Weight loss gaf...loose skin?
- Thread starter Yukiari
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spawnsniper
Member
I would say turn the fat into muscle? By lifting?
Ziltoidia 9
Member
Is 138 really a healthy weight for you? How tall are you?
5' 6"
Ziltoidia 9
Member
I'm like that too. If you have the funds, maybe get a personal trainer that can help for a month or so and then go it alone.
Also, what did you do to lose the weight? I could probably 120 pounds, but I've found it really hard and I'd also have the skin issue.
Depending on your age and how much (if any) sag is there, you may not have to worry at all and your skin's elasticity will do what's needed over time. Having a sustained, reasonably low body fat level and putting on some muscle usually helps too.
If it's that bad a while after you've lost the weight and/or you're unhappy, talk to the doc. Don't jump to thoughts of surgery straight away.
jesus congratulations on that man, I'm having a hard time with picking a starting point personally, I'm at just under 380, and I'd like to get down to about 220. Any tips?
Don't worry about this. Most of them will be willing to assist you, forget about being in their way.
Also, you're talking about a loss of more than 100 pounds. If you're looking for the next 50 pounds to be an immediate goal, start looking into surgery.
I went from 300 to 240 two years ago and have kept it off since then. I had no loose skin despite losing those 60 pounds in only four months. Keep lifting, don't lose it too fast, and drink plenty of water. Sometimes you can't prevent it, but over time it will lessen, go away, especially the more lifting you do.
I feel like there's been a good amount of weight loss stories on GAF recently. It's helping me to carry through on mine. That said, BMI/body fat percentage is a slightly better indicator than actual weight. I've been lifting weights in addition to the normal cardio, and it's helped me out so far.
Really body fat percentage combined with weight would be better than BMI, I think. I do still check my BMI, though.
There isn't much you can do other than try and stay hydrated (as in drink a lot of water and moisturize). Loose skin mainly comes down to how much weight you need to drop and luck. People talk about rate of loss and lifting weights and all that, but that is not accurate in my experience. I lost weight at around 1.8lb/week average and lifted the entire time and still ended up with some because I was SUPER FUCKING FAT (went from ~360 ish to ~190 now). If your goal is 130 that looks like you're losing nearly half your body weight. You may luck out and have skin not be an issue, but that's a lot of weight to drop and I'd mentally prepare yourself for the possibility that you'll end up with some based on that fact.
Rofl, I added body fat percentage into the post before I saw yours. Yeah, I really meant to say body fat.
Facism
Member
nah mate don't worry about it. A lot of the guys in there are putting work and effort into what they're doing and would likely be friendly and open enough to give you some help and pointers.
Automatisch
Member
I went from 285-> 170 in about a year back in 2012-2013 and yeah, I have some loose skin still years later. I sometimes struggle with the idea that I won't obtain a certain body image without surgery, but at the end the day I look and feel a thousand times better. My advice for the last bit of weight is to make sure you use lotion and stay hydrated, but other than that you can't really fix the elasticity depending on how long you were fat and how old you are. There's also the option of building some muscle to help fill it out, which is a long road but one you can start now instead of waiting to see what happens.
Ya I was intimidated at first when I started back in Nov. 2013 also, but quickly discovered no one actually cares what you're doing and most of them will give you points/tips if you ask (as long as they aren't lifting at the time). I've made some good friends at the gym because of everyone going at the same time you just get to know each other over time.
Honestly if they see you in there busting your butt, they know you are putting in the work and effort just like them and they had to start somewhere too. We all start from the bottom at the gym.
Those BF calipers are reasonably accurate and you can find some at Ebay for a pittance. Mirror's a better evaluator than BMI, provided you don't have any body image issues.
And congrats on the weight loss, just do yourself a favor and don't relapse to your old habits!
Also depends on your age a bit. I know a 25 year old female at 5'6 their "ideal healthy" weight is around 139.
BMI is a good standard sometimes but shouldn't always be the golden standard.
By BMIs definition my wife is underweight but she's very healthy and strong.
Protip brotip - No one is really paying attention to you in the weight room. It's all in your head.
Just don't use the squat rack unless you are going to squat and don't sit on the machines or benches while you text your friends.
I'll look into those, thank you! And I'll keep in mind the protip brotip lol.
We have one squat rack at my gym. One. Plus a Smith machine, but I respect myself.
You're seriously going to use that space to bench in? Really? REALLY? There's two other fucking places to go bench. Get the fuck out of there.
I only have one surgery planned and that's for a chest reduction which my doctor will only go forward with until I'm in a healthy weight category. I think she wants to see where the fat loss comes from. So far I've lost a whole shoe size.100% this.
When I was at my fattest and started going to the gym I used to worry about getting made fun but quickly learned people are almost always too busy worrying about their own routines to give a shit about what someone else is doing. You might get the occasional person who offers advice on how to improve whatever you are doing, but they're sincerely trying to help out and aren't trying to make you feel bad. Otherwise everyone is off in their own little world. even if someone does look at you, they're going to think positively of you for at least trying to get in shape since everyone has to start somewhere.
Yup. And if you're obese/out of shape and you're busting your ass I'm fist bumping you in my head.
TwEE-N-Toast
Banned
You can always try the body weight stuff. Stay in your house and do planks, pushups and the like then eventually toss on a weighted vest.
I think these guys have a guide for all that if interested. https://www.reddit.com/r/bodyweightfitness/
D
Deleted member 325805
Unconfirmed Member
It's all about how big you were, for how long and how old you are. I've lost 70lbs and have bad loose skin on my arms, and general loose skin pretty much everywhere you'd expect. Honestly it sucks, fat me couldn't look in the mirror and I still can't, but at least I won't die in the next few years. If I had the money I'd chop it off and be much happier.
Just gonna give you my personal experience. I lost a lot of weight and since I've lost it I've weighed 160 pounds, bulked to 195, got down to 140 and now currently sit at 170. I personally thought I looked the best at 195, but I got discouraged by the excess skin and fat and decided to lose even more weight to get rid of it, then bulk back up. I lost the weight slowly, but the skin and fat didn't go away and I looked pretty terrible. It might not happen to you, but if it's bad enough you should just get cosmetic surgery. Get to w/e weight and look for your body you desire and cut that shit off.
I lost 135lbs over 5 years and had surgery to remove my skin.
My skin was bad i had a ~7 inch band of skin removed from my stomach - it would hang off me, my chest was... yeah, a joke I couldn't handle with the work I had put in.
If you have the money for surgery - drop weight first, surgery second, muscle third imho.
Amature-tip
-P): do pilates / yoga to improve your balance and core strength because when you are recovering from surgery putting on shoes and stuff requires standing on one leg and falling over isn't an option ^^.
My skin was bad i had a ~7 inch band of skin removed from my stomach - it would hang off me, my chest was... yeah, a joke I couldn't handle with the work I had put in.
If you have the money for surgery - drop weight first, surgery second, muscle third imho.
Amature-tip
-P): do pilates / yoga to improve your balance and core strength because when you are recovering from surgery putting on shoes and stuff requires standing on one leg and falling over isn't an option ^^.BigWeather
Member
Don't pick a starting point. Start now, on a whim. If not now, when?
That's how it happened for me. I was 336 and pretty miserable. Read on Facebook about a friend I hadn't seen in years dropping 100+ pounds. That moment I decided to start and haven't looked back. Sure I slip some, but 2.5 years later I'm in the 190s and so much happier (I'm 6'5" / 6'6" or so).
Tips: Water for all meals unless you go for black coffee and unsweet tea and the like. I do try and get a glass of milk a day. Reduce carb intake. Try not to eat late at night. Eat smaller portions. Eat vegetables and satisfy the sweet tooth with fruit if you can, berries are great as they are lower in sugar. Walk, walk, walk. I got a FitBit to keep me going and I have a daily goal of 15K steps (7.5mi) and 50 "stairs" (1 stair = 10' in elevation gain). Saturday I walked 30K steps (15mi) for the first time. Walking is great because it is low stress on your body and you can comfortably work up from a few thousand steps a day to 15K+.
Most importantly recognize that it is a change in lifestyle, not a diet.
Good job on the weight loss so far! Keep up the work and keep pushing towards that goal of yours. Hopefully the lose skin will shrink back, though losing a large amount of weight usually means left over skin unless you are still relatively young or you haven't been carrying the weight for too long.
As others have said, building muscle will help with some of that, but depending on how much is left over, the only way to get rid of the rest will most likely be through surgery.
This is the biggest thing of all. You can't just change your diet and go back to it afterwards thinking you'll keep the weight off. It takes lasting change to improve your overall health over the long term. My friend is kind of dealing with this right now, as it looks like he's put on a good portion of the weight he lost last year.
I just hope that the changes I'm making now stick and I don't fall back into the bad eating and exercising habits once I hit my goal of 160lbs. Still have another 60lbs to go though and I know my own longevity kind of relies on me losing and keeping this weight off. Heart disease and diabetes ain't no jokes.
As others have said, building muscle will help with some of that, but depending on how much is left over, the only way to get rid of the rest will most likely be through surgery.
This is the biggest thing of all. You can't just change your diet and go back to it afterwards thinking you'll keep the weight off. It takes lasting change to improve your overall health over the long term. My friend is kind of dealing with this right now, as it looks like he's put on a good portion of the weight he lost last year.
I just hope that the changes I'm making now stick and I don't fall back into the bad eating and exercising habits once I hit my goal of 160lbs. Still have another 60lbs to go though and I know my own longevity kind of relies on me losing and keeping this weight off. Heart disease and diabetes ain't no jokes.
8BitsAtATime
Member
I have a question for you guys that lost weight. What's was your average loss per week. I've lost 7 pounds and I think I'll be at 10 by the end of the week. I'm worried that's it's quite a lot in a short period of time.
Wiktor
Member
If you got stretch marks the skin will never become normal again. It will always be a bit loose.
Now..for what you can do to minimize the damage:
-keep very hydrated and eat plenty of protein
-buy some skin tightening cream. Don't throw a lot of money on it. The expensive brands aren't any better than the cheaper ones. What really matters is how often you use it and how intensively you massage it in. It's boring, so I recommend electrical handheld massagers
-Building muscle helps. It doesn't do anything to the skin, but if you have only some loose skin, muscles can fill it out.
-If despite all of this you're still starting to see problems a good idea is to go to a medical shop and buy one of those gorsets that women use after pregnancy to help skin return to it's form.
And last thing. If all fails..just go get it cut out. It's not very hard procedure and you didn't spend this much effort on diet and exercises to still not be comfortable with how you look shirtless.
Now..for what you can do to minimize the damage:
-keep very hydrated and eat plenty of protein
-buy some skin tightening cream. Don't throw a lot of money on it. The expensive brands aren't any better than the cheaper ones. What really matters is how often you use it and how intensively you massage it in. It's boring, so I recommend electrical handheld massagers
-Building muscle helps. It doesn't do anything to the skin, but if you have only some loose skin, muscles can fill it out.
-If despite all of this you're still starting to see problems a good idea is to go to a medical shop and buy one of those gorsets that women use after pregnancy to help skin return to it's form.
And last thing. If all fails..just go get it cut out. It's not very hard procedure and you didn't spend this much effort on diet and exercises to still not be comfortable with how you look shirtless.
You're not fasting, are you? That's way too much weight to be losing in a week. I'm currently losing maybe 3 pounds a week on my new training program and diet.
Wiktor
Member
Have you just started? If so then no worries. Most of that is water. If you would continue too loose this much for couple next weeks...then yeah..that's too much.
Depends on if you just started losing weight or if you've been at it for some time. Initially you may see a dramatic drop in the first week or two depending on the changes you make and how much you need to lose, but healthy weight loss is around 1-2lbs a week. I'm losing closer to 3 per week, though my weight loss has slowed a bit in recent weeks.
www.myfitnesspal.com
I've gone from 280 to 249 and dropping in 100 days so far just from cal counting.
edit: even for the first week just eat like you normally do to get an idea of what you're taking in so you have something to compare it against when you try to get under your diet limit
8BitsAtATime
Member
No I'm not. My starting weight was 258. I just stopped drinking sodas (I only drink water) and stopped eating fast food. I'm eating under a 1500 cals and I'm trying to keep active. I walk a mile a day and half of it is up hill. I don't get hungry or anything....I actually feel really good.
Next week I'm going to be walking a ton more and spending about 30 mins in a pool after I'm done.
Thank you guys, I use MyFitnessPal and have been doing it for a little Under a year. My diet wasn't too bad before but I had no idea what a portion was and I am a binge eater. I finally confided in my doctor about that and my depression and after that things got a lot better. Thanks for the reddit link I actually do use that and it's awesome.
I guess time will tell in the end about the skin, I'm 34 now so I'm not that young! I'm learning a lot of stuff in this thread though so thank you!
I guess time will tell in the end about the skin, I'm 34 now so I'm not that young! I'm learning a lot of stuff in this thread though so thank you!
Easystride
Member
At 5' 11" I went from 290 pounds to 150 pounds at age 19, and I had quite a bit loose skin around my belly button and arms. 7 years later, I have maintained the weight loss and have improved my loose skin a lot through exercise and diet. So don't be discouraged if you experience a bit of loose skin at first.
Loose skin is a small price to pay for feeling great.
Loose skin is a small price to pay for feeling great.
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