Mine is really bad and it seems to have not gotten any better after losing 70lbs! The pooch itself is smaller but it still hangs down in a really gross looking way.
Those of you who have this and gotten closer to goal weight, did it stop hanging? I honestly wouldn't mind having a squishy jiggly pooch there if it didn't hang down. How much loose skin did you have there? I'm a little bit afraid it's going to be a hanging pouch of loose skin once I get to goal which might even be worse than the hanging pouch of fat...of course that won't stop me from getting to goal but I'm just curious!
Mine was big enough, and my loss pronounced enough, that where fat hung down before, skin hangs down now. It's sort of like a deflated balloon.
I can tell you, though, that it is in NO WAY worse than an overhang of fat. My overhang of skin shows when I'm naked, but isn't visible in clothes or even really in most underwear or bathing suits (the thigh loose skin is way more visible in a bathing suit, as compared to the tummy flap). Fat stuck out. It was impossible to hide - I could wear spanx to try to make it smoother, but it was always visible. Clothed, you can't even tell that the skin flap is there.
So I can't tell you that I have experience with it going away. It does get better/tighten up a bit, but for me, it stuck. But I can tell you that it will matter a billion times less to you once you see it at goal. And as I've read here many times, if you decide that it's REALLY worse than the fat hanging over, you can always gain your weight back. But so far, no one at 3FC that I know of has intentionally made the decision to do so.
Mine was terrible in the beginning, but I would still rather have the loose skin than the fat tummy bulge. Like Mandalinn said, you just can't cover that up.
I have significantly gotten mine to be almost flat (no kidding) with extensive crunches. The type that you do on the machine, where the back isn't there. IYKWIM. I do 100 of them every day. A trainer also showed me how to do them with one arm extended at a time and that has worked wonders. My abs underneath are rock hard now and it has given my tummy new life.
I still wouldn't wear a bikini or half shirts, etc. I'm too old, and stretch marks aren't going anywhere, but it looks 100% better in clothes.
I'm curious if anyone who has kids has had it improve with weightloss...I've had 2 kids and with weightloss its like a deflating balloon. Still a lot of skin just less stuffing. Though I've heard it can take up to a year for skin to kind of go back, after kids or weightloss....not sure if that's true.
Last edited by GlamourGirl827; 04-07-2011 at 07:05 AM.
I still have one and am closing in on a year since goal. It's gotten slightly better over time, but every morning I get up and I just say get over it! You look smokin in clothes! I can't afford surgery so there's little I can do about it and it beats being over weight any day.
I'm pretty sure mine won't be going anywhere since i've had 5 babies all around or well over 9 lb. But i'll be much happier with the flap of skin as opposed to a huge belly!
I've had two pregnancies with one live birth. However, I have no been obese my whole life (about 2 years due to my pregnancy) and I have noticed that I don't have any overhand anymore. I definitely don't have a perfectly flat belly. I still have love handles and my belly sticks out too but it no longer hangs over.
I would guess this depends on a lot of factors: length of time you were obese, genetics, number of pregnancies, strength training etc. I seem to be one of the few lucky ones in this regard so I just wanted to add that it's not completely impossible to lose it!
Before I had my third son which is obviously a new factor in the belly hang I had lost 30lbs went from 180 to 150 I had it really bad before I lost the weight it looked like they cut the baby out and my once fat baby belly just hung there but as the 30 lbs started to come off the belly hang got a bit smaller now mind you I didn't get to my goal and was still pretty far away but the little ******* did shrink!
I don't think my overhang is going anywhere. It's definitely like a deflated balloon, there's still fat there too, which makes me think I need to lose more perhaps than the 4 pounds left on my ticker. I've had two average sized babies and have been obese since forever.
I had 2 kids while being obese, and I must say the flap is still there. But as others said I would rather the loose skin than the fat guts I had any day. I do martial arts and we do lots of push ups, and I hate how my guts hangs down and looking down at my stomach it physically makes me ill to see the skin hanging .
I am seriously considering a tummy tuck but fight with the fact I will just have a horrible scar (I scar badly) and whats the difference between a scar and a skin flap , both are unsightly.
The positive is I love the clothes I now wear and its easy to keep it covered and only I need to know about it!
I have 2 9+lb babies, both by c-section. I have that lovely apron of skin and stretch marks and doughy wrinkly belly skin.
I used to think there was nothing I could do about it, but it has gotten tremendously better as I lost weight. I can wear tight dresses, tight shirts and pants, and my stomach looks flat.
However, I do have a large amount of loose skin. If I"m on my hands and knees, it all hangs down like 5 inches. If I lie on my side, my stomach skin sits next to my body like an unwelcome tumor or something! I wear a size or 2 bigger because of my skin (size 8 instead of a 4or6). But thank goodness it is minimized if I stand up. Today I was trying on adorable sun dresses at Old Navy and could not believe my eyes at how my body looked in all the dresses. I am so happy about it, and before I lost weight, there's no way I would have loved that many dresses
Weight loss has made is more wrinkly and doughy looking, but even naked, I prefer that much much more to the full 4 months pregnant look I had before. I simply could not hide my extra fat in any clothes
Last edited by pinkflower; 04-07-2011 at 09:33 PM.
I mostly dislike the stomach fat because of sex; when I'm on top it flaps against my partner's stomach and makes an awful noise. He told me once that I gave him a rash (gee, so nice right? LOL). He also says it "gets in the way" and it kinda bothers him. Does the skin flap hang down enough that it would continue to rub against his stomach or anything like that? I know it won't look great but as long as it stops being a bother I think I could live with it.
I can't speak from experience because my "flap" is still pretty full, but my dad lost a lot of weight over 10 years ago and his stomach started out very loose and saggy, but has really tightened up over time. It's still a little squishy, but nothing like it used to be... Hopefully there's hope for us gals as well, as long as we're patient!
a few years ago when i was 170lbs i still had my belly flap, but it was much smaller. the middle of it was still there but the edges went away and tightened up if that makes sense. i still hated it though, but i've been overweight/obese all my life and had an almost 9lb daughter so i expect it will never fully go away without surgery (which i would definetely get if i could afford it).
I have 2 9+lb babies, both by c-section. I have that lovely apron of skin and stretch marks and doughy wrinkly belly skin
Weight loss has made is more wrinkly and doughy looking, but even naked, I prefer that much much more to the full 4 months pregnant look I had before. I simply could not hide my extra fat in any clothes
I too have had two 9+ lb babies, but by natural childbirth and I was obese for over 20 years. My stomach still has a skin flap--it's slightly worse on one side than the other. But it looks no worse than my mother's stomach, who had two 7 lb babies, was never obese and has only in the past 5 years become overweight. Like Manda, my thighs are probably the most visible reminder of the excess weight. They are pretty crepey and jiggly. And my upper arms, while toned still have the flaps.
I try not to focus on the negatives. I feel great and I look great in my clothes. And guess what, people tell me they are jealous of my figure (size 6-8) regardless of the loose skin. It's worth it ladies!
Those who have the dreaded belly "overhang"...
Still a lot of skin just less stuffing. Though I've heard it can take up to a year for skin to kind of go back, after kids or weightloss....not sure if that's true.
