I want to lose the weight not my youthful appearance.

So, I am very pleased with the weight loss.  Since the weight loss my confidence is steadily building.  And getting back to buying clothes of the rack has been wonderful. But I have noticed that some people age significantly with major weight loss.  Some how they look gaunt and older beyond their years.  40"s are around the corner for me and I want to look as youthful and as good as I feel.

Any suggestions?  

I know what you are talking about!  I look much older than I did before the loss.  The fat was filling out the wrinkles.

I've noticed the opposite frequently when looking at befores and afters on this site.  I think the afters often look like the younger sisters or daughters of the befores.

I guess it is somewhat dependent on where you carry your extra weight.

Most people say I look younger than when I started (I was 36, am now 38). I dunno, my wrinkles are definitely more apparent, but you know what?

Who cares!

I feel younger and I feel great. That's all that matters at the end of the day.

Yeah, I guess it's a trade off.  Maybe I'm just being greedy and want it all ;).

Oh, by the way CONGRADS on your huge weight loss.  I enjoyed reading about your journey.  

I think people look much younger from pics I've seen.

If you look at my before and after pictures (on my profile) you will see that I look like I am my own daughter.  :)  I look MUCH younger than before I lost the weight. 

I am going ot disagree with you on this one, but only to a degree. I believe I look younger than I did before VSG. I will admit that I seem to have more wrinkles, but they are very fine and don't really bother me. They add character to my face. Besides, I've earned them!

What I think is very important is that some people do not look healthy after losing a lot of weight and I think that makes them appear older. People who don't take their vitamins and don' t get adequate protein seem to have a look that screams WLS. I see it in one of the support groups I go to.

My advice is to control what you can. You can control your nutrition (food, vitamins, supplements, protein, etc...) and your calories and your hydration and your exercise. Those things all greatly impact how we appear on the outside.

You won't be able to control how you lose weight or where the fat releases first. So just accept that as it comes. It's important to know, too, that most of us find that during the first year after reaching goal that body fat redistributes and if we looked gaunt for a short while that gradually disappears.

Well said Kairk!