.... If you think your pannus is bad... :?:

Just so you don't think it is just a girl thing, I have to admit at 46 and having been morbidly obese for 27 years I too have the much dreaded pannus. LOL I found out they even have a "grading" system for them. The horror of it all.

After massive weight loss, an abdominal apron (panniculus or pannus) is graded according to its size and extent. The higher the grade, the more extensive the body contouring operation and the greater the potential for complications.

• Grade 1 — Pannus reaches pubic hairline but not the genitalia
• Grade 2 — Pannus reaches upper thigh crease
• Grade 3 — Pannus reaches upper thigh
• Grade 4 — Pannus reaches mid thigh
• Grade 5 — Pannus reaches knees

Lucky me, I have a grade 3 after having lost almost 300 pounds. No amount of exercise is going to shrink that much skin - not at my age and not that amount. It is just not going to happen. Once I have reached, then maintained my goal weight for a year, I will try and have surgery to remove the dreaded pannus. Until then, about all you can do is wear some type of support to minimize the problem.

You know what's funny Tammy? I grew up in CA, the Bay Area to be exact! No, I don't think we'll ever get a lottery, heck, where I live you can't even buy a bottle of wine as it's a "dry" county, and would need to drive 30 minutes in either direction if the desire for a glass ever hit me. Calling it the "Bible Belt" is an understatement, this place and the people who so obviously call the shots, never cease to amaze me.:dizzy:

Thanks for the info on Pannus grading Charles, I had no idea that it was broken down like this. I do hope you'll be able to have yours removed at some point, I totally understand what a hindrance it must surely be.

Beverly

Although spot reduction is a myth, there are exercises that help tone the lower abs.
Lie on your back and rise up your arm above your head to hold on to something, raise you legs from the need, and then slowly lower as you stretch out your legs. After a few of these you should start to feel it in your lower stomach.

Charles - now that I've read the grading, I'll never be able to look at mine the same..LOL Something else to measure. I am new to this site and your story is simply amazing, and very inspiring...

Beverly, I did some of my college in Jonesboro and it was a dry county. We had to drive to, I think it was called, Harriburg to obtain spirits. Just kind of funny when you see all kinds of college kids making the county line run. :)

Charles, to funny, once I read your post I had to stand up and check out what grade I am. I'm only a grade 1. So, in the grand scheme of things I should be a happy camper. That grade will probably change some once I lose the rest of my weight though. Having kids and never losing my belly weight when I was young really did me in. It set me up for more saggy stomach with my weight loss.

I've had my personal trainer just outright tell me that with my age and amount of loose skin (which is not to bad now I see) that excercising til the cows come home is not going to help it.

Since it is not very possible I will ever be able to have surgery I'm on a never-ending quest to find things to hold that thing in. :)

I'm not sure if I'm a grade 2 or 3. Mine definitely reaches the thigh crease. But I'm not sure where they start measuring "the thigh". I think of the thigh as starting at the thigh crease... so they'd be the same. If by "the thigh" they mean just after the crease, I'm a grade 3. If by "the thigh" they mean the thickest part of the leg, which is where I take "thigh" measurements, then I'm a grade 2.

Yeah, the thigh thing is confusing. I have fat hanging over the crease of the thigh yet my gut does not hang down over the pubic area..Maybe just a little bit, but certainly does not cover. So, I guess it is debatable to say I'm either a high 1 or a low 2. Hehe..Love the way we analyze things. :)

Well I have it too. I also have the upper and lower thing going on. However a nice bonus to my back surgery is that it has almost made the upper stomach disappear. So with a little work I'm sure it will be gone. That is the one that was really bothering me because it's the one that sticks out over my pants. The lower gets pretty well hid within my pants but it's still there. I would say it's somewhere in between a 2 and 3 grade. I will just learn to live with it. Even if I could afford the surgery I don't think I would have it. After having back surgery twice I just don't think I would want to opt for another one. This whole journey is not about looks anyway. I want to be healthy. The nicer looks are good but not the main goal.

The grade scale is after you've lost all your fat so I cannot give myself a grade yet! My lower roll doesn't "hang" so much - it sticks out - it's more like a fat roll or a mound - and because of the fat under the skin right now it doesn't touch my pubic area. But I'm sure that after I lose the fat/weight and it's just the skin, it will "hang".

I have it too!!!

Right now, I'm about a grade 2 or 3, but I will say this--when I weighed 280 I did notice that it was a grade 1, definitely. :) So that is something to look forward to.

Thank you to everyone who posted all the great info on here!

Someone who's had it lifted should post here next, so we get info from all sides. I doubt I ever will, but never say never.

I think mine is a 2. I hope I can get it down to a 1 by my wedding. :dizzy:

Augh, I so know what you mean it's not even funny! My "bottom" stomach has shrunk about the same as much as my "top" one.. yes! But they are still noticable.. of course.. but also noticably smaller.