We made a promise to ourselves and you as readers when we founded Married to Keto… we would never sugar coat (see what I did there?) anything when it comes to the struggle of switching to a keto lifestyle. That promise will continue with today’s blog. It’s an embarrassing topic, yet one that needs to be discussed. Loose Skin.
The Reality of Why We Have Loose Skin
I’m a 5’8 man that weighed 352 lbs at one point in my life, now I’m at 177 lbs. All that fat has melted off my body, but at my age of 45 the skin that once housed all that excess weight is lost and roaming freely around my body. As we age, we lose elasticity in our skin. In all honesty, there wasn’t enough elasticity in my skin in the first place to snap back into place with the drastic loss. My waist went from 52 to 34… even the most virile young man’s skin wouldn’t snap back from that.
Does it look great to have skin hanging down on my lower belly, upper thighs, and off the back of my arms? Not really, but as is often the case. It’s worse when I look in the mirror then when others see it. Mentally I hate it, even with the rationale that a little loose skin is better than a lifetime of heart disease. Or a flabby arm is better than back when I couldn’t bend over to tie my shoes.
It Can But Often Doesn’t Effect Your Day to Day
Physically I’m fortunate that the loose skin I have isn’t slowing down my way of life. It’s not so drastic that I need to have it removed by a doctor. Others aren’t as fortunate. If you happen to be one of those people that needs to have skin removal surgery, you obviously have made great strides in your personal health journey. I commend you for doing what needs to be done to live a better life.
No extra skin on these fluffins!
If you’re like me and just have these “saggy bits,” hanging around I wrote this, so you know your not alone. I have a very supportive wife in Wendy that focuses on how much better my life is when I get down on my appearance. I wasn’t happy when I was overweight and now, I have moments where I’m not happy when I’m smaller. My poor brain can’t win. The focus really needs to be on how much better my life is overall. The support of my partner to let me know how I was attractive before, during, and after is what helps me daily.
There is No Easy Solution to Loose Skin
If you’re someone that is looking to start a keto life and worried about loose skin in the future. I don’t have an easy solution. There are lots of creams and supplements like collagen that people say will help. But the medical science is very weak on that. I compare it to stretching out your favorite shirt, once you push it past its limit, it’s not coming back.
But with that said, its certainly isn’t enough reason not to take your life into your own hands and control your weight. The biggest complaint I have is loose skin. Let me give you a list of complaints when I was sitting at 352… irregular heartbeat, gas, bloating, bowel issues, acne, boils, anxiety, severe depression, insomnia, sleep apnea, and on and on and on.
My Life Is Better and It’s Worth It
My life is exponentially better since the weight has come off and, on those days, when my brain is making me feel bad about my belly skin, I put that front and center. You obviously have some concerns of your own if you’re thinking about this journey, its time to make the change. Getting your life back for the sake of some loose skin is certainly worth it.
Take care my friends,
Bill
