Here's the deal:

I've been lifting weights/strength training religiously since my highest weight. I have done P90X twice, and I'm going on my second round of an Insanity/P90X hybrid. I have built up a lot of strength and muscle in the past year. Why am I telling you this? Because I am all of the sudden SQUISHY!

After I got to my mini goal of 153, I suddenly went from firm to just...flabby? It's mostly in my thighs/upper arms that I'm noticing it, but today I noticed it a bit in my belly too. I can feel muscle/bone, but with a soft layer on top of it! I mean, what is this? I've never lost this amount of weight before, so maybe it's remaining fat stuck in loose skin? Will it go away a bit when my elasticity catches up? Or is it just a phase that will pass after I lose 10 more pounds? I haven't changed anything, and I have actually been progressing lately.

I hope someone can relate, I'm kind of freaking out! I thought I was looking really good lately, and now...blah.

I can't help with the squishy part but I wanted to congratulate you on hitting your first goal of 153 today! Way to go Bellona!

There are certain areas that have always been flabby on me, my upper thighs being the main one. Every thing else seems to go in phases. It seems like I'll lose a few lbs and then everything sags, then my loss slows a bit and then everything tightens up a few weeks later. I think it just takes bit for the skin to spring back, but that's just what I've observed personally.

It could be due to the loss of lean body mass--do you still have your same conditioning? or do you fatigue faster?

If everything is the same, you are just experiencing temporary sag like nc said.

If you find you are deconditioned, are you doing strength still? building the muscle underneath that skin, will help smooth out the results.

I have found that I get the "squishies" right before a whoosh! It's like the fat let's loose and gets squishy, then all of a sudden the scale goes down and I firm up again. I love the squishies, it tells me something good is coming!!

That reminds me of years ago. I got the squishies in on my pooch. By that time I had lost a lot of weight and wasn't budging past that point. I always gained weight at that point, usually I would start binging again. I wonder if I had stuck it out, I would have had a woosh and actually made it past that weight for once?

Something to think about

My fat generally gets strange and squishy before reducing, it really seems to change its' consistency before being shed/shrinking. That said, it could also be loose skin you are seeing, but either way you are doing great on your weight goals and heading on the right direction

Sounds like, from what I'm reading, that you just gotta keep pushing and it'll work itself out. GO YOU!!

I've heard this before. When I was dieting 10 yrs ago, this was very common for people to get squishy right before a big loss.

I hope that is the case for the OP too!

There is a theory out there that fat cells initially retain water as they lose fat, and then let the water go some time later--like a week or so. If true, this explains not only the squishy-whoosh thing, which I have seen, but also the "I went on vacation and ate my head off and lost 3 lbs--because it suggests that there is always a lag between losing fat and losing the weight, and that that three pounds of fat went away the week you were being really good in preparation for your trip.

My fat has always been squishy Sorry I can't help more!

Thanks so much for your responses, everyone! Your encouragement and advice is greatly appreciated. I still feel a bit squishy, but hopefully it's just temporary. It's also good to know that it could mean a "whoosh" is coming!
Either way, I'm trying to just enjoy being past my first goal without worrying about the squishies, lol. I think I may have reduced my calories too much and have stopped building muscle as fast, so maybe I will increase protein intake for a few weeks and see what happens.

You have to read this article, which is all about squishy fat. Like others have said, it's a sign that you are losing fat and that good things are happening, or about to happen!

Happy Reading!

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...uishy-fat.html

Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I'm not alone in this! I've been getting squishier too, more and more as I lose weight. I assumed/hoped that my skin would catch up, but since it also seems to be related to fat loss, I'm not complaining! I still have 50-60 pounds to lose, so I'm not worried yet. At least, I've been doing strength exercises and running, so I don't think I'm losing muscle... Anyway, good to know this happens to a lot of people. Thanks, Bellona, for asking!

MileHighMomma: thats a great article. Not very scientific, but we don't want that anyway. It does explain alot though, oh, if I had only waited out he "squishy" period. I could have dropped more.