I have a feeling that what's left of my stomach might just be extra skin.


why? Because I did BF%, and albeit it was online, had me at 8%, but It's still impossible for me to see my bottom 2 abs.


any way to tell?

here are some other threads about loose skin that may provide an answer:

http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=5250&highlight=loose+skin
http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=4138&highlight=loose+skin

does anyone have a photogrraph of what loose skin looks like?

A picture would help. You can possibly eliminate some looseness over time as the skin may pull itself back in, but for all intents and purposes any large amounts of skin can be removed only one way, and that's under a knife.

Of course what you consider loose skin we may consider fat, so without a picture it's hard to tell if you need to just lose more body weight, or if a surgeon is your best bet.

I have a feeling that what's left of my stomach might just be extra skin.

why? Because I did BF%, and albeit it was online, had me at 8%, but It's still impossible for me to see my bottom 2 abs.

any way to tell?

I think I'm suffering from the same issue. I am now 10 lbs lighter than I was last year and when I look at my stomach now it seems more pudgy than before this weight loss. I have been training my abs 2-3 times per week and with the extra weight loss, I'd think that it would be flatter. It seems to be similar to John's issue with the extra bulk centered just around the naval area. Anyone else notice this problem after losing some weight?

Yes, and it sucks

basically all you can do is keep training and it will improve.

however, some people are never going to have the perfect body(me included) I'll be happy just to maximize what I have. If you have been severely overweight as I once was, its very difficult to get a "perfect physique" due to stretch marks and loose skin. If you are bound and determine to look superb with your shirt off, then the only solution is to train maximally. Once you peak with that and you still arent happy, then the only option is to conuslt a plastic surgeon. Good luck

I can agree with you, Vortex72. Like you, I lost a lot of weight (300 lbs to 180 lbs in 1981-82), and will probably never have the "men's health" look that we'd like to have, but, that doesn't stop me from continuing to work for it!

Question I have the same prob and have pics ...is it too bad do I need surgery ?


LOOK AT PIC HERE (http://forums.johnstonefitness.com/showthread.php?t=5670)

Question I have the same prob and have pics ...is it too bad do I need surgery ?

I don't know if anyone here is qualified to assess your need for plastic surgery. Personally, it doesn't look all that bad. You should try going balls-to-the-wall in a resistance training program in an effort to tighten your body up. If you're not willing to make that effort, then surgery may be the only option. At age 23, you should be able to absorb the loose skin if you train consistently and eat to support that. Muscle looks pretty cool when you start developing it...

I lost 37 lbs (out of 187 at my peak weight) in about 14 weeks last year, leaving me with a large amount of lose skin around my abdomen, glutes and upper arms. Training strenuously, the only remnants I have of that skin are a few stretch marks (that tanning reasonably successfully hides) on my hips.

Thanks it is much worse when sitting down. LOL. Do you have any recomendations as far as the "balls to the wall" resistance training. thanks

i think my stomach is basically the same as yours, but your a bit leaner, i'd say keep losing fat untill you have reached a low-BF, so you can be 100% sure its lose skin, then start to consider your options, lose the fat first

just wonder, are you contracting your abs in the first photo?

no I am not.

There ARE a few people who do have an issue with loose skin. We're talking people who typically lose 100+ pounds.

If you've lost less than that, chances are, you just still need to lose more, regardless of what your body fat says.

A good, simple test: skin is only a fraction of an inch thick. So, when you pull your "loose skin" and pinch it, it should be paper thin, like parchment. If it is any thicker - even a few millimeters - then you still have subcutaneous fat underneath the skin.

When people are concerned about this, I always point to this example:

http://www.bodychangers.com/pbrown_inter.shtml

If anyone had a reason to have loose skin, it was her ... and I can assure you, she did not go under a knife for her competition.

Rosemary, on the other hand, at 51, had more challenges with her extra skin (it loses elasticity with age) but still pulled this off:

http://www.bodychangers.com/rharrington_inter.shtml

Finally, Kailee lost a ton, too, and here she is:

http://www.bodychangers.com/krainey_inter.shtml

My point is not that loose skin isn't a problem. It is simply that 9 times out of 10 I have people come to me with this loose skin problem, when really it is a "need to lose 10 more pounds" problem. They lose a ton of weight, and feel they are where they need to be, and are afraid to go any leaner because their computations or calculations or body fat scale said they *should* be at a certain level, but in fact there is still more fat to lose. I have seen it time and time again, and the truth is that going to single digits body fat is far harder than reaching 8 or 10 percent. Sometimes it takes 6 percent to really see your lower abs, or even less. But to get from 8 to 6 is NOT the same as getting to 8 or 10. Trust me, even though I "only" lose 65 pounds, the last 10 were much, much, much harder to lose than the first 55.

For those who do have true problem with loose skin ... i.e. the skin sags, but is paper thin, then the most common practices I have heard of is to continuously exfoliate, take extra Vitamin E, and apply lots of creams. The skin replenishes itself completely over a few months and therefore this process can help encourage replenishment and newer, more elastic, but firmer, skin, to my understanding.

Best of health and success,

Jeremy

Thanks....What should I do to start exercising....I dont want to over load myself I havent exercised regularly really ever almost... I am 23 and used to play sports when I was alot younger then became fat in like 6th grade.

nice post jeremy, made me worry alot less (i'd much rather worry about losing more fat than tightening my skin!)

just wondering if there are any good calculators out there for determining what weight you need to be at, to be at a cirtain bf%?
right now im 6'4, 200lbs and about 16-17%bf (i'll see if i can get it checked again next week)

nice post jeremy, made me worry alot less (i'd much rather worry about losing more fat than tightening my skin!)

just wondering if there are any good calculators out there for determining what weight you need to be at, to be at a cirtain bf%?
right now im 6'4, 200lbs and about 16-17%bf (i'll see if i can get it checked again next week)

I would say this is one of those things you need to really learn a baseline and then go from there. I estimated that my abs would pop at 190 and I had to go down to 176 to get truly shredded. It varies so much based on your distribution of fat, your bone structure, your muscle mass, and other factors, there is no real way to tell. I have yet to see any person, no matter how much loose skin they have, not be able to see their abs when they are low enough body fat. So keep on losing and once you get there, you'll have a reference point in the future. I have managed to put on enough muscle mass that I can now see my abs at 190 instead of 180, and I know that 170 would be ripped beyond belief for me (haven't gone there yet, not sure if I want to).

Jeremy

only 176! thats pretty good, i put your stats into a BMI calc, and it said that would still class you as "overweight"
i guess it really does depend from person to person, in BMI terms, im "normal" yet still have a gut! :( i reckon i'll have to drop my weight quite a bit to see a good 6-pack, maybe even below what i thought was my "cant go lower" figure (190lbs) i guess i'll have to wait and see

thanks for the advice!