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Be honest...how bad is my loose skin?
- Thread starter OrangeB12
- Start date
For the past two years I've been living a healthier lifestyle. I eat better, I exercise, and I've made good progress. I started off at 5'8/205 pounds, and now I'm 5'8/152 pounds. My body fat percentage is 12. The past 3 months I've really kicked up my workout. Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays I do cardio for 30 minutes. Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays I go to the gym. On the gym days I do a core training program which consists of: Weighted crunches, Twist situps, side bends, dead weight lifts, reverse crunches, russian twists, twist crunches, leg lifts (both laying down and hanging), suitcase crunches, and weighted situps.
Congratualations on your weight loss, my friend. The sheer hard work to get the point you have gotten to, shows that you have the will and desire to progress further to meet and then exceed your goal.
Listen up....Orange.........
People with all sorts of problems and complications have adapted and overcome, when "other" people said it "couldnt" be done----and did in fact get it done......just because others doubt....doesnt mean it cant happen, my brotha.........SHUT THEM ALL OUT----that DOUBT.........
ITS OUT........with the DOUBT..........
==========================================================
YOU CAN......and YOU WILL.........Tighten this skin.......It CAN be done.....
If you doubt or believe you wont.....it will be just that: You cant and you won't...........
Stand up, put your heart in it......and believe.....and you will make it happen.
Do NOT listen to anything to the contrary........Block these out like you would a disease.
More suprising and impressive things have happened with persons who believe they COULD..............
Nothing can stop you my friend, you are what you create within your own mind, filter IN what will be a positive effect on the goals your earnestly seek.
==========================================================
I believe you have to improve your UPPER body mass to improve your condition--this has been my point all along.
Primarily the UPPER and LOWER BACK witth some focus on the OBLIQUES.
1. I believe you combat your problem with a FLEX diet or a Zig-Zag diet plan. The contents of the diet is to be of sound nutritional base. The calories of the plan are to consist of certain number of days over your MT line and a certain number of days slightly under your MT Line---in a 7 day week span. In other words a surplus v. deficit ratio during the week.
2. Your training you currently perform needs modified to include the 3 exercises I suggested earlier (Deadlift, Squat, and Bent Over Row). This base, with a good diet, WILL strengthen and provide stimulation for muscle growth to your torso core and expand your skin.
Add these three exercises into a 3X per week full body workout. I want you to include cardio. However, I would perfer if your cardio was "jogging" or on a Tread Mill (something where you have to support your full body weight while performing the cardio)
Abs exercises will NOT add the benefit in the skin you seek: While ab muscles do "slightly" grow, and do in fact strengthen with exercise, they DO NOT grow like other muscles of the body.
There is a slight exception, the obliques (or the sides of the torso). This can thicken pretty good with proper weight and diet, and I want you to INCLUDE oblique exercises. For example the Dumbell Side Bend.
However, I do want you to include some abs/torso exercises to keep some balance happenen.
I am providing some information on how to configure your caloric needs.
The following is geared toward a surplus diet (or bulking). This is to give you an idea.
I will work with you on understanding the Zig-Zag diet....and the purpose of this sort of diet after you read the information.
What I plan to do is to give you all the tools you need to make a diet and training program to assist in tightening your skin and strengthening your overall body.......but it will be YOU that puts it together:
*********************************************
The road to potentially bulking:
The road to your goal, is gaining knowledge of calories and nutrition within a diet proportioned to your age, wgt, hgt, and gender, which includes associated activities.
Then developing a scheduled training plan per week (which allows recuperation time) that compliments---a clean diet. When both are developed, then the key is consistency and then watching, looking, and being very mindful, of your bodily responses to your diet and training stimulus.
Some Basic information that can lead you to weight tissue gain
Calorie calculation is an approximation science, remember this. Through your journey WATCH, LOOK, and LISTEN, to your body..........it will TELL YOU if your doing the correct things or combination of things!
○ Change your eating habits (below are some suggestion examples)
○ Substitute an artificial sweetener of your choice in the replace of refined white sugar (Refrain from Refined Sugar like you would a disease)
○ Try eating 5 to 6 smaller meals during the day
○ Balance your meals out during the day so in one day you have a mix of protein, carbohydrate and good fats
○ Drink lots of water during the day and before, during and after exercise
○ Simple Carb Examples: Grapefruit, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Oranges, Apples, Pineapple, etc
○ Complex Carb Examples: Whole Wheat Pita Bread, Oatmeal, Long Grain Brown Rice, Brown Pasta, Malto-Meal (Plain, whole wheat),etc
○ Good Protein Examples: White or Dark Tuna, Chicken Breast, Lean Turkey, Lean Ham, Very lean Beef, Quality Whey Protein Powder,, etc
○ Good Fats Examples: Natural Peanut Butter, Various Nuts, Flax Seed, Fish Oils.
This is what you need to do:
This an approximation science, but you can narrow it down very close, if your meticulous in your vision when looking at the data.
Tweak your desire and passion by educating yourself on the basic requirements of losing fat tissue. With your age, sex, height, and weight, in mind, find your approximated base calorie needs (this is organ function, breathing, or bodily function needs). One can use the Benedict Formula.
Calculate your BMR:
The Harris Benedict equation determines calorie needs for men or woman as follows:
• It calculates your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calorie requirements, based on your height, weight, age and gender.
• It increases your BMR calorie needs by taking into account the number of calories you burn through activities such as exercise.
This gives you your total calorie requirement or approximated Maintenance Line (I call it the MT Line).
Step One : Calculate your BMR with the following formula:
•Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
•Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
Step Two : In order to incorporate activity into your daily caloric needs, do the following calculation:
•If you are sedentary : BMR x 1.2
•If you are lightly active: BMR x 1.375
•If you are moderately active (You exercise most days a week.): BMR x 1.55
•If you are very active (You exercise daily.): BMR x 1.725
•If you are extra active (You do hard labor or are in athletic training.): BMR x 1.9
The calorie surplus margin is just an example:
Apply this knowledge by going over the approximated MT Line (approximated Maintenance line), say for example, a +500c per day, for about 1 week.
Before the week begins, weigh yourself in the AM when you FIRST get up (do not eat yet) (remember your clothing, preferably with just underwear and t-shirt or like clothes).
Note the time, and the approximated wgt.
Each day spread your caloric content out throughout the day (keep the body fed, with calories in the 300 to 500c approximated calories each meal), or a like division which mirrors your end caloric deficit limit (meaning MT +500c).
This way you have your entire day and body encircled with nutrition (I assume you already know to eat clean), which if your eating right, will give an approximated good energy.
At the end of the week, on the same day, the same time, with the same like clothes, weigh yourself again. Note whether you lost or gained tissue (or weight I mean).
If this didn't happen, this means you need to make finer adjustments, and the MT line is not accurate, and you need to adjust this on your own.
Based upon the FEEDBACK your body is giving you, ask yourself how faithful you were on the diet, AND how faithful in training (whether you kept the training schedule (if you didn't, this would effect the caloric equation, no?!), AND how accurate you figured in your activities caloric wise.........but, you have the base information to begin making adjustments.
=========================================================
The Nutrients are an essential factor in the diet; however, the law of energy balance within the DIET, is the ultimate KING while the Nutrients can play in some decisions made within the body.
Do yourself a favor, figure out your MT line, adjust off of this, eat well balanced spaced out meals (DONT EVER starve YOURSELF), AND listen to your body for the results.
While you are trying to figure out your body, IT WILL PAY YOU BACK, I promise. You have to learn to MASTER yourself to become the master of weight loss for YOURSELF.
========================================================
"Let your inner vision cultivate your ultimate exterior expression" —Chillen
"The strongest inner feeling that prevails will result in the exterior expression" –Chillen
"Your cultivation and manifestation of thought accumulated within your reasoning will determine your outcome"----Chillen
==========================================================
The most effective beginning is to look at your diet, and make a diet journal in my opinion, THEN work in a training program around this diet.
==========================================================
Have controlled obsession (and obsession to a---Point, is necessary), but some lose this obsession once they learn the amount of work it requires. There eyes then widen and then the obsession then pops right out. Dont let this happen to you: Raise your Want-o-Meter to a new higher level.
Best Regards,
Chillen
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YOU CAN......and YOU WILL.........Tighten this skin.......It CAN be done.....
If you doubt or believe you wont.....it will be just that: You cant and you won't...........
Stand up, put your heart in it......and believe.....and you will make it happen.
Do NOT listen to anything to the contrary........Block these out like you would a disease.
I think you're being misleading here Chillen, his skin isn't going to tighten no matter how much he believes it will, that's a simple fact. He can become bigger to fill out the skin or he could have the spare skin removed through surgery but no amount of positive thinking will increase the elastisity of skin
I think you're being misleading here Chillen, his skin isn't going to tighten no matter how much he believes it will, that's a simple fact. He can become bigger to fill out the skin or he could have the spare skin removed through surgery but no amount of positive thinking will increase the elastisity of skin
Currently, my friend, until he fires himself up and tries, I dont share your opinion. You may be surprised in how a younger skin (in this present condition) will bounce back......mine did.....
Im not misleading.......he needs to fire himself up and try.....many things happen..with this occurs....and I humbly disagree with you.
EDIT: The purpose is to get him fired up, and give him the tools he needs to get the job done. Lets not turn this into.....he can.....he cant....sort of thing..........let THE YOUNG MAN PROVE IT---one way or the other. He should give diet and training a shot FIRST.
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OK, the skin may well be young and still flexible but I just think from looking at the pictures that it's a little too much to hope for.
I don't like to take chances and would rather fill out with muscle to fit the skin better and hope that nature helps a little too and the skins tightens a bit. I don't quite understand how he's supposed to influence the elastisity of his skin
Either way, I think we pretty much agree on the path he should take, just disagree on expected outcome
I don't like to take chances and would rather fill out with muscle to fit the skin better and hope that nature helps a little too and the skins tightens a bit. I don't quite understand how he's supposed to influence the elastisity of his skin
Either way, I think we pretty much agree on the path he should take, just disagree on expected outcome
Orange DRILL THESE IN YOUR HEAD:
"Every little thing you eat counts and adds up over time to produce a cumulative result."
"The Body is a accumulation of its past"
"Success is a matter of a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.
"Failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day."
"There are never any good reasons for diet failure, only excuses"
"The fact is, there are no good reasons, only excuses, because you always have choices."
"You MUST be aware of the law of calorie balance."
"Your goal is to make the best choice possible from the foods available to you in any given circumstance."
Drill this in your head: too much of anything will get stored as fat and that calories are the most important factor in fat loss---and proper weight gain.
==========================================================
Loose Skin And Weight Loss
Everything You Need To Know About Loose Skin And Weight Loss
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
I receive a lot of e-mail from people with loose skin or from overweight people who are concerned about having loose skin after they lose the weight. In fact, this is one of the biggest concerns and most frequently asked questions I receive from men and women who have a lot of weight to lose.
Just recently, I received this email from a reader of my syndicated "Ask Tom" fat loss column:
"Tom, I began a fat loss program using your Burn The Fat system and it worked so well I got down to 15 1/2 stones (from 19). However, this has caused me a problem: Excess abdominal skin. I didn't crash lose this weight, it came off at the rate of about 2 lbs. per week just like you recommended. Now I'm unsure of whether to carry on, as my abdomen has quite a lot of excess skin - I feel like I've turned into a bloody Shar-Pei! Does everyone go through this? Will the skin tighten up? I was overweight for more than 12 years. Am I going to end up needing surgical skin removal? Can you offer me any advice? I'm a medical student in the UK and my colleagues seem determined to proffer surgery as the only option."
By losing weight slowly and sensbibly, you can put the odds in your favor. The list of 14 points below will help you better understand the causes and potential solutions to this cosmetic problem.:
1. Skin is incredibly elastic. Your skin can stretch and expand or tighten and retract to a great degree. Look at what women go through during pregnancy. Some women do experience stretch marks after pregnancy, but obviously skin is remarkably elastic.
2. Elasticity of skin depends on both genetics and environment/lifestyle. Wrinkling and loss of elasticity is partly the consequence of aging (genetic factors) and also a result of environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiency. The environmental parts you can fix, the genetics and age part, you cannot. Advice: Get moving and change the things you have control over... Be realistic and don't worry about those things you don't have control over.
3. How much your skin returns to its former tautness depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal.
4. How long you carry extra weight may influence how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss: For example, compare a 9 month pregnancy with 9 years carrying 100 excess pounds.
5. How much weight was carried has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so much and be expected to "snap back" one hundred percent. With extreme obesity, the probability of there still being loose skin after weight loss is higher.
6. How fast the weight was gained also has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so quickly and be expected to "snap back."
7. How fast weight is lost also has a lot to do with how much the skin will tighten up. Rapid weight loss doesn't allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal. (This is yet another reason to lose fat slowly; 1-2 pounds per week, 3 pounds at the most if you have a lot of weight to lose, and even then, only if you are measuring body fat and you're certain it's fat you're losing, not lean tissue).
8. There are exceptions to all of the above; For example, people who gained and then lost incredible amounts of weight quickly at age 50 or 60, and their skin returned 100% to normal.
9. Creams probably don't work. There are many creams advertised as having the ability to restore the tightness of your skin. the late bodybuilding guru Dan duchaine used to recommend topical creams made with pycnogenol, which contain the antioxidant bioflavanoids called proanthocyanidins. But to the best of my knowledge, none of the topical creams are scientifically validated. I haven't even heard much anecdotal evidence that they work -- at least not permanently and measurably -- and especially if you have a lot of loose skin. There are definitely some topicals that will pull water from under your skin, but remeber, that is temporary. Buyer should beware with topical products. (as an aside, Ive also heard anectodal reports that skin brushing was helpful, but again, I am not aware of any scientific evidence proving this is effective).
10. Nutrition has a lot to do with the health of your skin. Essential fatty acids in particular are very valuable for many reasons, and one of them is for the health of your skin. It would be worth taking an EFA supplement such as fish oil, flax oil or an oil blend like Udo's choice. Antioxidants are also very important, so be sure to consume copious amounts of a variety of vegetables and fruits. Also pay very close attention to hydration. Drink approximately a gallon of water a day or a minimum of half your body weight in ounces. (By the way, whey protein is high in a powerful antioxidant called glutathione).
11. Exercise has a lot to do with how your skin appears after you lose body fat. If you use very low calorie diets, you are likely to lose lean body mass, and this is going to exacerbate the loose, hanging skin appearance. On the other hand, if you are exercising regularly and increasing lean body mass with weight training, you will be more likely to minimize the appearance of loose skin.
12. Get second opinions if you are considering surgery. If you're considering surgical skin removal, consult a physician for advice because this is not a minor operation, but keep in mind that your plastic surgeon may be making his BMW payments with your abdominoplasty money. (Surgery might be recommended in situations where it's not 100% necessary). Surgery should be left as the absolute final option in extreme cases.
13. Give your skin time. Your skin will definitely get tighter as your body fat gets lower. I've seen and heard of many cases where the skin gradually tightened up, at least partially, after a one or two year period where the weight loss was maintained and exercise continued.
14. Know your body fat percentage before even thinking about surgery. Loose skin is one thing, but still having a lot of body fat is another. Be honest with yourself and do that by taking your body fat measurement. This can be done with skinfold calipers or a variety of other devices (calipers might not be the best method if you have large folds of loose skin. Look into impedance analysis, underwater weighing, DEXA or Bod Pod).
Suppose for example, a man drops from 35% body fat all the way down to 20%. He should be congratulated, but I would tell him, "Don't complain about loose skin yet, your body fat is still high. Press onward and keep getting leaner and be sure to focus on strength training to increase lean body mass as well."
Average body fat for men is in the mid teens (16% or so). Average body fat for women is in the 20-25% range. Good body fat for men is 10-12%, and single digits is extremely lean. Men shouldn't expect to look "ripped" with 100% tight skin on the abs unless they have single digit body fat. Women shouldn't expect to have tight abdominal skin unless they are in the low to mid teens in body fat.
Except in extreme cases, you are actually unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat and especially someone who has not just "lost weight" but has altered body composition by adding lean muscle as well. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up once your body fat goes from "average" to "excellent" and even more so when lean body mass increases. Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and a ton of loose skin is a rare sight.
So the key to getting tighter skin is to improve your body composition (muscle to fat ratio), and lose more body fat, slowly and sensibly, up to the point where your body composition rating is better than average (in the "good" to "great" category, not just "okay"). Only after you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal." At that point, admittedly, there are bound to be a few isolated cases where surgery is necessary if you can't live with the amount of loose skin remaining.
==========================================================
Take these good points about loose skin to heart......Lets give diet and exercise a shot........before you consider the other alternative.
I will be posting again shortly.....
Chillen
"Every little thing you eat counts and adds up over time to produce a cumulative result."
"The Body is a accumulation of its past"
"Success is a matter of a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.
"Failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day."
"There are never any good reasons for diet failure, only excuses"
"The fact is, there are no good reasons, only excuses, because you always have choices."
"You MUST be aware of the law of calorie balance."
"Your goal is to make the best choice possible from the foods available to you in any given circumstance."
Drill this in your head: too much of anything will get stored as fat and that calories are the most important factor in fat loss---and proper weight gain.
==========================================================
Loose Skin And Weight Loss
Everything You Need To Know About Loose Skin And Weight Loss
By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
I receive a lot of e-mail from people with loose skin or from overweight people who are concerned about having loose skin after they lose the weight. In fact, this is one of the biggest concerns and most frequently asked questions I receive from men and women who have a lot of weight to lose.
Just recently, I received this email from a reader of my syndicated "Ask Tom" fat loss column:
"Tom, I began a fat loss program using your Burn The Fat system and it worked so well I got down to 15 1/2 stones (from 19). However, this has caused me a problem: Excess abdominal skin. I didn't crash lose this weight, it came off at the rate of about 2 lbs. per week just like you recommended. Now I'm unsure of whether to carry on, as my abdomen has quite a lot of excess skin - I feel like I've turned into a bloody Shar-Pei! Does everyone go through this? Will the skin tighten up? I was overweight for more than 12 years. Am I going to end up needing surgical skin removal? Can you offer me any advice? I'm a medical student in the UK and my colleagues seem determined to proffer surgery as the only option."
By losing weight slowly and sensbibly, you can put the odds in your favor. The list of 14 points below will help you better understand the causes and potential solutions to this cosmetic problem.:
1. Skin is incredibly elastic. Your skin can stretch and expand or tighten and retract to a great degree. Look at what women go through during pregnancy. Some women do experience stretch marks after pregnancy, but obviously skin is remarkably elastic.
2. Elasticity of skin depends on both genetics and environment/lifestyle. Wrinkling and loss of elasticity is partly the consequence of aging (genetic factors) and also a result of environmental factors such as oxidative stress, excessive sun exposure, and nutritional deficiency. The environmental parts you can fix, the genetics and age part, you cannot. Advice: Get moving and change the things you have control over... Be realistic and don't worry about those things you don't have control over.
3. How much your skin returns to its former tautness depends partly on age. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal.
4. How long you carry extra weight may influence how much the skin will become taut after the weight loss: For example, compare a 9 month pregnancy with 9 years carrying 100 excess pounds.
5. How much weight was carried has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so much and be expected to "snap back" one hundred percent. With extreme obesity, the probability of there still being loose skin after weight loss is higher.
6. How fast the weight was gained also has a lot to do with how much the skin will resume a tight appearance. Your skin can only be stretched so quickly and be expected to "snap back."
7. How fast weight is lost also has a lot to do with how much the skin will tighten up. Rapid weight loss doesn't allow the skin time to slowly resume to normal. (This is yet another reason to lose fat slowly; 1-2 pounds per week, 3 pounds at the most if you have a lot of weight to lose, and even then, only if you are measuring body fat and you're certain it's fat you're losing, not lean tissue).
8. There are exceptions to all of the above; For example, people who gained and then lost incredible amounts of weight quickly at age 50 or 60, and their skin returned 100% to normal.
9. Creams probably don't work. There are many creams advertised as having the ability to restore the tightness of your skin. the late bodybuilding guru Dan duchaine used to recommend topical creams made with pycnogenol, which contain the antioxidant bioflavanoids called proanthocyanidins. But to the best of my knowledge, none of the topical creams are scientifically validated. I haven't even heard much anecdotal evidence that they work -- at least not permanently and measurably -- and especially if you have a lot of loose skin. There are definitely some topicals that will pull water from under your skin, but remeber, that is temporary. Buyer should beware with topical products. (as an aside, Ive also heard anectodal reports that skin brushing was helpful, but again, I am not aware of any scientific evidence proving this is effective).
10. Nutrition has a lot to do with the health of your skin. Essential fatty acids in particular are very valuable for many reasons, and one of them is for the health of your skin. It would be worth taking an EFA supplement such as fish oil, flax oil or an oil blend like Udo's choice. Antioxidants are also very important, so be sure to consume copious amounts of a variety of vegetables and fruits. Also pay very close attention to hydration. Drink approximately a gallon of water a day or a minimum of half your body weight in ounces. (By the way, whey protein is high in a powerful antioxidant called glutathione).
11. Exercise has a lot to do with how your skin appears after you lose body fat. If you use very low calorie diets, you are likely to lose lean body mass, and this is going to exacerbate the loose, hanging skin appearance. On the other hand, if you are exercising regularly and increasing lean body mass with weight training, you will be more likely to minimize the appearance of loose skin.
12. Get second opinions if you are considering surgery. If you're considering surgical skin removal, consult a physician for advice because this is not a minor operation, but keep in mind that your plastic surgeon may be making his BMW payments with your abdominoplasty money. (Surgery might be recommended in situations where it's not 100% necessary). Surgery should be left as the absolute final option in extreme cases.
13. Give your skin time. Your skin will definitely get tighter as your body fat gets lower. I've seen and heard of many cases where the skin gradually tightened up, at least partially, after a one or two year period where the weight loss was maintained and exercise continued.
14. Know your body fat percentage before even thinking about surgery. Loose skin is one thing, but still having a lot of body fat is another. Be honest with yourself and do that by taking your body fat measurement. This can be done with skinfold calipers or a variety of other devices (calipers might not be the best method if you have large folds of loose skin. Look into impedance analysis, underwater weighing, DEXA or Bod Pod).
Suppose for example, a man drops from 35% body fat all the way down to 20%. He should be congratulated, but I would tell him, "Don't complain about loose skin yet, your body fat is still high. Press onward and keep getting leaner and be sure to focus on strength training to increase lean body mass as well."
Average body fat for men is in the mid teens (16% or so). Average body fat for women is in the 20-25% range. Good body fat for men is 10-12%, and single digits is extremely lean. Men shouldn't expect to look "ripped" with 100% tight skin on the abs unless they have single digit body fat. Women shouldn't expect to have tight abdominal skin unless they are in the low to mid teens in body fat.
Except in extreme cases, you are actually unlikely to see someone with loose skin who has very low body fat and especially someone who has not just "lost weight" but has altered body composition by adding lean muscle as well. It's quite remarkable how much your skin can tighten up once your body fat goes from "average" to "excellent" and even more so when lean body mass increases. Someone with legitimate single digit body fat and a ton of loose skin is a rare sight.
So the key to getting tighter skin is to improve your body composition (muscle to fat ratio), and lose more body fat, slowly and sensibly, up to the point where your body composition rating is better than average (in the "good" to "great" category, not just "okay"). Only after you reach your long term body fat percentage goal should you give thought to "excess skin removal." At that point, admittedly, there are bound to be a few isolated cases where surgery is necessary if you can't live with the amount of loose skin remaining.
==========================================================
Take these good points about loose skin to heart......Lets give diet and exercise a shot........before you consider the other alternative.
I will be posting again shortly.....
Chillen
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For the past two years I've been living a healthier lifestyle. I eat better, I exercise, and I've made good progress. I started off at 5'8/205 pounds, and now I'm 5'8/152 pounds. My body fat percentage is 12. The past 3 months I've really kicked up my workout. Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays I do cardio for 30 minutes. Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays I go to the gym. On the gym days I do a core training program which consists of: Weighted crunches, Twist situps, side bends, dead weight lifts, reverse crunches, russian twists, twist crunches, leg lifts (both laying down and hanging), suitcase crunches, and weighted situps.
Then on tuesday I do: Chest presses, incline press, decline press, low fly, mid fly, high fly.
Wednesday: Isolated bicep curl, Preacher curl, hammer curl, seated rows, lateral pull down, those lawn mower things for your back.
Saturday: Tricep pull down, tricep pull down from behind, tricep extensions, chaps, shoulder lifts.
Ok, I know I dont have all the names right, but that's what I do.
My diet consists of, Cereals such as cheerios, skim milk, cottage cheese, fruits, vegetables, water, chicken, tuna, turkey and things along those lines. I stay away from white flour and sugar, and I don't eat after 8PM.
But I just feel like this loose skin will always be around and theres nothing I can do about it. That's why I'm coming here,for advice. Please, while these pictures are embarrassing to post, be honest and tell me what I should alter/change in my routine. I'd like to be better by June if possible.
Congrats on the weight loss.
How much weight lifting did you do during your weight loss? It seems like you did only arms, and missed out on the lower body. Perhaps your body dropped too much weight at one time. Did you have a lot of gut in the past? I think it really did a number on your skin.
The only way I think you can get rid of this would be to start bulking up, and doing things like squats and deadlifts. I think squats and deadlifts will help in stretching that skin back to the way it's supposed to be.
I don't think you have anything to fear as in waist line or anything. Bulking up can build muscles and reduce the amount of fat in your body.
Do you notice this anywhere else? Perhaps your legs?
Good luck, and come back with your progress.
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I agree with Chillen. I think the skin will go back if you do it right with the diet and weights. I also think some running couldn't hurt too. If you dropped 100+ pounds, I would agree with everyone else in that you would need to have the skin removed via doctor. However, you weren't morbidly obese, and it just looks like you lost weight without doing much weight lifting (squats, dead lifts, and other lower/mid body exercises).
I say drop the dumbbells for a while, and start picking up on doing serious weight lifting.
I say drop the dumbbells for a while, and start picking up on doing serious weight lifting.
Also, in your diet, I don't think you're getting enough protein, it seems. I think you're getting around 80-100g of protein per day. That's not a lot.
Perhaps you should consider getting Whey Protein, as well as increasing your Protein from natural food such as fish (salmon, tuna, etc), and poultry (chicken, eggs, turkey, etc). Cottage cheese, and yogurt are good things too.
Perhaps you should consider getting Whey Protein, as well as increasing your Protein from natural food such as fish (salmon, tuna, etc), and poultry (chicken, eggs, turkey, etc). Cottage cheese, and yogurt are good things too.
First, THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE. You have all been really helpful. I am going to take the bulking approach.
I am going to eat 8 meals a day, all at about 400 calories. I will eat at 8am, 10, 12pm, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. The 10:00pm meal will usually just be skim milk and whey. I am going to hit the gym 4 days a week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be VERY light cardio days (as in about 10 minutes) and some core training.
Tuesday I will do chest and legs
Wednesday I will do the dead weights, good mornings and squats
Thursday I will do biceps and back
Saturday I will do triceps and shoulders
And I will hit them hard...really hard. Most likely 3 sets of 5. I'm going to really push myself with the weight.
On the light cardio ab days, I will do mostly things for the oblique area.
Ok, now onto the meals. Im coming up with combinations for 400 calorie meals. As soon as I figure these out, I will post my ideas. Meals will consist of cheerios, skim milk, lean meats, natural peanut butter, fruits and raw veggies (oh and whey whey whey!)
You guys have given me a lot of confidence...I mean I am only 21, I should be able to get this skin back in shape.
So in conclusion...
- Much more intense lifting
- Less cardio
- More eating
OH! And more sleep, no more 6 hour nights, from now it's going to be 8.
In a month I will post new pictures. So everyone be ready for November 16th!
I am going to eat 8 meals a day, all at about 400 calories. I will eat at 8am, 10, 12pm, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. The 10:00pm meal will usually just be skim milk and whey. I am going to hit the gym 4 days a week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be VERY light cardio days (as in about 10 minutes) and some core training.
Tuesday I will do chest and legs
Wednesday I will do the dead weights, good mornings and squats
Thursday I will do biceps and back
Saturday I will do triceps and shoulders
And I will hit them hard...really hard. Most likely 3 sets of 5. I'm going to really push myself with the weight.
On the light cardio ab days, I will do mostly things for the oblique area.
Ok, now onto the meals. Im coming up with combinations for 400 calorie meals. As soon as I figure these out, I will post my ideas. Meals will consist of cheerios, skim milk, lean meats, natural peanut butter, fruits and raw veggies (oh and whey whey whey!)
You guys have given me a lot of confidence...I mean I am only 21, I should be able to get this skin back in shape.
So in conclusion...
- Much more intense lifting
- Less cardio
- More eating
OH! And more sleep, no more 6 hour nights, from now it's going to be 8.
In a month I will post new pictures. So everyone be ready for November 16th!
Ok, here are some potential meals for me to eat throughout the day. Sometimes I'll be in class, so convenience helps.
* Skim Milk + Whey Protein
* 2 bowls of Cheerios with skim milk
* 2 pieces of whole grain toast with 2 tsp natural peanut butter
* Turkey breast and lettuce on whole grain toast
* Light Tuna and lettuce on whole grain toast
* Apples and raw veggies
* Pack of almonds
These are just some options for me to choose from. But I think if I follow a diet similar to this, 8 times a day, I should be good. Like I said, next month I will post pictures.
* Skim Milk + Whey Protein
* 2 bowls of Cheerios with skim milk
* 2 pieces of whole grain toast with 2 tsp natural peanut butter
* Turkey breast and lettuce on whole grain toast
* Light Tuna and lettuce on whole grain toast
* Apples and raw veggies
* Pack of almonds
These are just some options for me to choose from. But I think if I follow a diet similar to this, 8 times a day, I should be good. Like I said, next month I will post pictures.
Actually, I think you should relax on the amount of days spent in the gym lifting. I think you should go 3x (4 max) per week and try to get a fbw for each session, rather than spreading it out. You do your growing outside of the gym.
I think chillen will be the best to answer your weight lifting questions. But I think overall, you should only do 3x and fbw.
I think chillen will be the best to answer your weight lifting questions. But I think overall, you should only do 3x and fbw.
Ok, here are some potential meals for me to eat throughout the day. Sometimes I'll be in class, so convenience helps.
* Skim Milk + Whey Protein Sounds good
* 2 bowls of Cheerios with skim milk What is up with Cheerios recently? Anyways, try eggs or something else besides cereal
* 2 pieces of whole grain toast with 2 tsp natural peanut butter Be sure it is only peanut butter and perhaps salt. Those commercial peanut butter is nasty
* Turkey breast and lettuce on whole grain toast Sounds pretty good. Add some more veggies, like tomato or something.
* Light Tuna and lettuce on whole grain toast Tuna in water or oil? Also, do you use mayo with the tuna? You might want to make your own mayo
* Apples and raw veggies Maybe add some more fruits and veggies like a banana or something
Add some more whey before workout
* Pack of almonds
Where's the chicken, salmon, and other high protein meals?
Overall this seems like you're eating less than what you're supposed to be eating. You need more protein, a tad bit more carbs, and a good amount of fiber and some healthy fats
These are just some options for me to choose from. But I think if I follow a diet similar to this, 8 times a day, I should be good. Like I said, next month I will post pictures.
Please read the above in bold.
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I don't eat mayo, so that's not a problem with the tuna.
I can add in more vegetables, that's not a problem.
As for the cheerios, and adding in chicken and salmon, this is very hard as my school does not offer chicken and salmon, and I have no ways to conveniently cook them. The reason I list cheerios is because my school provides them, so they are very easy to eat.
I can add in more vegetables, that's not a problem.
As for the cheerios, and adding in chicken and salmon, this is very hard as my school does not offer chicken and salmon, and I have no ways to conveniently cook them. The reason I list cheerios is because my school provides them, so they are very easy to eat.
Here's what you can do, on weekends, boil some chicken breasts, then freeze them. As you go to and from classes, just pop some in the microwaver.
Also, eggs don't have to be boiled. You can scramble them, which I do, with a light touch of extra vigini olive oil.
Also, if you want a good cookbook, I recommend, "How to Cook Everything." It's a pretty awesome book for college students and singles. You can learn quite a lot about cooking.
Also, eggs don't have to be boiled. You can scramble them, which I do, with a light touch of extra vigini olive oil.
Also, if you want a good cookbook, I recommend, "How to Cook Everything." It's a pretty awesome book for college students and singles. You can learn quite a lot about cooking.