Hi all! Well, I've succeeded in losing 113 pounds!! I'm 3 pounds away from my goal (my goal, for now!). I'm thrilled with the way I look, I fit into a size 10 pants but....I'm totally flabby!! I know that I'm always going to have a lot of extra skin on what used to by my LARGE areas...like my upper arms, upper thighs, and stomach. BUT, I've been thinking to myself that there has to be a way to tone up at least a little bit! I have no problems with my legs...I know what I have to do for those and they do look pretty good!! What I'm having trouble with is my upper arms and my stomach. I know that I could never wear the ultra-low rise pants, and I don't think I'd ever want to, but the my "pouch" really bothers me!!
Do you guys have any suggestions on what I could do (at home) to help tone myself up?

Well I hope someone answers this question becuz I have lost 51 pounds and have the same problem with my stomach, party do to a hystorectomy. I have made huge improvements on my arms with sets of arm exercises.
I'll check back tomorrow as I have to leave for the day....
Oh and Congrats on you awesome loss!

Both of you gals look like you're doing great! WTG!

Mind if I direct you to Krista Scott Dixon's bodybuilding for women website for starters? She's got some great info there - along with some 'starter' workouts to try.

Also there are lots of terrific books that have been released in the last few years - the most recent being Pamela Peeke's Body for Life for Women. I read it and was VERY impressed - there are BFL (Body for Life) people who don't like it because they think it's 'too complicated' compared to the original book (which IMO was written with men in mind). However, I think Ms. Peeke is right on the mark that women ARE different from men - and that as we go through different stages of life, we have different issues to face as far as weight loss and fitness (including strength training with weights, Pilates, and/or yoga) are concerned.

As far as the skin thing goes - I hear ya on that one. I still have the 'flabby arms' but my DH keeps telling me it's not as bad as I think it is. If you've been down to the Maintainers Forum, you might have seen the sticky on Weight Loss and Loose Skin - there is really only so much you can do if the issue is stretched-out skin, without surgery...but that doesn't mean you SHOULDN'T try - even if you DO have plastic surgery, you'll still need to work out and eat right to maintain the results of the surgery...

And of course, we have Mel, Meg, Ilene, and all the other knowledgeable folks here in LWL to help you along the way

You guys are SUCH an inspiration! My goal is 113 lbs, but I think once I get there, I'll shoot for another 15. I'm only 39 lbs away from my first goal and 4 lbs from Onederland!

Mrs. Jim,
Thanks for the sites, I will check them out right after this post.....
I do love to workout - I am blessed!
I have come to terms with everything I'm doing now is the right thing to do. The negitives come from what I did to my body in the past and maybe some of it can't be fixed by pure sweat from me. Either I can learn to accept that or I can do everything in my power to make surgery possible. Afterall, I have worked really hard and I deserve to have whatever it takes to get me where I'm 100% happy.
Thanks for the compliments, everytime I hear a new one it makes that next visit to the gym better and I work alittle harder (with a big smile on my face ofcourse)

I'm hoping that sooner or later my muscles will get closer to my skin Just kidding.

I'm going to second what Mrs Jim said about Krista's site, the Ladies Who Lift right here at 3fc, and the Maintainer's Forum.

I apologise in advance because I know I've read your posts before but I do not remember what exercising you've been doing. Have you done any resistance training, bands? weights?

there is another thread on here with the same exact topic that was posted not too long ago. Maybe someone will know which one and post the link to it.

From what I understand from what I read, you can tone muscle, but the skin doesn't go back to shape if it is a large amount of weight lost. From what was said, it's like a balloon, once you blow it up and it goes back down it doesn't take the same texture/shape as it was originally.


SO THEY SAY, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS INDEED TRUE!.

Cemetary - What an inspiration, indeed! Congratulations on your loss, that is effin fantastic. I am also dealing with the flappy skin, trying to tone thighs, abs, and arms. Here is something that worked for me - I am doing a 21 day challenge on another thread. My challenge is to do ab work every day, and it has totally helped firm up my torso. I couldn't believe it until I put on some pants that had been snug, and just the other day, that watery flabby roll at the top was GONE. The key, I think, is to work the abs all the way around your torso - sides especially, and the oft-neglected back. People often don't realized that we have four sets of abdominal muscles in the front of us.

Now that I have convinced myself that it works, I am going to start focusing on my upper arm muscles and see if I can't discover the same results.

Again, congrats!

Chaps --

I'd love to hear what your ab routine is, if you don't mind sharing !? Sounds like it's working!

Luanne

mscelica - No, I don't mind sharing what I do. Though I suppose I should start with the disclaimer that I am not a medical professional or a trained anything of any kind, so anyone who takes my ideas does so at their own risk. HA, is that enough to keep me from getting sued?

So, what I do is so basic it is to laugh. The key is to make yourself do it every single day. That has been the key for me, anyway.

1 - Lying on my back, knees bent, I do a crunch with a twist to the left. I don't sit all the way up, I just bring my upper back off the ground, while reaching to the left with both arms. I do this on an exhale, and hold it until I've exhaled completely. Then slowly roll back down. I make sure to keep my right hip on the ground, not letting it come up at all. I started doing this 15 times, but now I am doing 20.

2 - Same thing, but to the right.

3 - Basic forward crunch. Not a full sit-up, arms stretched straight forward, on the exhale, holding until I've exhaled completely.

4 - Lower abs. Lying down, I stretch my legs out all the way, put my hands under the small of my back for support, and lift both legs. Not very high, the lower you can control this, the better the workout. This is a toughie, I started with 5, and now I do 10. Always on the exhale.

5 - Lying on my stomach, legs stretched out, arms bent, resting above my head, forehead resting on the ground. Slowly, on an exhale, I arch my back so that my upper body to about mid-torso comes off the ground, and my legs come off the ground, up to about mid-thigh. Hold until all exhaled, then release, slowly and with control.

6 - Lying on my stomach, forehead resting on my hands, I do single leg lifts. Engaging the butt muscle, I lift each leg, not too high, hold it, and release slowly. I do this 20 times for each leg.

And that's it. I have done it almost every day for 22 days (I skipped one day), and because I can see the results, I am convinced it is enough. It takes about 15-20 minutes, and I do it after jogging. I hope the descriptions are clear. Describing exercise in words is sort of tough. The main thing was listening to what my body needed and letting that guide me.

Hope it helps!

Wonderful post Chaps - I am intrigued and inspired to try the same. I work out every body part but my abs. I don't know why because in looking at them they need the most work.

Ab muscles are like any other muscle: they need time to recover. IMO, you really don't need to or want to work them more than 3 times a week.

And congratulations cemetarysiren! MrsJim gave you some great links. I's also suggest taking a look at this thread
Mel