[Katie Franklin]

ok, I had a c section. If I don't exercise while dieting, do y'all think that when I lose all this weight i will just have extra loose skin? if so, what's the best exercise to do to prevent this???

[QuilterInVA]

How much weight do you have to lose? There is no way to prevent extra loose skin, but exercise will build muscle that will fill it up some. I don't recommend losing weight without exercise because you will lose muscle along with fat.

[Alana in Canada]

Without excercise you lose both muscle tissue and fat on a weight loss diet. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns while at rest. Muscle just needs more calories to stay "nourished" than does fat.

It just makes sense to exercise while you restrict your calories. 1)It ensures that what you lose is fat, not muscle and 2) your body burns it off faster than if you don't.

Oh, and unfortunately, there really is no way to "spot" reduce. You can tone and tighten certain muscles but the layer of protective fat over the top of them won't be affected. The only thing that really breaks down your fat reserves (other than lowering your calories) is cardio--exercise that gets your heart pumping for at least 20 minutes a session, 3x a week.

BTW: you have to do both--exercise and eat less than you burn in order to lose weight--and have that weight be as much fat as possible.

[GLChick]

Excellent observation Quilter and Alana! We should all remember that. Less muscle means burning fewer calories per day. Less muscle means you're losing your strength. My mother yo-yo dieted when I was growing up, often having only 1 slice of dry toast for breakfast and lunch - remember those days? How far we've come, eh? At age 80, she was so weak when she had a fall in the tub, that she couldn't pull herself out, or even forward to the tap, and sat there for 22 hours without water, becoming dehydrated. I promised myself that I will NEVER let myself get so weak, and now I have a gym membership so I can work on the weight machines to stay strong and get stronger!

Remember too, 1 lb. of muscle takes up less space than 1 lb. of fat!

[jendiet]

well. The thing is when you workout you don't produce more muscle fibers, the fibers you have plump up. So because they are plumping up they will fill the excess space between the bone and where the fat was better than doing nothing at all.

keep moisturized. Eat lots of high nutrient foods as well. Don't lose weight too quickly!