Is this fat, extra skin or both?

luckymommy · 09-15-2011, 08:44 PM

I have this area in my back where my bra ends and I can squeeze something but how do I tell if this is fat or just extra skin? After all, I've lost a significant amount of weight but to be honest, since I'm pear-shaped, my upper body is quite slim and I can feel my ribs (but can't see them or anything thank goodness). So I'm sort of wondering why there's this stuff that comes out. I doubt anyone would notice it but I'm still hoping that it's fat since there's a better chance of things tightening up with time. Is there any way to tell or not? Just wondering. Thanks for any input!

QuilterInVA · 09-15-2011, 09:38 PM

Could be the wrong size bra. 3 out of 4 women wear the wrong size. Have you ever been professionally fitted?

luckymommy · 09-15-2011, 10:02 PM

I've been fitted at Victoria's Secret....not sure if that counts? Still, I may have changed even recently so that's a good idea. Thanks!

JayEll · 09-15-2011, 10:36 PM

I think it's probably loose skin. Not the answer you want, I know. Sorry.

Jay

luckymommy · 09-15-2011, 11:14 PM

I can handle the truth!!!

Thanks Jay...I do think you're right. I'm not looking for perfection....just wanna know where I stand.

Jessica88 · 09-16-2011, 12:14 AM

I would say that its loose skin as well because I was wondering the same thing because it hasn't gone away no matter how much I worked out and I just saw a plastic surgeon and he said it was loose skin.

RedPanda · 09-16-2011, 03:35 AM

Yep, if it's soft and squooshy (not firm and plump like regular fat) it's loose skin. My plastic surgeon described it as "fat cells which have shed their contents" (sorry if that sounds gross).

Women tend to get it down the sides of their upper body, squooshing out above and below the sides of their bra, and on the undersides of their upper arms. Men tend to get a lot of it on their backs. I have the squooshy side bra bulge, the batwings, and the back bra thing that luckymommy describes.

At least we're in good company. Group hugs all round!

paperclippy · 09-16-2011, 09:16 AM

Victoria's Secret is *not* a professional bra fitting. They will only fit you into a size that they sell, which is a pretty limited range. To get a proper fit you need to go to a shop that sells a larger range of sizes (e.g. cup sizes from AAA to JJJ). If you look for stores in your area that sell mastectomy prostheses you are likely to find one that will do a real professional fitting -- AND don't be alarmed if they give you a size that seems bizarre.

saef · 09-16-2011, 10:07 AM

My loose skin hangs differently on my body from the way fat did. It looks as if I have melted a little & that the flesh has slid down the sides. It dimples & wrinkles in a multitude of tiny folds.

It's particularly easy to distinguish when I'm doing planks or downward dog, which is why I'm never gonna be the chick who works out wearing just a sports bra and pants, with no t-shirt covering her upper body. Because my skin sort of hangs, pulled down by gravity, looking like a bunched-up bat hanging from a barn rafter.

It's also easy to distinguish in the bathub. It sort of floats, if that makes sense to you.

And I can play with it, grabbing handfuls, smooshing it together and spreading it out and drawing it up tight, in a way that I can't with my fat.

Even when my arms are pumped after about 30 minutes of work with dumbbells, there's a slight drape hanging from my upper arms. I've mentioned that if I hold my hands straight out in front of me, in "zombie position" (or in a lateral dumbbell raise), the skin hangs from my upper arms in two thin but distinctive curved drapes. Breaks my heart still, since I have put so much work into shaping my arms, and can't get rid of this. I mean, I have gone through every damn tricep exercise I can find. It's not as bad as it was once, but it's kind of incongruous. To an experienced trainer, or someone like Jillian Michaels, who specializes in training the obese, this would be the "tell," indicating that I have not always been at my current weight.

luckymommy · 09-16-2011, 10:09 AM

Yes, I'm certainly in good company and appreciate the group hugs.

Ok, paperclippy, I think you're right....I need to go get a proper fitting. I've lost so much volume on my breasts that I just don't even wanna think about them, but I think they do need some consideration.

runningfromfat · 09-16-2011, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paperclippy

Victoria's Secret is *not* a professional bra fitting. They will only fit you into a size that they sell, which is a pretty limited range. To get a proper fit you need to go to a shop that sells a larger range of sizes (e.g. cup sizes from AAA to JJJ). If you look for stores in your area that sell mastectomy prostheses you are likely to find one that will do a real professional fitting -- AND don't be alarmed if they give you a size that seems bizarre.

:nod:

Victoria's secret would tell me to get something crazy like a 38DD just so I'd buy their bras. In reality I'm more like a 32K.

I can definitely grab a lot on my back still too but I think it's fat because it's a pretty thick wad.

FWIW, I also can feel my ribs and see the outline of them (not the individual ones, though!).

traveling michele · 09-16-2011, 10:33 AM

Yes, I will join you all here. Sigh....

Saef describes it well! The one that I really hate is the extra skin around my knees! My knees? Really?! When I'm at the gym doing a plank or other exercise like push ups, I can see it hanging. Just gross! Age isn't my friend here either!

RedPanda · 09-16-2011, 02:48 PM

Here we are, fretting about our loose skin - which, let's face it, we wouldn't even have if we were still fat - yet my husband is proud of his! He thinks it's a badge of honour.

Just trying to put this issue into perspective.

maalisse · 09-19-2011, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paperclippy

Victoria's Secret is *not* a professional bra fitting. They will only fit you into a size that they sell, which is a pretty limited range. To get a proper fit you need to go to a shop that sells a larger range of sizes (e.g. cup sizes from AAA to JJJ). If you look for stores in your area that sell mastectomy prostheses you are likely to find one that will do a real professional fitting -- AND don't be alarmed if they give you a size that seems bizarre.

This, exactly! I was wearing a 36B or C for years until I had a proper fitting and found out I'm a 30G.

joyful retiree · 09-19-2011, 12:03 PM

I too have loose skin all over the place. I much prefer this to being really fat. I like the way your husband thinks, RedPanda. Tell him I said thanks. I'm going to start thinking of it as a badge of honour.