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weight loss and excess skin

I haven’t exactly started my new raw eating plan yet, and could use some more info. I have a lot of weight to lose (60-100 lbs) and I am worried about having excess skin. I am wondering if there are any supplements that I should be taking or foods that I should eat a lot of to minimize the chance of excess skin. I intend to lose weight at a safe pace and exercise but I wondering if anyone had any additional info for me or of anyone has successfully lost this much weight without any problem.

Thanks

Comments

  • I think you shouldn’t worry about it as long as you feed yourself lots of green stuff. I used to think it was impossible to loose weight without having a lot of skin but now I don’t think so anymore. I think your body will adjust if you take good care of it. It’s the bad sugars that make the skin loose and weak…

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    It’s bad sugars that make the skin loose and weak…

    What? Oh my! I never heard of that. wow.

  • Any other comments from anyone who has lost a lot of weight? I appreciate all the info I can get. It’s really hard for me to not worry about it, as I think that if I had excess skin, I would look awful and it makes me put off losing the weight. (I know this is stupid). Or any more info on how greens will help or how sugar causes the looseness?

    Thanks alot!

  • i do not have first hand experience with significant weight-loss, however i have a number of good friends who are aestheticians and know a lot about skin. loose skin due to weight-loss MAY be made WORSE because of “bad sugars”, i do not really know anything about that, but it is definitely not CAUSED by bad sugars. the skin’s elasticity may have already been compromised by an unhealthy diet, but at this point it’s really a combination of genetics, age, how quickly the weight is lost, and how much weight we’re talking about (you stated how much, but i mean in proportion to your frame, etc). think of skin like a lycra-blend fabric… the more, and the more frequently, it has been stretched out, the less it will snap back to its original state. a fabric with more lycra is more likely to be able to continue snapping back the same way, and a fabric with less lycra will be less likely. that is why some women, no matter how well they eat, after one or multiple pregnancies find they have a problem with loose abdominal skin, while others have no problem with it (meaning some women are genetically inclined to have more elastic skin, not that they are composed of more or less lycra, ha). obviously genetics, age, or the way you may have eaten in the past are not things you can reverse or control, but you CAN prevent FURTHER damage to your skin’s elasticity by maintaining a healthy diet now, low in processed foods and sugars and high in fresh fruits and vegetables. i would also advise that you maintain a slow and steady speed of weight-loss (as you say you intend to) and moisturizing your skin daily or twice daily with something very emollient… i personally use and love pure virgin coconut oil as a body moisturizer, but also many women i know have used cacao butter to prevent or lighten stretch marks, which are also caused by a breakdown in skin elasticity. making sure to lift weights and/or perform full-body strengthening workouts will help as well, as skin will generally appear tighter over toned muscles. many women skip strength training when losing weight, but this is one of the biggest mistakes… both for how you will look AND feel! staying well-hydrated may also help.

    my overall advice to you is trust what you know is best for you and lose the weight. be kind to yourself and give yourself the gift of health and fitness, and worry about anything else that comes up IF or WHEN it happens. you may be worrying for no reason at all!! and being healthy and a healthy weight will always feel and look better… the aura and glow of good health, of the raw lifestyle in particular, is the best beauty product around. as trite as that sounds… it’s really true!! so STOP STRESSING and beating yourself up, sweetie!

    oh also, i just thought of this, but google “thermage” and take a look at it. it’s a new totally non-invasive treatment which returns elasticity to skin and has had some amazing results. so again, just another reason to think “i’ll cross that bridge when i come to it” and let it go!

    hope that helps :)

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    I’ve lost 160+ pounds (12 stone) and have had no excess skin problems. Check out my B&A pics on my website. Make sure you are all vegan and as raw as possible and stay away from packaged/processed foods and cooked wheat. The processed foods contain preservatives, yes even the vegan one’s from the ‘health’ companies. (vegan doesn’t mean free of all bad things) It’s the preservatives that preserve your skin and cause it to keep it’s shape instead of springing back as you reduce in size. The breads make you crusty. :) Cooked wheat dries and ages your skin like nothing else.

    And it may be common sense but I’ll say it anyway. The more Fresh foods the better. Dehydrated foods are great comfort foods but don’t live on them. Remember you are what you eat! If you want to be Fresh, eat Fresh food, if you want to be Crusty, Preserved and Dehydrated…

    Lovebows, Chris

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I’m Chris’s wife and I can verify that although he lost more weight than how much I weigh in total, he has no excess skin problems at all! I know people who have lost similar amounts of weight using non raw food methods and had lots if excess skin. One woman I know even had a full body lift which is a major operation.

    Chris also has never done and never does any excerise, good news huh?!

  • I’m sure I read it somewhere that bad sugars weaken the skin and to me it makes total sense because they weaken everything. We should also keep in mind that there are also skinny people out there that have never ever been fat and yet they have loose skin so it’s definitely not only a matter of stretching. I was never very fat but I have been somewhat chubbier than I am now, and I am pretty sure that when I was chubbier my skin was definitely also looser. Oh and my ex-boyfriend, who also used to be chubby but has listened to a lot of my food-”fanaticism” and at least stopped eating things such as evil sugars and dairy, by chance ended up in my bed recently and yup! His skin was definitely tighter than before! No matter what I think you should just be brave and get on with it, it won’t all happen overnight so you have lots of time to feel how well your body adjusts :) Good luck!

  • Wow if Chris Carlton lost a whole Zoe then it’s pretty amazing that he doesn’t have any excess skin problems! How can the stupid doctors not acknowledge things like this??

  • chriscarltonchriscarlton Raw Newbie

    I’ve lost my Zoe! Oh NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

  • Ha ha… You seem like such a sweet couple. I wish you were my neighbours :)

  • Hello Rawspice! I work for a plastic and reconstructive surgeon and we see patients all the time for excess skin from weight loss. Skin is skin. It isn’t a muscle so don’t think that working out is going to stop the excess skin from happening. Although working out is extremely important ( I don’t go a day without working out) but it’s not going to help with your skin. Everyone is different so some people have lots of excess skin from weightloss and some people don’t have any. It all depends on your genetics. Your skin is already stretched out and there is no going back. So just work on getting healthy and deal with the skin once it comes. Besides, a lot of health insurances cover the procedure to get rid of it if your symptoms (yes, you will get symptoms from it) fall under their criteria.

  • chriscarlton your last post was so sweet. And Zoe your so lucky to have him or I should say both of you are very lucky to have each other. God bless you both.

    And rawspice don’t worry about how you will look as you lose weight, with the way you will be losing a lot of health problem that come with the overweight too. Also if you get rid of the weight slowly the chances of having saggy skin will be less. Good luck :)

  • I am curious about excess skin, also. How long does it take for it to tighten up? I noticed that getting things like nutritional yeast (cooked) out of the diet kind of helps!

  • I think excess skin comes when you lose weight too quickly doesn’t it?

  • amysueamysue Raw Newbie

    rawspice – here’s a very honest blog entry about this by Philip McCluskey who lost 200 lbs on raw http://www.lovingraw.com/blog/?currentPage=3 You might have to scroll down the page to get to it. Good luck!

  • I gained 54lbs during my pregnancy—I thought I was going to need surgery to fix the loose skin until I read this: http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm Guess what? He was right!!!

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