All that loose skin...

The problem of loose skin has been extensively discussed on this forum, as has the fact that contestants wear some serious body shapers for the finale of TBL. Do you think that surgery is their one-way solution? Or would things improve, at least for some, if they wait two years to see how much their skin will shrink? One of my best friends is a dermatologist, and she has told me that it's not just skin but also fat that sags so much, but I am wondering if a slower weight loss would alleviate, or even eliminate this problem altogether.

Also: does anyone here know more about the so-called Zeltiq technique for localized fat removal? I'm not sure whether it's more effective than liposuction and/or surgery. I did read somewhere that Zeltiq is more effective against cellulite.

On a different note, and after having seen Kim's old athletic photos, I am wondering whether she would be less likely to have loose skin issues.

I'd love to see some medical type answer your first question.
I think part of the issue is how young you are when you lose---especially the estrogen level for the women. If you are past menopause you are starting to get droopy skin anyway... think the weight loss will not work well with that. But that's just my guess!

I'm not a medical person, but I am a person with some experience on this issue. I think there may be a lot of different factors that affect the loose skin issue, but I can tell you that losing slowly doesn't necessarily mean that you won't have an issue with loose skin. I have lost close to 150 lbs over the course of 3 years and I have been at my current weight (more or less) for about 3 years and I still have a lot of loose skin. I run and do Crossfit and that has helped some, but I'm pretty sure that the only way I'll ever lose the bat wings and the "apron" is surgery. I know that many of the former contestants have had surgery, but I've personally decided that I don't want to go through that.

I could live with bat wings but the apron would drive me nuts...already have a little of that, and the sweat under it issue is really annoying...even more skin and I'd worry about smell, fungus and other yucky stuff. Sorry...not meaning to gross people out...but it isn't just a "looks" issue.