Please help me, I am hopless !

[Soul.Lifter807]

Hello everyone,

First i would like to thank all members of this forum who are extremly helpful, & i hope some one would give me a small help and support as well, because as the subject says i am hopless

my problem is the loose skin, which started after an extreme fast diet some years ago, lost nearly 44 punds, then i think i bounced and may be back to my original weight but in worse worse skin state

i don't know even if that is actually lose skin or fat, because of gaining weight back on already flabby skin, it may be pushed to front but i don't know

i am very very depressed and nervus regarding this, some times i have some hestiria inside me to get a knife and cut out all these skin all together, and if that would lead to my death, so it be

i can't describe my feelings in that, feelings developed along with years till the extent i don't have any hope to cure and be normal,

i don't know where to start from anymore, i want to diagnosie it first and take the shortest way to get rid of it even if it was long, but doing anything may make me feel good


here is a pic, after collecting enough encouragement to do so




please please help me,

 

[Omega]

You do not mention your current weight, BMI or body fat percent.

I suspect that your problem is partly fat and partly loose skin.

Many of us set up tickers which we copy into our signature which calculate our BMI as we lose weight. We change our weight and the BMI is automatically calculated. Alternatively - there are plenty of BMI calculators on the internet.

I suspect from what you have written that you are not particularly strongly into exercise. If that is the case - then I suggest that you lose weight at a healthy rate of no more than 1% of your weight per week until your BMI is under 25 which is the top end of the "healthy" range. The range 25 to 30 denotes "overweight". Whilst some keen sportsmen have a BMI in the "overweight" range - this is because of the extra muscle that they carry and is probably not an issue for you.

Some scales are able to measure body fat percent - and you should be able to have it calculated at a gym. Alternatively your doctor should be able to suggest a way that it could be calculated. This can be used to identify whether you are carrying fat or loose skin when you are in the healthy range. It is quite a wide range weight-wise to cater for small, medium or large frames.

You may find that you do not have as severe a problem as you fear once your body fat percent is showing that you are not carrying surplus fat.

Many people are left with loose skin at the end of their project - normally after losing more than 44 pounds though. Your previous diet may well have left you with this though as extreme diets do run this risk.

I carry a lot of loose skin myself (despite having a good body fat percent now) - having lost quite a lot of weight. The skin may continue to shrink for quite some time after losing weight though. I have heard two years mentioned... At the end of the day I believe that we either have to learn to live with loose skin or have it removed by plastic surgery.

Many people feel as you do - wishing that a knife could be used to remove the problem - that is why so many plastic surgeons make good money performing tummy tucks and body lifts.

 

[Cord the Seeker]

The best thing you can do is get back into a lifestyle that will get you healthy and lose that excess fat. Start eating right and getting regular exercise.
Don't do the extreme fast dieting - concentrate on losing slow and steady, and the loose skin will be less of a problem. The body adjusts, to a point.

I would say that there is no point in worrying about loose skin if you still have a lot of extra body fat to lose yet, because you would just have more loose skin again after you lost that weight.

Now, you will probably have even more loose skin after you are down to a healthy weight. Then you can deal with it.

Health has to come before cosmetics, in my opinion.

There is a lot of useful information around this forum on how to safely, steadily and permanently lose excess fat. Stick around here and you should get all the info you need. In particular, read the various stickies at the top of each section. They are stuck there for a reason.

One final thing - if your knife comments were genuine and not mere hyperbole, you may also want to seek out some counselling.

Joining this forum as a regular may prove to be quite helpful to you. It has helped me quite a bit.

 

[KaraCooks]

I agree with what's been written above. I also think, based on your photo, that you still have quite a bit of fat to lose. If it were just skin, it would be more ... saggy, I guess. Empty looking - like a stretched and deflated balloon.

I have to strongly echo what's been said about exercise. W/out exercise, weight loss by diet alone will leave you saggy and flabby looking - what is referred to here and elsewhere as "skinny fat". It means you might be at a healthy weight, but you look flabby and loose and out of shape.

Also you said you did an "extreme fast" diet before - and that will contribute to the skin issue. When you do extreme crash diets, two things happen: one is that your skin doesn't receive the nutrients it needs to stay elastic and healthy and two is that you lose weight so fast that your skin isn't given the time it needs to readjust. Losing weight in a healthy and sustainable way will make sure that your skin has plenty of time and the nutrients necessary to shrink along with the rest of your body.

You have to take care of yourself and your body - you can't stress it and shock it and deprive it of nutrition and expect it to look good.

 

[Omega]

I also think, based on your photo, that you still have quite a bit of fat to lose. If it were just skin, it would be more ... saggy, I guess. Empty looking - like a stretched and deflated balloon.

I like the stretched and deflated balloon analogy. My loose skin alway reminds me of crepe paper - all wrinkled and scrunched up...

Wishes posted some loose skin photos and you can get the idea from them.
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/before-after-between/12892-saggy-skin-warning-explicit-yukky.html

 

[KaraCooks]

My loose skin alway reminds me of crepe paper - all wrinkled and scrunched up

Yeah exactly. I have some loose skin on my tummy, and still some fat and I can definitely tell the difference between what's loose skin and what's still flab. It just looks and feels different.

 

[Soul.Lifter807]

Thank you Omega, Cord the Seeker and KaraCooks really for your replies.

I should be sorry for not providing enough information in my first post, talking about this for the first time outside of my self scope is making me nervous, I think I need more time to get comfortable talking about the whole issue freely and securely.

You do not mention your current weight, BMI or body fat percent.

I suspect that your problem is partly fat and partly loose skin.

I used some internet calculator for BMI, It rated me 35, for nearly 253 pounds and 6.1 feets, But I remember measuring it by a machine some time ago and it rated 40+ but I am not sure, Is it possible ?

I carry a lot of loose skin myself (despite having a good body fat percent now) - having lost quite a lot of weight. The skin may continue to shrink for quite some time after losing weight though. I have heard two years mentioned... At the end of the day I believe that we either have to learn to live with loose skin or have it removed by plastic surgery.

I hope all people who have the loose skin issue to be able really to find their mind-peace, either with living with them or by getting them removed by surgery.

I suspect from what you have written that you are not particularly strongly into exercise.

I am trying to be into it but tries are bouncing as well, I am trying to stick my self on a daily walking or running but I don't know which one should I do for my state, how, specially that my lungs hurts me badly while doing such exercises, also I am not sure about whether lifting weights would help me or worse the state, Any advice on that ?

The best thing you can do is get back into a lifestyle that will get you healthy and lose that excess fat. Start eating right and getting regular exercise.
Don't do the extreme fast dieting - concentrate on losing slow and steady, and the loose skin will be less of a problem. The body adjusts, to a point.

Indeed sticking into a healthy lifestyle is the hardest goal of the journey, yet the most important one, I completely believe in its importance and sometimes reason my current state for the reason that it exists so that I force my self to have this healthy life style to prevent more harmful illness in my future, who knows.

I would say that there is no point in worrying about loose skin if you still have a lot of extra body fat to lose yet, because you would just have more loose skin again after you lost that weight.

Now, you will probably have even more loose skin after you are down to a healthy weight. Then you can deal with it.

You are defiantly right, I am very convinced with losing the fat first and get to the normal weight, then start thinking in surgery.

Many people feel as you do - wishing that a knife could be used to remove the problem - that is why so many plastic surgeons make good money performing tummy tucks and body lifts.

One final thing - if your knife comments were genuine and not mere hyperbole, you may also want to seek out some counselling.

Your comments on the knife hits a very important point, Personally, My comment is really genuine, The point you are hitting is the psychological state associated with such *issue*, a point which I don't usually see a lot of stress when I find a discussion in weight issues, I believe in that cases where depression or even more advanced mental disorders are elements in the person's journey, are having the first priority to be dealed with, because if not, it may greatly contribute to more negative results by blocking the person from even trying to find a way out from this closed fired-castle, aside from not thinking in counseling, and may be even lead to suicide, Some people are really conscious about their bodies in a degree of being disable.

I am trying to collect more courage to talk freely about the psychological perspective, but for the moment let me say although I am seriously considering taking an anti-depressant, but one of the things i worry about are the side-effects related to weight.


Thank you all again for your really helpful replies.

 

[KaraCooks]

Take the anti-depressant. I'm not joking and very very very serious. My ex suffers from clinical depression and he is on meds for it - and has been for the last 5 years. Taking meds has made a HUGE difference in his life. He has lost weight on anti-depressants because he now has the energy and desire to live his life again. There is no shame in taking meds for depression - any more than there is shame in taking meds for diabetes, or low thyroid or any of those things.

If you work on your mental health, it will make wanting to be physically healthy so much easier.

As far as weight lifting ... YES. I cannot stress enough how much YES. Weight lifting and body resistance work will help reshape your body and maintain muscle - which will help fill out that saggy skin to some degree. But even more than that, weight lifting (done at a good intensity) will release endorphins that will help with your depression as well.

Read the sticky posts about exercise and weight lifting to get an idea of how to get started.

 

[Omega]

There are very good sections on exercise and nutrition on this forum. Study these sections paying particular attention to the sticky threads.

You most certainly need to lose weight based on the picture and what you have said about your weight / BMI. Over 30 is considered to be obese. Over 40 is considered to be morbidly obese. You want your BMI to be basically in the range 20 to 25.

Add a ticker to your signature - and you will see your weight and BMI in every post that you make on the forum. Keep it up to date and it may motivate you about the changes that you are making. It will certainly remind you that you cannot consider your current problem to be merely one of loose skin.

I walk a lot and could do so at my biggest size - which is much bigger than where you currently find yourself. There is no reason why you could not take up walking. I walked as far as I could - and it really helped my weight loss. I wouldnt worry too much about running if it is too hard. The important thing is that you should be doing some form of regular exercise.

Some form of ST (e.g. exercises with weights) is also important to preserve your muscles while you lose weight. Muscles help you to burn fat - so it helps you to lose weight too.

Slow and steady gives the best long term results. You need to consider it a lifestyle change that you will follow for life rather than a short term "diet".