Losing weight - and skin

Hello workout friends!
This week we're focusing on an issue you may've heard of, but never dealt with personally. Excess skin.

“I feel fantastic,” says Rebecca Meyer of “Biggest Loser” season eight.

Losing a massive amount of weight certainly has its advantages. It also has at least one disadvantage.

“I love exercise,” says Daniel Wright, also of the “Biggest Loser” season eight. “Many of my workouts were inhibited by these massive, hanging skin flaps.”

When Daniels and Rebecca lost a combined 300 plus pounds, each was left with a large amount of excess skin.

“And that gets old, when you’ve come so far and you’ve lost so much weight,” says Daniel.

The only solution: Plastic surgery.

“They’d accomplished so much with this weight loss,” says David Robbins, M.D., a Des Moines plastic surgeon. “Then they were left with this loose skin so it was almost like they hadn’t completed their journey.”

Dr. Robbins performed an abdominoplasty – or tummy tuck – on Daniel March 30th. Rebecca had the procedure done on April 29th. He removed about seven pounds of skin from her mid-section. Daniel lost 15. He also had excess skin removed from his arms.

“This is a very common procedure,” says Dr. Robbins.

But it is not without risks. Ideal candidates are healthy, non-smokers. Recovery time is about a month.

Rebecca and Daniel say they were sore, but they’d do it all over again. They say removing all that excess skin allows them to work out to their fullest ability. It’s also part of their emotional transformation.

“This is a huge step,” says Rebecca. “This is sort of like body completion.”

If you're interested in skin removal, or other cosmetic procedures visit Dr. Robbins website: http://www.dsmplasticsurgery.com/

Have a healthy week!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com