My stretch marks

[fireheart17]

So as the result of my stretch marks around my bellybutton (I'm NOT pregnant, just somehow seem to have put on the weight even though I'm trying my hardest to lose it and I'm doing everything by the book), I will most likely be stuck with a massive ass apron of skin. Which will require a tummy tuck. Which I won't be able to afford. Which means I'll be stuck with that massive ass apron of skin for the rest of my life.

[Boozy]

I'm not sure how you've gone from "Some weight gain has caused some slight stretching of my skin" to "I will eventually become so deformed by weight gain that only major surgery will help me."

I understand that it can be difficult to lose weight, but if you keep at it, you at least won't gain any more. In the meantime, rub vitamin E cream on your stretch marks. It will prevent them from getting any worse.

[AdminAssistant]

You just have to lose weight slowly. Skin sag only happens when people drop a lot of weight in a short period of time.

[fireheart17]

Only caveat I've had has been I seem to get MORE of them despite making a huge effort to cut down on the junk food and exercising more than usual. Last summer there were three on each side. Now there's a whole mass of them stretching up to my stomach.

Also aren't stretch marks skin tears anyway?

[blas87]

I have them on my breasts because they grew so fast, and on the sides of my hips and inner thighs because they developed quickly. They are white (I guess that's better than what it could be), and if I get any color to my skin (which I used to do a lot of tanning) they are even more obvious. No amount of cocoa butter or other creams makes them lighter or go away.

[anakhouri]

I have them on my thighs and also on my stomach (none of the advice I ever heard worked for me); I highly doubt you'll have a huge flap of skin on your stomach. Even after pregnancy and a c-section, I have a flabby stomach but not huge and deforming. I'm not going out in a bikini anytime soon but I'm not disfigured or anything either. Honestly if they're worrying you I'd see a doctor but really I think they are part of life like varicose veins or freckles.

[Andara Bledin]

If you lose weight in a natural manner (not liposuction or being deathly ill), then your body should adjust and the skin tighten as you get thinner. One of the best ways to help that along is to take care of your skin and exercise.

Fresh aloe will help scars (such as stretch marks) fade. I don't know how far that'll go, as I've never bothered, myself, but I do know it will help to some degree.

^-.-^

[fireheart17]

If you lose weight in a natural manner (not liposuction or being deathly ill), then your body should adjust and the skin tighten as you get thinner. One of the best ways to help that along is to take care of your skin and exercise.

Fresh aloe will help scars (such as stretch marks) fade. I don't know how far that'll go, as I've never bothered, myself, but I do know it will help to some degree.

^-.-^

I have been exercising up to 3 times a week. I am working towards weaning myself off of the junk food (haven't touched chocolate in a while, haven't touched donuts and the like in AGES). I go swimming twice a week and am trying to organise some unintentional exercise for the other days (whether it be walking for 30 minutes around a mall or walking to a location I would normally drive to). When I go up to my boyfriends, we walk just about everywhere unless we need to take the car for some reason.

the stretch marks themselves appear to be on my hips and stomach, there are a few minor ones on my breasts (I suspect they were from puberty) but oddly enough, none on my back .

[Giggle Goose]

I last 50 pounds last year and I still have a bit of loose skin on my belly. I actually slowed down my weight loss on purpose to allow my skin to catch up. And the stretch marks on my belly have faded a little, but I will probably always have them. If you look real close at a lot of people, many of them have stretch marks, and not just from weight gain. So just keep doing what you're doing, you will be fine.

[Greenday]

I got a couple on the sides of my abdomens. I've gotten a couple "What are those scars from!?" and it's rather embarrassing to answer. Luckily, those who have asked didn't seem to care. I guess it's one of those things where I care more than others care. Seems to be the case about a lot of things actually.

[Nyoibo]

I've got stretch marks on my stomach and my arms, I have no idea how they got there.

[fireheart17]

Here's what makes it worse: I am doing EVERYTHING by the book.

I am getting more exercise, as much as I can.
I have cut out pretty much all junk food (weaned myself off of everything but potato chips and corn chips)
I am eating at least 2 large meals a day and a light breakfast where possible.

Yet I am not losing anything, instead I seem to be gaining.

[Andara Bledin]

If you have just started an exercise routine, you will absolutely gain weight in the beginning. Muscle builds faster than fat burns, and it's much more dense.

Also, it's generally considered better to eat many smaller meals over the course of the day rather than only a couple larger ones.

^-.-^

[blas87]

When I joined the gym, I weighed about 125-130 lbs. And I thought I was omg getting fat!!11!

What do I weigh two years later? 150 pounds. One to sometimes two more pants and shirt sizes up. I destroy older shirts because my arms and legs are so much bigger.

Sometimes I wish I'd never started lifting and gained so much muscle in my arms and legs. And I did gain a little fat (I call it "ex weight" because there was a time I felt there was nothing to do to deal with that idiot other than sit around and scarf pizza) in my hips and thighs like usual, but for the most part, I'm so much more athletic looking than I was two years ago. And a lot more firm in some areas than before.

Two years ago, I couldn't lift a 10 lb bag of potatoes. I can do more than that now. I can lift and heave bags of wood pellets.

[Boozy]

If you have just started an exercise routine, you will absolutely gain weight in the beginning.

That's unlikely.

First of all, most people just beginning an exercise routine don't do muscle-building exercises like weightlifting (although they should). You don't put on any bulk from swimming or long-distance running.

Second, even if she decides to take up lifting, it takes a long time for a formerly-sedentary person to put on a pound of muscle. Most people will have dropped weight from the calorie burn of lifting before they ever notice bulk getting added.

Most importantly, most people will find that building muscle causes them to drop weight faster than ever. Every additional pound of muscle can burn up to 50 calories a days, and weight training boosts your basal metabolic rate.

I don't think people starting an exercise regimen can safely blame weight gain on muscle gain. It's more likely the fact that exercise makes you hungry, and people can easily "justify" a post-workout binge. It takes a long time to run 300 calories off on a treadmill, and only five minutes of snacking to put it all back on.