Body Image and Issues after Weight Loss Including discussions about excess skin and reconstructive surgery

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Old 01-03-2015, 08:05 PM   #16  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827 View Post
"You said the hard exercise burns fat, but do you not realize that while exercising you are also working to maintain and even build muscle mass?"
That is exactly what I am saying. You are trying to put me on the other side of the ring.

The body will do what it perceives as best for it. The one condition, calorie restriction and heavy exercise, and even hard exercise alone with high calorie intake will result in loss of fat.

Calorie restriction combined with heavy exercise will result in rapid fat loss and build muscle at the same time as long as it is getting enough protein.

Quote:
Originally Posted by [B
"Patients in the hospital that are immobile and have a decreased intake are a great risk for losing muscle mass, because their inactivity compounds their decreased caloric intake."[/B]

Once again, absolutely correct. With a calorie restriction and bed ridden the body cannot exercise so the body takes from the muscle which is consuming energy and saves the fat, .

Calorie restriction... No exercise = muscle loss (atrophy) Generally not good.

Calorie restriction... Lots of heavy exercise = rapid fat weight loss. Protein intake needed to preserve muscles.

Calorie restriction, low exercise = loss of both fat and muscle.

And with out going into it in detail, the above varies according to how much overweight the person is and their genetic makeup. Many variables.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GlamourGirl827 [B
"I'm sorry but saying the body doesn't have muscle loss during weight loss based on your assumption of your own situation is not really a good place to base an opinion". .[/B]
I think you need to read closer to what was and is being said. And I was assuming nothing.

There are different conditions and the body reacts differently to each.

The blanket statement that muscle waste/atrophy precedes fat loss is totally non-factual. I don't know if it is based on misguided information or misreading or misunderstanding but it is not correct.

B F R

Last edited by Big Fat Rooster; 01-04-2015 at 12:25 PM.
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Old 01-04-2015, 09:27 PM   #17  
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Nice post Mossy.

And I am fairly in agreement with all you say in this one. Your statement:

"Strength training and many use running, too - are two of the only ways to build up all of the surrounding muscles supporting your skin."

is not a clear statement. Do you mean they are the only way or those are two of the many ways?

And I make mistakes like that in my writing all the time, so I am not picking on your syntax.

However muscle does not support the skin in the sense of not allowing it to sag. Skin and muscle have two very different objectives in the body. Muscle is to provide motion to the body via contracting or extension of the muscle cells. Skin provides the body with protection from bacteria, helps keep the moisture in etc. Rapid gain of weight in many cases, especially the last trimester of pregnancy often stretches the skin faster than it can grow resulting in the stretch marks many women --- and some men have. Rapid gain of fat or/and muscle can also result in stretch marks.

Rapid loss of girth (due usually to loss of weight) result in the skin not being able to keep up with the loss.... In some people. Not all. Fortunately for me I am one of the latter. I have never known anyone that had to have excess skin removed but I have heard about it enough to be familiar with it.

My cousin's wife got pregnant in her thirties. She was hugely overweight, obese. The doctors told her to lose 40 lbs during her pregnancy. And she did. It was odd seeing her shrink and getting closer to her due date, but she did and got the 40 lbs off before she delivered. That was some years ago, in the late fifties. No diet stuff at all, she practiced push-backs at the table to achieve that loss. She was also fortunate that her skin shrank, not that it really needed to, she put most of that back on in the next few years but never got as heavy as she was. She ate the same foods as we did also and cooked for us, but she ate way less. And I do not recall her doing any type of exercise outside of cooking and house work. She did not even go for walks.

Now, when I did basic training in the military, that was an education in weight management. I watched closely... I wish I had of taken notes but I only watched the miracles happening. I watched huge very overweight guys, especially a few Hawaiians that lost 50 lbs during the 8 week.... two month training course. That is over one lb per day loss. And I watched skinny little weak twerps add muscle mass and become healthy looking strong men. I saw most of the average weight guys, like I was, add muscle and weight, toning up, bulking up. I gained 25 lbs during that time myself, going from 155 to 180 lbs. Over half a lb of weight gain per day.

Regardless of what the public is told, our military has fine food. (what the cooks do with it is sometimes a different story though) And plenty of it. I knew nothing at all about calorie counting them, but my estimate is that I took in over 7000 calories per day during our three meals. No going hungry in there.

One of the Hawaiian guys did have a lot of loose skin from the huge weight loss.... and it was fat he lost to. And he added muscle mass. I felt sorry for him though because the military's clothing was not nearly as good as the food. Military boots have no support. We had to run everywhere we went. When we left the barracks we had to run to wherever we were going. His feet broke down. And they did not even allow him a break. They ruined his feet... And a lot of guys ruined their feet the same way. It was as if they did not care the least about what happened us in some matters and in others took superb care for us.

Calisthenics twice a day for over an hour. Six mile hikes carrying full gear and our rifles. We marched, usually double time everywhere we went. No rides. No weight equipment, no weight training whatsoever. Practically all of our exercise was calisthenics and running.

Watching the bodies change and adapt was a college education if one paid attention.

And this was for around 14 hours per day. We seldom got more than 6 hours of sleep. That is enough, you get the picture. Rapid weight loss is very possible with the retention of muscle mass and even adding more muscle. Rapid gain comes the same way. Fat loss can be with or without loss of muscle depending on how it is done.

B F R

PS: I was kinda bored and writing this kinda filled the time.
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Old 01-11-2015, 11:55 AM   #18  
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Oy! i feel like such an authority on loose skin! after i lost 280 pounds, i had SOME loose skin, but i was exercising a lot, and was in menopause, so i still had some hormones kicking around. I also was eating lots of protein, and being a really good post-weight-loss-surgery patient. I didn't lose muscle because i was lifting heavy and eating protein. and moisturizing.

now, fast forward a few years, with a 90-ish pound weight gain [lots of stress], followed by an equal weight loss, but this time because of a lot of vomiting [long story - it's in the surgery forum somewhere if you're interested], minimal protein, no weight lifting, and now well post-menopause.

result: i had NO IDEA that skin could be so wrinkly and saggy! ALL OVER!!!! it's definitely not going away without surgery, but that'll have to wait until i have the money for it [even if insurance covers it, there will still be copays and such].

would i change a thing? nope! except for that awful period of stress. i can live with the sagging and bagging if it means that i can move and live my life.

But taking care of the excess skin while you're young and have some elasticity is well worth the effort. And, of course, working REALLY HARD at maintaining the weight loss. The more weight cycling you do, the less elastic your skin will be.
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Old 01-12-2015, 02:00 PM   #19  
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Originally Posted by KatMarie View Post
I'll never be able to wear a swimsuit or shorts...didn't before anyway at over 300 pounds. I'll take the loose skin...nobody can see it under clothes.
x2. My excess is the upper arms, upper thighs and around the pooch. Nothing that clothes cant cover plus i see them as well deserved battle scars on a war that i am winning.
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Old 01-12-2015, 02:11 PM   #20  
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My favorite thinking about loose skin goes like this...well, if you're not happy once you've lost the weight, you can always gain it back.

Will you have saggy skin? Who knows? Maybe. Will you prefer it over having the weight you lost on your body? Almost certainly, if forum experience can be generalized...I've never met a maintainer who was less happy with their body post weight loss than they were heavy. And if you DO decide you can't live with it, there are surgical options...you can always decide those are a priority down the road.

Long story short, don't worry too much about it.
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Old 01-13-2015, 07:36 PM   #21  
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I lost weight in my early 20s by going gluten free and had a fair bit of loose skin. At the time I was really bothered by the lose skin. But I think it's something mostly younger people worry about because now that I'm about 10 years older I don't care about the loose skin. I figure that I feel a lot more confident about the way I look when I'm thin with loose skin than fat and firm. I feel that if I have loose skin this time around and it bothers me a lot then I'll just have surgery anyway.
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Old 01-14-2015, 11:54 PM   #22  
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Hmm.

What I have learned. Bodies come in all kinds of shapes and sizes!

At 20, I had twins that were over 6 pounds each! Played havoc with the tummy. Bikini, not going there anymore!

But, my aunt, different body type, heritage, 1 ten pound baby. Not a stretch mark one!

The thing is, we have a body, it is what we have. Instead of trying to fix some silly perceived FLAW, we need to embrace what we have, and make the most of what we have!

My body is not perfect. The girls are long and old, and get to breakfast ahead of me. But! I work out, I am strong, I can do a lot of things that many women I know that are younger than me, (I'm 55), cannot do.

So, I'm not a model, big deal. I'm strong! Mentally and physically! And I love what I have! My body made 2 amazing children! And now I have 4 awesome grand kids!

I would not trade a single wrinkle or stretch mark!
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Old 01-16-2015, 12:56 PM   #23  
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Lots of great replys here. Thank you everyone for sharing!
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Old 01-22-2015, 12:39 PM   #24  
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thanks so much everyone..I guess I just wont worry too much and not let it hinder the weightloss I KNOW I want.. Ive also promised myself that for ever 10 lbs I lose I will do one of my itworks wraps....I noticed a huge difference using them when I wasnt even trying to lose weight....so I know with actual weight loss and then those to help tone up some it will be very motivating!
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Old 01-27-2015, 10:56 PM   #25  
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Nothing that clothes can't cover up. I see mine as well deserved battle scars on a war that i am winning.
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Old 05-12-2015, 10:07 PM   #26  
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Just thought I would chime in here. When I first started losing weight I was VERY concerned about loose skin as I had gone from being thin my entire life, to being obese, and then planned on being thinner again. To date I have lost 112 pounds in 2 years, and I have NO loose skin, it is shocking. I have ugly stretch marks and some cellulite that makes me very sad lol but my skin is holding up very well all things considered and I don't have any flaps of excess skin.

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