Ive struggled with this issue for a long time. I went from 370 to 208 in about 2 years shortly after I graduated high school. I felt amazing, I was super athletic, when I wore clothes I looked pretty ripped. I went from being the fat guy to being the guy that seemingly got all the girls he wanted. Life was great until we hit the bedroom. Some of the more vain girls had issues with my body, and it further increased my depression. Of course there were nice girls who didn't care too much, but the reality was my loose skin was very bad. I couldn't afford surgery, so I figured I would have to bulk as much as possible. Fill in the loose skin with muscle and maybe a bit of fat. So I went back up to about 240. Now at 6'3 that's a pretty good weight for me, especially considering I probably have literally 10 labs of loose skin and decent muscle mass.
Some point along the way however I lost focus. Got caught up with partying and drinking and doing any and all drugs I could find. I felt I had to make for lost time in high school, and it kept my mind off my body issues. Well I started to go down a pretty dark path, started drinking all day, snorting and smoking black tar heroin. I lost my job, I lost friends, I gained more weight up to 290, things spiraled out of control pretty bad, similar to the way they did when I first gained so much weight through adolescence.
Fortunately I've got my life back on track over the past year and a half. I have a great job now, no drugs, only drink socially, have been losing weight again.
The elephant in the room is still there. I still have major body issues. I still have tons of loose skin and stretch marks. I will ALWAYS be reminded of my past, everyday, whether I like it or not. Ive come to terms with that.
I feel that many people who comment about loose skin on this sub and others dont understand how bad it can get. I have it really bad, it is a debilitating condition at times, it is nearly as bad as the body issues of being overweight or obese. So please, stop sugarcoating it. It might not be that bad for you, but dont tell people that it will just be okay, or its not as bad as being fat. Maybe its not as bad as being fat but its damn close sometimes. Maybe 90% of the time you dont have to worry about people even knowing about it, because its hidden. But its still something you have to think about when coming up with an excuse of why you can't go to the beach with your friends, or why you always seemingly wear more clothes than most people when its hot outside. The issue of loose skin is something that affects me and many many people every day. No more sugar coating how bad it can be. Assumptions made by people about how much better your life must be now that you lost all that weight can even make it worse.
I am in a good place now, I can honestly say I am very happy. I am now 26, have dealt with weight issues my whole life and feel I have finally conquered much of the internal struggle, though I probably still have a ways to go. Now that I have a good job I plan on getting surgeries to help with the skin. I am probably looking at 25000 dollars worth of surgeries here...
I apologize for the rant, but the battle does not stop for many of us who lose weight. It can just be frustrating seeing people type things like not to worry about the loose skin, or it won't be that bad. Its a major issue people, and needs to be addressed more.