Loose skin at 60 lbs down - what to expect

Down about a dozen pounds myself and I'm already noticing some saggy patches around my midsection, which has me wondering how much worse this gets for people who have lost way more. For those of you who dropped a large amount of weight, did the loose skin tighten up at all over time, or is surgery basically the only real fix? Curious what a realistic expectation looks like before I get further along in this journey.

Lost 38 lbs myself and the midsection sag got a bit worse before it leveled off, but my arms and face actually firmed up over the following months. At my age and with this much left to lose I'm realistic that some of it isn't bouncing back on its own. For now I just remind myself the loose skin beats the weight health-wise.

At 29 lbs down I'm seeing the same belly sag and it's definitely worse than at 15 lbs, so don't expect it to plateau early. Everything I've read from folks here says the face and limbs catch up but the midsection mostly doesn't, especially if you're older. I'm planning to hold off on any big decisions until I've been at goal weight for a year or so.

I'm at 47 lbs down and my experience mirrors what others here said - arms and face firmed up on their own but the belly sag stuck around and even got a little worse as the scale dropped. At 40-something I'm not banking on much of it recovering, so strength training is my main lever now and honestly it helps how it looks more than I expected. Definite with the others that surgery isn't worth thinking about until you've sat at maintenance for a good while.

Down 60 lbs on Zep and honestly the belly is the one spot that never really snapped back for me, though everywhere else firmed up more than I expected over a year or so. I'm in my 40s so I figure skin elasticity isn't doing me favors either. My take: give it a solid 12 to 18 months at maintenance before judging whether surgery talk is even worth having.

I'm only about 20 lbs down and already see it around my waist too, so this thread is sobering but useful. Hearing that arms and face tend to firm up while the belly lags helps me set expectations early. Lifting is something I started recently and I'm hoping it pays off the same way it did for you.

Lost a bit over 50 myself and yeah, the belly is the stubborn one - face and arms honestly bounced back better than I thought they would. Building some muscle has helped how it all sits more than I figured it would at this point. My plan is wait until maintenance before thinking about anything else.

I'm only 14 lbs down and seeing the same thing, so no big-loss wisdom here, but my mom lost a lot of weight in her 40s and the belly was the last thing to settle - took a couple years, not months. Adding muscle made the biggest visible difference for her, so I'm hitting the weights early rather than waiting.

I'm 31 lbs down and the belly sag is already my least favorite souvenir, so this thread is helping me recalibrate. Sounds like the pattern is pretty consistent - everything else firms up while the midsection keeps its own timeline. I started lifting a couple months ago and figure whatever muscle I add is the part I can actually control while the skin does whatever it wants.

My knees stopped complaining on walks around the same time my resting heart rate dropped, and both happened well ahead of the 40 lbs I've lost. I started keeping a little note on my phone of those wins after realizing the scale was the worst storyteller in the whole process.My knees quit aching on walks around the same time my resting heart rate dropped, both well before the 40 lbs down showed up on the scale. I keep a note on my phone of those wins now since the scale is the worst storyteller of the bunch.

At 50 lbs down I can tell you the belly is the stubborn one - arms and face snapped back way faster for me. A year in, it's better than it was at the six month mark but not gone, so I'd guess patience plus lifting is the realistic play before thinking surgery.

Same here - my resting heart rate and morning blood sugar readings shifted before I hit even 30 lbs down, and my ankles stopped swelling at work which nobody warns you about. I keep a list of those non-scale changes on my phone too because some weeks the scale just refuses to move. The loose skin showed up for me as well and I'd still make the same trade every time.

37 lbs down and my midsection is the same story - it softened up some between month three and now, but the apron part isn't going anywhere on its own for me. Slow loss seemed to help more than I expected, so that's one upside of the med pace. Still wouldn't trade it back for anything.

Only 6 lbs in myself so the sagging is just starting for me too, but I've been reading through older threads here and the pattern seems to be that time plus some strength work helps more than people expect, especially everywhere except the belly. Sounds like the honest answer is some of it improves and some of it doesn't, and slow loss on the med may be quietly working in our favor.

Sixty-five lbs down myself and the bloodwork and joint pain were the first to change, way before clothes fit differently. The loose skin on my arms and belly is there for sure, but sleeping through the night again makes it easy to accept. Keep that list going, it helps on the stalled weeks.

Only 3 lbs in so I'm jealous of that 20, but my resting heart rate already dropped and that's what keeps me going. The scale lags behind how my body actually feels, so those non-photo wins are the real ones.

72 lbs down here and honestly the arms and belly never fully bounced back, but everywhere else tightened way more than I expected by around the two-year mark. It's a fair trade when I look at what I got back, but I'd say set expectations that the midsection is probably stubborn. Building some muscle under it helped mine look less deflated, for what it's worth.

40 lbs down here and the belly is definitely the last holdout, but I noticed lifting even light weights made everything look less soft within a few months. The skin itself hasn't magically tightened for me, though I've had these 30 lbs off longer than you've had yours so there's still time on the clock. Bumping this since I'm also hoping someone chimes in on how it looks after more time passes.

64 lbs down here and same story with the belly being the stubborn zone. Mine looked worse around the six-month mark than it does now, so time plus adding some lifting made a real visual difference, but I wouldn't call it tight either. Just plan on the midsection being the last to cooperate if it ever fully does.

76 lbs down and my midsection story matches everyone here - it improved slowly over the first year and a half but never got truly snug. Lifting made the biggest visual difference for me since it filled things out underneath. At a dozen pounds in, don't panic yet; a lot of what you're seeing now may look different by the time you're where the rest of us are.