Loose skin


(Carol E. ) #42

@Donna

I appreciate you sharing your experience! The insight is so helpful.

I am seeing loose skin on my arms and thighs and conservatively I have about 30 more pounds to loose. I would be stunned if my loose skin resolved completely but it’s my honor to have it instead of fat. :wink:

Intermittent and extended fasting are part of my lifestyle so I am hopeful that the loose skin will be positively impacted. I understand that the process takes years but hey, I’m Keto for life!


#43

I had most of mine cut off! It would have really messed with my head TBH. I had done all this work and got rid of most of the fat I had carried round for decades yet I was left with this unsightly mess (my opinion of my body - this is not a comment on other people). I was mid 40s, had just got my body back and wanted to make the most of it in the dwindling youthful years left! Again, this was my perspective. I am thrilled with the result. It has not made me body perfect by any means, more the kind of body I would expect to have had I not gained and lost and gained so much weight over the years. The only exception to this is probably my boobs. I don’t have implants but they got lifted and I am pretty sure they would be more saggy by now in a parallel world where I maintained a consistent weight! They are not perky by any means but I love having a body I feel good in. Part of this has been ongoing work I have done throughout weight loss in accepting and loving my body for what it is but the surgery definitely helped - icing on the cake!


(Paula Hradkowsky) #44

She obviously was generalizing for the group asking. As a plastic surgeon she sees a lot of people, and she was most likely speaking to the most often encountered outcome. Yes, I believe there would be a difference between someone who lost less than 100 pounds and those who have lost a lot more.


(Tracy Lee Gerrard) #45

Ive definitely found that fasting tightens the skin. I remember hearing Dr Fung state that in his obesity clinic they have never had to surgically remove loose skin. That autophagy in fasting draws the skin tight. My skin loosens as I lose a bit of weight and gets a bit floppy. And then after a couple of weeks I notice that it’s tightening. I still have a long way to go with these bat wings lol.


(Ryan) #46

How extended?


#47

To get a good run on autophagy, I noticed I need to go longer than 3 days. And be strict about it. No broth or cream. Vitamin supplements, salts, coffee, tea and water…are ok…and that’s it.


#48

Interesting. Do you have any objective or subjective criteria for determining “a good run on autophagy”?

Objectively speaking, Dr. Valter Longo uses the changes in white blood cell (WBC) count, but that’s not something I have regular access to in order to determine the optimal timing for me.


#49

I meticulously track my weight everyday, and pay attention to other signs, like the taste of my breadth, how my gut feels, the alertness of my brain, how I sleep, etc. I don’t prick my finger and do the glucose and ketone testing anymore, because I discovered the linkage of my body’s signs to my historical blood testing readings. (And I hate pricking my fingers!!! So, I was glad to stop!) Blood testing has helped me “listen” to my body.

I also noticed that after 3 days fasting, I see a fast progression of skin tightening and definition happening. I can see abs showing up in my tummy area, and skin under arms shrinking. The rate of the “shrinkage” and “definition” goes so much faster after 3 days fasting. I attribute that to autophagy. My body must be scavenging unnecessary skin and other tissues for “food” to keep me alive.


(Dustin Cade) #50

@Donna Everytime I’m discouraged by the amount of weight I’ve still got to lose, I’m able to gain motivation from you! Truly inspirational, be warned I’ll probably mention this many more times through out my journey :heart::heart::heart::heart: #meep


(David) #51

A great way to put it. And those arms look strooong!


(outlawpirate) #52

Donna, you have lost 452 lbs? Did I read that correctly? Wow! Wow! Wow! Amazing!


(Tim Goffard) #53

Donna, if you’ve lost 452lbs and you’re “starting” to see some loose skin that is amazing!!! I’ve seen people lose 60lbs and they look like change purses! If this is true, can you please please please share your story? I’m terrified of surgery and terrified of the loose skin. I’ve desperately been trying to find anything definitive on loose skin and autophagy, but all I can find are references to Dr. fung’s claim which of course has no proof or even a testimonial. Just a claim. He seems to avoid talking about it at all.


(Tom Seest) #54

I’ve lost over 300 pounds with 50 to 70 to go with no loose skin but I lose consistently and slowly, and I fast. Not sure if the fasting helps or not.


(Tim Goffard) #55

Wow, that is impressive!! It is encouraging to hear that. Are you young? I’m 44, so I’m probably not as elastic, lol. I’ve never heard of anything like that. I thought loose skin was inevitable.


(Tim Goffard) #56

What was your fasting routine?


#57

Right? I really appreciate and admire Jason Fung’s contributions to advancing the concepts of fasting, especially as it relates to the treatment of diabetes, but I get the feeling that he wings it on some things. He has often stated that he has never referred a patient for skin reduction surgery, but that’s not really saying anything. He claims to have had thousands and thousands of patients, often reducing huge amounts of weight, but he’s never offered before and after pictures or any other sort of evidence that loose skin isn’t an issue.

I think autophagy probably does help with loose skin, but I doubt that it’s anywhere near as curative as he implies.


(Tom Seest) #58

I’m 51. No specfic routine. I mix it up


(Tim Goffard) #59

Wow! That is encouraging!


(Kristin Rogers) #60

As a former midwife I can say that this kind of thing varies wildly. Pregnancy stretches everything out, and some bounce back and some don’t. I have a mild connective tissue disorder, so mine didn’t. Other people went from tiny ladies, gave birth to big big babies and then got tiny again. Nothing is fair in Love and weight loss :slight_smile:
I hope the worry of loose skin doesn’t stop anyone from making net-positive changes to their health/diet/lifestyle.


(Carol E. ) #61

Primal Potential podcasts are all fabulous! :sparkling_heart:

I came across an older one from Elizabeth Benton on loose skin. Worth the listen :blush:.