Diamonda - amazing. You are awesome. A marathon... you should be so proud... I would like to run a half-marathon sometime in the near future. I have those pleats too... on my stomach they are vertical up and down my stomach... it's a shame, I found this half-shirt that would look cute on me, but thse marks get in the way. Then I have them under my arms... I've been wearing tank tops anyway... but I'm always self-consious. I lost with WW too.
Mrs. Jim - thanks thanks thanks... I was pleasantly surprised to hear Evening Primrose Oil... I already take that for PMS. Cool.
I just really hope my abdomen tightens up. I bought the Nutragena lotion that is supposed to help skin elasticity.
A friend of mine had the same loose skin problem. I never knew something like that could happen until she showed me. She is 5'10'', size 16, use to weigh 85kg (187lbs), and then got down to 65kg(143). Shes a really thin size 12 (australian sizing)and she went to the doctor and he told her she had to save up for this surgury.
The size she was then is how i am now, and the size she is now is how i use to be. Im so pissed off after reading up on this loose skin problem. I wouldnt be able to have this surgury, as i get hypotrophic scarring.
I read on another site www.onephatman.com that he was told if he waited 7 years, his skin would go back to normal. Were constantly sheading skin all the time, so it makes sense.
Thanks flutter... it's kind of depressing. 7 years? Ugh. Thanks for the website - i'll look at it. I don't want surgery.... and prob won't get it... but 7 years? woah!
Mrs. Jim - that does look really awesome. That's amazing. I actually saw her flabby skin pictures after she lost the weight.. but never saw the other ones.... they look amazing.
I do weight train - about 3 times a week and do calastenics for my abs 2-3 times a week. It's helping build muscle and I can see it... but my arms and abs are still a bit flabby...Well, I'm doing Weight Watchers and I love it oh so much... but I always thought that when I reached goal or very close to it, I might go on myoplex for a couple months to help with building muscle.
Myoplex is a meal replacement powder manufactured by EAS.
Since Bill Phillips (author of "Body for Life") sold EAS a few years ago, the company's new owners have come out with a plethora of products bearing the "Myoplex" name. However, IMO the only ones worth trying are the original Myoplex powder and the Myoplex Lite powder - the bars and ready-to-drink shakes are LOADED with sugar - ya might as well drink Slim Fast (I call it SlimFat ).
While Myoplex is a convenience, it's not going to 'help build muscle' any more than eating clean real food - such as a chicken breast and baked potato with some veggies - would. In fact many folks at Lean & Strong have had AWESOME results just by training hard and eating clean real food!
I know... I don't really like the idea of myoplex.... I've lost 80 pounds on real food (don't exactly know what you mean by clean though) and think drinking shakes really is deprivation...
But at the same time.... for the last 10 pounds I'd like to get it off and build muscle to tighten my problem areas.... if I can follow the program with real food - that would be awesome. I'd rather do that.
Clean eating = lean protein (chicken breast, turkey breast, eggwhites/Egg Beaters, lowfat cottage cheese, lean meats, protein shakes, etc.), complex unprocessed carbs (potatoes - white and sweet, brown rice, pumpkin, beans, whole grains, fresh fruits, etc) accompanied by healthy portions of veggies. (to that I'd add a couple of servings of healthy fat such as flax oil, Udo's Choice, hempseed oil, EFAs)
Rather than eating 3 meals a day, I eat 6 small meals every 2-3 hours - more and more studies are proving out that this is a much better way to eat if you want to feed your muscles and burn more fat!
Check out the book "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips for a more detailed (though simplified) explanation of clean eating...and by the way, you can usually catch me in the BFL/Bodybuilding forum under "Diet Plans"! Take care.
What a great informative thread. I will have lost 125 pounds when I reach my goal weight and the loose skin thing is deffinitely on my mind.
I have a friend who had triplets, she was a tiny thing too, after the birth her Dr said she would need a tummy tuck and to just accept it. She weight trained and worked out a ton and her abs are just amazing.
I feel super guilty because my first pregnancy and 75 pound weight gain left me with NO STRETCH MARKS, if I had just stayed there at 225 and lost the weight, this would probably not even be an issue. But I went on to pack on another 50 with my second child and I do have some lower abdominal/hips silvery marks. My arms seem to be shrinking Ok though.
I'm on a detox program right now with tons of water 2 tbsp of flax seed oil and evening primrose capsules every day. I'm doing pilates as well, hoping my abs will start to firm up!
I still have fear of weigh-training, I need to join a gym so someone can show me how.
Sundrop - feel free to drop by the BFL/Bodybuilding forum (you can find it here at 3FC under "Diet Plans").
You shouldn't be afraid of strength training. Believe it or not, you won't get bulky - you'll burn fat FASTER and muscle looks great!
A great reference site is Krista's Women's bodybuilding website. Mistress Krista has put a great deal of time and effort into getting info out to women who are (like you) apprehensive about starting out with strength training...she even has some good training programs on the site suitable for beginners. I hate to say this but most personal trainers who work for a gym just spout the party line - save your $$ and check out Krista's site or buy a copy of Bill Phillips' excellent book "Body for Life" - I call it "Strength Training 101" - GREAT book for beginners of all ages and shapes!
Thank you Mrs Jim, this is an awsome site! I have recently been thingking about getting started with some weight training and this will be a lot of help. I am 40-something with a lot of weight to lose and would like to tone some of this saggy skin. Also, my father has just had his 1st bone density test done and the results were not great, maybe this can help him too.
Thanks Mrs.Jim- I've been reading your posts on one site or another for years now, I first ran into you at Dr.Weil's site. You warned me about slim fast : )
I've been watching you shrink, you are such an inspiration.
I am not apprehensive at all about the results of weight training and I know that it will be a necessary part of my future lifestyle. It's just the getting started part, what do I need to buy? Can I just get a bench and some free weights and start there?
AND there is a little part of me that still beleives that old party line of don't start weight training until you are closer to goal weight, stupid huh?
Does loose skin also have to do with how long you've been overweight? I was overweight from the ages of 8-23 and have been having a terrible time with my tummy and upper arms.
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