[Lambiechop]

As it says on my ticker I've lost about 80 lbs since last May. That's the brief story. The long story is in 2006 I weighed 312 lbs. I lost down to 190. Then between 2007 and 2010 shot back up to 264. Lost a few lbs and started this time last May at 259. I've been back and forth between the 180s-190s since February. I CANNOT get out of the 180s for any amount of time to save my life. I saw 179 once.

How much of this do you think can be loose skin? I've also had two children during this time. They are 5 and 7 now. I work out 5 days a week. I calorie cycle between 1200-1600/day and nothing is budging. I can feel my muscles under there so I know they're getting bigger but I'm either 1.) not losing fat or 2.) it's skin and it's not going anywhere. As far as measurements go, they've shrunk everywhere but where the skin is.

[bargoo]

Gaining and losing and regaining plus full term pregnancies does not do your body any favors. It is quite likely that you have loose skin.
I do.

[Arctic Mama]

Yes. You could have loose skin. Pounds of it, perhaps. But when there is still subcutaneous fat (not the brown, healthy fat but excess adipose tissue) in the skin it can worsen the look and feel of it. It may be that, for a time, you've hit a plateau. But you're almost the same height and weight (boo pregnancy pounds!) as me right now, and I knowi have excess fat. Even at 163, my pre-pregnancy weight, I could have lost another 30 pounds of body fat and still been in a healthy range.

Give it time, and if you've been stalled more than two months I'd say it is time to play with your macros or methods and see if higher fat, lower protein, calorie shifting, intermittent fasting, etc etc, might help it budge. You mentioned you're exercising - what type? Body resistance exercises and lifting heavy stuff works great for these stubborn fat issues, and loose skin, too. Getting creative might help. But I highly doubt you've lost all your excess, non-reproductive bodyfat at your stats. Your body may need a breather, but I don't think you're done

[Lambiechop]

Oh no, I know I'm not done by a long shot. For now it's been yoga, Zumba, walking, and swimming. I am reading NROL4W right now and am planning on starting that with a friend next week. I eat high protein mostly. Lots of lean meats, veggies, eggs, etc. With the exception of lifting I just feel like I'm doing everything right. This is the lowest weight I've been at since I was 15 and I want to continue losing but I'm getting so discouraged.

[Arctic Mama]

NROLFW is excellent and will benefit your body composition greatly, I think, even if the scale never moves again. I also highly recommend TTap, for getting into smaller sizes regardless of what the scale says. And your food does sound good, particularly if you're not overly restricting animal fats, either.

In this case, your history. I working against you and it may take more time and consistency to get lower. But don't despair, I see no major issues and it is likely the stall is temporary. I wouldn't lower your calories or change anything up unless you are several months at the same weight without any change in scale OR measurement.

Plateaus suck, but usually they don't last forever

[JohnP]

Some fat stores can be difficult for the body to get rid of, including where loose skin is because blood flow to the area might be low.

To tell how much of your loose skin is fat you can perform the following test.

Pinch the skin on the back of your hand. That is skin with minimal (if any) fat. Now pinch the loose skin. The difference is mostly fat. How many lbs are comprised of the loose skin? Who knows. Post some pictures and we can guess if you want but it will just be a guess.

If you've never taken a diet break it might be a good idea to help reset things metabolically and mentally.

[juliastl27]

is it possible you're no longer creating enough of a deficit with your calorie intake?

maybe since you're smaller your body needs less calories.