Loose Skin

b0xm0ns73r

New Member
Here is my story.

About 4 months ago I had strepp throat and had to go to the doctor. I weighed 209(I am about 5'9") my blood pressure was 152 over 100. Part of that may have been due to stress. Right then and there I decided I had better do something and fast. I started dieting and exercising.

Jump to now.
4 months later and 40lbs less, my blood pressure is now 120 over 70 and I feel wonders better. I have went from a super snug 34" jeans to loose 32" jeans. I feel better energy and better about myself.

However, I have some loose skin in my tummy. Are there any tricks to get it to tighten up? Or do I just give it time?

I tried to loose my weight at a decent rate to avoid this problem, however it seems it didn't work out quite as welle as i wanted.

Also, will this throw off my caliper readings for BF?


Thanks for any and all past, present and future advice from you guys!!!
 
box,

excellent weight loss.. as for the stomach area.. do abs HST style, a lot of guys here don't do it since they dont wan't their abs sticking out, but in your case it would help fill in a bit

40 lbs in 4 months, I'd assume your case isn't that bad

as for the bodyfat and calipers, they're shouldn't be a problem as the skin can be pinched up

-colby
 
It depends on your age, the amount of loose skin, your skin's elasticity and a lot of other factors. In some cases (a lot, when we are tallking huge amounts) the only remedy is surgery.
sad.gif
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (dkm1987 @ Aug. 10 2005,1:57)]It depends on your age, the amount of loose skin, your skin's elasticity and a lot of other factors. In some cases (a lot, when we are tallking huge amounts) the only remedy is surgery.
sad.gif
Mine isn't a huge amount, my wife doesn't even notice, but i can tell it's there and it bugs me.

Thanks for the replies guys!
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (OneMoreRep @ Aug. 10 2005,8
wow.gif
)]When i was cutting i had some loose skin, it tightened up reallllllly fast...

I think that this is the answer here. Now I'll admit this is speculation I myself haven't ever had the opportunity to test it... but hear me out :)

The information I'm presenting here is mostly taken from an article by by Ron Brown, author of The Body Fat Guide
http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm

Could it be that when the skin is stretched and fat develops underneath; when the subject looses most of the fat some fat cells are caught up in the "stretched" skin and gives it that soft wrinkly loose look?

thereby to get rid of the skin you'd need to Really drop your overall BF% to get those "trapt" fat cells burnt out, I'm talking like sub 10% BF.

An instance where this could be seen is in the case with POWs (Prisoners of war) they loose rediculous amounts of weight and possibly have unhealthy BF levels, but I never saw one with "loose skin" hanging or any skin wrinkled they are Skinney, boney and the skin looks tight. Note that they may be many many lbs below their natural weight where the skin should be accustommed

Again I'd like to say that I'm throwing out an Idea that I think makes sense and I'm not atesting that this is carved in stone somewhere, maybe someone better fit to try a scientific study to see if loose skin can be eradicated by really low BF levels :confused:
 
Attached are some quotes directly from the article. Perhaps it may explain what I was trying to get at a little better

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]The human integumentary system (skin) is not a passive layer of tissue that remains stretched out like an empty plastic bag after losing large amounts of bodyweight. Rather, it is a living organ, actively adapting to the body's internal and external environments.

Measuring the thickness of these hanging folds of skin provides evidence that there is still a substantial amount of body fat underneath the skin. The skin is not so much "loose" as it is flabby. Even if some areas have completely thinned out, there will still likely be excess body fat stored in adjacent areas that contribute to the overall condition.

...that as body fat is broken apart and lost, the remaining fat is not packed in as solidly and does not support itself as it did at the beginning of one's weight-loss program.

Whatever the reason for the appearance of hanging folds of skin, as one continues to draw upon and break apart excess fat reserves, one's body, including one's skin, gradually returns to its normal size and shape. It is just a matter of the dieter seeing the removal of excess body fat through to the end.

People on extended fasts consuming nothing more than water have demonstrated that the skin can lose 20% or more of its size.

To eliminate the droopy appearance of the remnants of excess body fat, you must change your body composition, not just lose weight. That means paying particular attention to the ratio of your body fat to lean body mass
 
That would seem to explain well what happens, and what could happen.

Although eliminating those "loose skin" by changing body composition may actually mean lowering your BF to an unhealthy level. Or maybe not. I'm just guessing, but it may turn out like that. I remember one friend I had, his tummy had a horrendous flabby loose skin because he dropped weight so fast. We called it a "belt-bag", and it does look like he is wearing a belt-bag underneath his shirt sometimes. I swear, his body fat must have been already 10% or less, but he had that "belt-bag" with him and it never seemd to go away. So I guess if lowering the BF can remove fats like that, it should be way less.

Again, just my thoughts. Nothing scientific here.

Regards,
-JV
 
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