With all the people who have lost huge amounts of weight on here i am hoping that someone can answer this question.
You know when you lose lots of weight (close to 100 pnds or over) and there is lots of skin left over or that extra bit of flab that just kills whatever great feeling you had about losing all that weight?

Is there anything other than surgery that can help you get rid of some of it so your not crying everytime you look in the mirror?
Even after only a month i have toned up quite a bit in my legs. i have toned calves and part of some thigh and then i have this humongous bulging fat right above it. i have gotten dancefit sculpt:abs and legs to tone up my inner thigh more but i know there is going to be leftovers even focusing on it.
I'm just wondering those who have lost the weight,what do you do about the "extras" so to speak. Are there ways to lessen it? Or do you just accept it as it is?
How do you keep this from bringing you down as time passes you lose weight and your skin or that stubborn little bit of fat just hangs there? How do you stay motivated knowing that this may and likely will be in front of you if/when you hit your goal weight?
It's already bringing me down and i barely started.

Thanks for reading.

I kindof feel your pain, I've definately got some loose skin on my stomach going. I've still got a lot of fat too though.. from what I've read from other peoples experiences, the best you can do is keep lowering your bodyfat to encourage the loose skin to tighten. I think if you're younger your skin may make quite a good recovery.

You can try a coconut cream or vitamin E oil, I use the vitamin e oil daily but its helped more for healing my scars than loosening the skin.

In the end if you're just starting out I wouldn't worry about loose skin tbh, you're gonna love the feeling of fitting into smaller clothes and looking good when you're out and about.

Loose skin happens when your weight loss is significantly muscle and your body fat % stays high. It's a common issue when people try to lose weight rapidly without thinking about body fat % at all which is why I am a firm believer that weight is the most misleading and can actually be a dangerous number to focus on.

When people try to lose weight too quickly, most people do one of two things (or both): they cut their calories dramatically with a very restrictive diet and/or they start exercising ridiculous amounts. Both of these lead to the same problem, your body is in a SIGNIFICANT calorie deficit, especially if you're doing both, and when your body is in either a state of starvation or a consistent state of excess demand, it's going to try to lower your caloric needs by burning away muscle, which means your weight will go down but that is exactly what leads to the loose skin. You simply shoudl not shock your body in this way, be in a calorie deficit, but not so significant that you feel like you're starving and your body eats away it's muscle.

Everything in moderation; too much of ANYTHING is a bad thing. It's fine to eat chocolates or ice cream now and then, just don't eat a whole tub of it in one sitting every night. It's fine (and good) to cut your calorie intake down a little bit, and it's definitely good to get to the gym, but if you do it too much, it can be just as bad for your body as diving headfirst into a 5-gallon bucket of buffalo wings.

Also, it's not an issue of elasticity of the skin at all, what happens when people have loose skin is that there are "pockets" of excess fat and your skin just doesn't have a reason to retract and, most likely, your muscle mass has decreased, which has exagerated the appearance of that fat. The good news; however, is that loose skin does not HAVE to be part of the process of losing weight and being healthier. Focus on dropping your body fat %, buy a scale or body fat monitor or a pair of calipers and start tracking that. If you really want to focus on the finer details, use your body fat % and weight to determine your lean body mass and make sure that number doesn't drop.

For the record, I've lost 78lbs since Christmas, 75 of it in the first 4 months (which is pretty rapid) and I have no loose skin and haven't had issues with it this whole time because I was focused 100% on maintaining my lean body mass and keeping my body fat % dropping; in other words, I wanted to make sure that most, if not all, of my weight loss was pure fat. There were days where my weight actually went up because my lean body mass weight went up while my fat weight went down and the number on the sacle didn't get me down one bit, in fact I was essentially jumping for joy those days!

Keep in mind that the actual weight you can lose at a "healthy" rate is going to vary from person to person, but I seriously don't believe that it's 1lb a week. 1lb is a very conservative estimate, but losing 1lb of fat a week really isn't hard if you're dedicated (eating right and exercising regularly and smart). That number is thrown around as the "accepted" standard because a bunch of trainers decided that it was the ideal way to keep paying clients paying; people tend to stop working with trainers when they hit their weight goals but seeing the number on the scale move keeps them from giving up... It's so universally accepted now that it's become a mental block that stands in the way of people achieving their real potential. I firmly believe that most people who need to lose weight can probably lose twice that easily while not affecting their lean body mass and can probably still lose at least 2lbs a week while INCREASING their muscle mass.

Clifford raises some good points.

Have you looked at Power Training and HIIT to get your body composition to change?

I'm concerned with this too. Especially due to my age 41 I'm sure my skin isn't as resilient as it once was. Most of my fat weight is in my middle section and I'm a little worried about the skin on my stomach. I have a collagen supplement on the way that I will be taking. From personal friends that have also lost weight, this helps pull everything in. I'm hoping it will help.

Dean, what is HIIT?

Christy High Intensity Interval Training.

Check out this link for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interv al_training HIIT is a good way to ensure that you are keeping up your lean body mass i.e. burning fat not muscle.

good luck with your dieting and remember there is alway someone on traineo who can help when you have a question or a bad day. I've only been a member for a few weeks but its the first place i come 2 for a bit of motivation.

I am 44 years old and have lost 90 pounds in 2 years. I did it slowly thru diet and exercise. I have loose skin on my stomach and inner thighs. The rest of my body is very tone and athletic. My body fat % and BMI is where it is supposed to be. So I do believe for me it is and age-related, elasticity of the skin issue. Just my experience. I think everyone is different.

diane-same here. i lost 100 pounds over 5 years and my weight and bodyfat are good. i have alot of loose skin. i am 35. i have to remind myself that it is healthier to be this way than obese and my body is a work in progress. it always has the chance of improving.

When I read the title of this thread I thought that perhaps you were complaining about your love life....

Angie - you are too funny! I admit I was curious about what was behind the title too! Andy yes - I'd much rather have a little loose skin than the weight!!

would turbo jam be considered HIIT? i also got one of the s.w.a.t. workouts that i am pretty sure is considered that. maybe i should get the second one.

How much is too much exercise? i have been wondering that since i started.
Right now, since i haven't been doing this very long i try to do the walk away the pounds 2 mile high calorie burn which is 30 minutes every day(i hope to up it to higher intensity 40 plus minutes 3 mile inside of 4 weeks) and every second day i do pilates reisitance bands usually after the cardio. i know i am not supposed to but doing the resistance bands exhausts me and i have nothing left for cardio afterwards. this will change when i get the new abs and legs dvd. then one day it will be abs and legs and upper body the next. i will switch to the proper way eventually but for now this is the only thing that works for me. I do these at night when i got the energy.
I want to add on a light cardio for morning even though i resemble a zombie and don't have much energy then. like the 1 mile for walk away and then maybe yoga to relax me for the day.

i will be starting to add in july, learn and burn(20 min) from turbo jam a minimum of two days a week in place of the walk away and then up it to more days as time passes and i don't collapse.

i am hoping by x-mas to be doing turbo jam 20 min turbo or if i have enough courage the 40 min which is really high intesity 6 days a week at night and a light cardio with yoga in the afternoon with turbo sculpt(or some other muscle work dvd) every second day. i have a 1800-2000 calorie a day diet.
to me, that isn't too much but i think it might be to others.
all i know is what i am doing now isn't working.

I have lost an inch in my hips and legs(checked it on a whim haven't done a full body check) and gained one in my upper arms(i am hoping it's muscle). That's the only thing keeping me motivated as the scale stays still in one place or one day went up.
Thanks for the responses and advice.
Guess i have a new question. what is a respectable amount of exercise to get the job done but not overdo it?

Dean, thanks for that link for HIIT! I am going to try it tomorrow at the gym. Very excited to try something new and it makes lots of sense.

"Loose skin" isn't a matter of skin resiliency or elasticity as much as fat pockets. Your body doesn't know what to do with that fat so it leaves it there until it's either gone or you give those fat cells more friends to hang out with.



"Where it is supposed to be" is a loaded statement. For guys, 18-25% is "Acceptable", but even at 18% most guys still look flabby. The unfortunate truth is that if you are in a situtation to worry about loose skin, you've let yourself go at least once in your life, and it's going to take hard work to get it off. If it's REALLY an issue to you, the only advice I can give you, short of surgery which I don't recommend at all, is to get your body fat down as low as possible for a short time and I gaurantee that loose skin will tighten up, age has nothing to do with it.

You will NEVER see a guy at 10% body fat or lower with loose skin, regardless of how much weight he lost or how old he is. I would recommend you, as a woman, should aim to get down to 14-16% to get that skin to tighten up (personally I'm aiming for 8%). That low a body fat percentage is going to be damned hard and it's going to take a lot of discipline, but it's only a short term goal. Once you get there, you shouldn't have any loose skin left on your body and if you let your body fat go up a little after you hit that mark it won't cause the localized fat pockets that cause the loose skin to begin with.

I don't know what your body fat % is, but again, I've never seen a woman at 16% or a guy at 8% with loose skin, and everyone I've personally talked to with loose skin issues is usually well above that range. Everyone is different, but it is my firm belief that loose skin is not an inevitable consequence of losing weight, regardless of age.

I agree Clifford. Take the winner of Biggest Loser V; this is her before



And her after



She lost 112 pounds and rather rapidly BUT with intense supervision making sure she was adhering to her plan/goals.

Clifford, Great advice,

But for us new to fitness or those of us who have been yo-yo dieting for years, can you explain for us how exactly we are to do this. Some helpful hints would be great, to get us started on this journey to do it the right way.

It would be greatly appreciated.

Blessings,
Debbie

Are you sure that's the same person? The biggest loser winner looks older and ugly in the second picture. Why oh why did she do that to her hair?
And why isn't she showing off her abs now that she's so fit? Maybe she's got something to hide?

Yeah, it's the same woman. And she does look older; happens to all of us every year ;) She's 32 or was at the time of the show.

Here's her "milk" ad.



I can't see how you would think she could have anything extra under that tanktop, it's pretty fitting. I also thinks she's pretty, but more important, HEALTHY.

my body fat is low and i do have loose skin (I know for sure it is loose skin b/c ive asked a few drs.-dermatologists and plastic surgeons as well as nutritionits and body builders) so it can happen.
i am having my bf remeasured to see if other methods show that it is low as well but ive had it done by professional using skin calipers and dexa.

Heh, I realize I come off as pretty opinionated at times, so let me start by saying that as long as you're doing SOMETHING about trying to be healthier, you're already on the right track... there's just different paths to get to the same place.

As far as actual methods for lowering your body fat percentage and increasing your lean body mass, it really depends on what you're currentyl doing. For starters, most people that try to lose weight tend to cut their calories pretty dramatically (don't do it! Your body NEEDS fuel!) and/or do ridiculous amounts of cardio. Not that cardio is bad for you, but if your goal is to increase your lean body mass, or at least maintain it, you should focus on weight/strength training with shorter, higher intensity cardio sessions (30 minute runs 2-3 times a week, preferably intervals). Unless you're specifically training for a distance run (marathon, etc.) there's really no reason to push yourself to run longer than that.

Other than that, eat right, get enough protein and MOST IMPORTANTLY, stay with it. You won't see results overnight, it will take time and if you give you then you'll never get there.



I'm sure anything is possible, but it has been my personal experience that I've never personally seen someone with a low body fat % and loose skin... so I guess I'll just resolve to say that it's "unlikely" that EVERYONE has to experience this. On the other hand, and it's already been said numerous times, loose skin is a good problem to have if you were battling obesity before; it sure beats the alternative.

Very good comments here - if nothing else, very encouraging! Gives motivation to keep on going....lowering body fat. I do think that everyone's body handles weight loss differently. For instance, a friend of mine lost 80 pounds and her breasts were not affected. Mine on the other hand are a different story. And the leaner I get the saggier they get. I've developed chest muscles above my breasts (a shelf, if you will). It's hard to describe but no amount of exercise is going to correct this loose skin, wrinkle affect short of a boob job. Ughhh

Yes there is some good info given.
Since i have always been obese since i was a wee child i am pretty sure i will have some when/if i hit my goal weight.

Got a question about strength training to help with fat loss. Is there any way i could just do strength training in the a.m. and then a cardio at night since i am just starting out? I just can't do both in the same session time. i have tried. Is two to three days a week enough?

Please someone answer, i have done searching but all it's doing is confusing me more.all i need is a guideline to start off with i won't start any heavier stuff until the mid to late fall.

Thank you in advance.

I'd say that 2 or 3 days of weight training in the am would be fine, followed by pm cardio. How many days/week are you doing cardio?

Between 3 - 6 days a week depending on how hot it is here, rarely is it 3.usually 5 unless it's a bad week physically.
I don't keep good track on my workout log but plan on making a paper notebook one so i can.
Right now it's walk away the pounds 2 mile and will be upped to 3 mile towards end of july. also with my growing exercise dvd library i will be tossing various beginner ones in here and there.
I also do introduction yoga 2 X a week(these days, hope to increase it).

Thanks for answering, i am like a chicken with it's head cut off right now trying to figure out what's what.

Haha. Don't stress. Just find what works for you.

Wow Clifford, Mr. "unique and individual snowflakes," whatever do you not know?


Yes, you're a computer software engineer, right? I mean, I can say the same, but how many people are you and I examining really? How many people do you even know that have lost a dramatic amount of weight?

How quickly did that woman lose the weight? It looks like she aged 10 years! I read an article a while back about visceral fat storing harmful free radicals, and when you lose that fat you let the free radicals loose. Free radicals age you, so when I saw that pic that's what immediately comes to mind.

I still say show me a recent picture of her that shows off her abs. I'd almost guarantee there's something there she wants to hide; otherwise she'd flaunt that too! Lose skin on the belly is something good undergarments could hide very well.

There are proceedures for taking off lose skin.

While its not ideal for most, your average plastic dr can and will do it.

I've known folks who have lost that 100+ lbs and done it and enjoyed it... it was VERY painful but they had alot of lost skin... its not the best answer but there are options for those who can't live with it.

Shawn - I hear ya. I can live with the little bit of body extra skin but I don't know about the boobs. My doctor says I'm a perfect candidate for a boob job - to make me more in proportion. I'm considering it...I worked so hard to loose the weight...so I dunno...

I say if you can afford it and you want it, go for it. You did a bunch of hard work to get where you are. Why not consider it a "reward"?

Diane, I know what you mean about the boobs. When I lost weight in college, mine deflated from almost D to barely B. They looked like two sad party balloons a week after a big event! Even so, I would gladly trade my C cups in for some Bs right now - I hate having boobs - they bounce around and get in the way. I don't show them off so I don't really care about having them to flaunt.

I think it would be great to just re-sculpt them rather than getting implants. Take up the loose skin, ya know what I mean? Make them perky!