is pretty drastic, but if you really can’t live with a the extra skin, I guess it’s an option. I want to have have a breast lift after I reach goal, but I’m old and the girls are going south.
My girlfriend is trying to talk me into a tummy tuck too but I’ve watched the plastic surgery shows and all I can say is ewww, gross! And I don’t know if I handle that much pain. Plus, no exercise for several weeks. Still, having a flat tummy would be nice.
This is one of my biggest fears! I’ve never lost more than 40 pounds so I really don’t know how my skin would react. They say every person is different. Not to mention, I did have baby. I can deal with the stretch marks and even some loose skin, but I hope it’s not too bad.
I don’t even want to think about my upper arms. They are so horrible right now. I don’t ever expect to be able to go sleeveless, but I just pray that the loose skin don’t hand out of short sleeve shirts.