Loose skin
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bcschulz
Posts: 95 Member
Hi,
I've lost 55 pounds since April 13th, 2015 and I have about 50 more to lose. I am obviously losing it pretty fast. How can I avoid getting loose skin? I don't want to eat more food. I think it's also important to tell you that I'm a vegetarian. What can I do to avoid having loose skin without eating more and slowing down the weight loss?
Please help
Thanks in advance!
I've lost 55 pounds since April 13th, 2015 and I have about 50 more to lose. I am obviously losing it pretty fast. How can I avoid getting loose skin? I don't want to eat more food. I think it's also important to tell you that I'm a vegetarian. What can I do to avoid having loose skin without eating more and slowing down the weight loss?
Please help
Thanks in advance!
0
Replies
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Loose skin is mainly caused by 2 things. Genetics, and your caloric deficit which directly influences your weight loss.
Genetics dictate your skins elasticity to a degree, and losing too much weight can sometimes be too fast for your skins elasticity to catch up.
Make sure you have a moderate deficit.0 -
Genetics and age play a huge part with this. Lifting weights will help the appearance, as well as help you maintain muscle mass while you're losing.0
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You should stick to losing 1-2 lbs per week, so make sure your calorie deficit is set for that. your food choices don't really matter, as long as you are getting adequate calories to maintain your deficit.
As far as loose skin, it's really a matter of how you are made, genetically. Some people's skin will rebound better than others. It also matters how fast you gained the weight originally. do you have a lot of stretch marks? If you stretch skin quickly, it gets damaged and can't repair that damage. My belly got damaged that way with my pregnancies, and although it might be flat now, the skin is still damaged and loose. Nothing I can do about it, I am still very happy with the way I look.0 -
Time......
I've lost 96 pounds since January, and unfortunately I will need to work on the skin.
But the skin is 1000 times better then the fat.
Be positive, and time will hopefully eventually fix the skin issues.0 -
Why the big hurry Doc? You are losing weight almost twice the rate of what is considered healthy. If you continue at this accelerated rate, you are likely to be losing more muscle than is desirable. Muscle loss is a bigger appearance and health concern than loose skin.0
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Thank you all for your replies. I am not worried about muscle loss. I do at least 30 mins of cardio 6 times a week and 4-5 days a week I lift weights. I'm gaining muscle or at least not losing it. I've always been a muscular guy, but I gained a lot of weight from being lazy for several years.
The calorie deficit is one issue I'm unclear about. I have a daily calorie allowance of 2000 and I eat roughly 1400 calories per day. The calories I burn exercising, I do not eat back. Should I be eating back those calories? If so, why? I'm not hungry for more food. I've been eating this way now for a good while.0 -
Thank you all for your replies. I am not worried about muscle loss. I do at least 30 mins of cardio 6 times a week and 4-5 days a week I lift weights. I'm gaining muscle or at least not losing it. I've always been a muscular guy, but I gained a lot of weight from being lazy for several years.
The calorie deficit is one issue I'm unclear about. I have a daily calorie allowance of 2000 and I eat roughly 1400 calories per day. The calories I burn exercising, I do not eat back. Should I be eating back those calories? If so, why? I'm not hungry for more food. I've been eating this way now for a good while.
If you have an allowance of 2000, then you should eat that 2000, as your deficit is already built in to that number. If you lose too quickly, you ARE losing muscle mass and you are NOT gaining muscle in a deficit. MFP is designed to eat back exercise calories, most eat a portion of them. The thing you want to look at here is sustainability and I'm sorry but the minimum any male should be eating is 1500, so you're under eating.0 -
Thank you all for your replies. I am not worried about muscle loss. I do at least 30 mins of cardio 6 times a week and 4-5 days a week I lift weights. I'm gaining muscle or at least not losing it. I've always been a muscular guy, but I gained a lot of weight from being lazy for several years.
The calorie deficit is one issue I'm unclear about. I have a daily calorie allowance of 2000 and I eat roughly 1400 calories per day. The calories I burn exercising, I do not eat back. Should I be eating back those calories? If so, why? I'm not hungry for more food. I've been eating this way now for a good while.
But.... you are worried about loose skin, no? Then you want to not lose weight too quickly. Increase your calories to the 2000 you are supposed to be eating, and eat back your exercise calories. Hunger is not a good indicator of whether or not you need to eat. If you are worried about how to reach those calorie goals, add more calorie-dense foods, like avocados, nut butters, and oils.0 -
Liftng4Lis wrote: »Thank you all for your replies. I am not worried about muscle loss. I do at least 30 mins of cardio 6 times a week and 4-5 days a week I lift weights. I'm gaining muscle or at least not losing it. I've always been a muscular guy, but I gained a lot of weight from being lazy for several years.
The calorie deficit is one issue I'm unclear about. I have a daily calorie allowance of 2000 and I eat roughly 1400 calories per day. The calories I burn exercising, I do not eat back. Should I be eating back those calories? If so, why? I'm not hungry for more food. I've been eating this way now for a good while.
If you have an allowance of 2000, then you should eat that 2000, as your deficit is already built in to that number. If you lose too quickly, you ARE losing muscle mass and you are NOT gaining muscle in a deficit. MFP is designed to eat back exercise calories, most eat a portion of them. The thing you want to look at here is sustainability and I'm sorry but the minimum any male should be eating is 1500, so you're under eating.
This^^
You should be eating enough food to fuel all of those workouts you're doing, and you're not. You are running a huge deficit. This will certainly impact the amount of loose skin that you have, and by the time you get to your goal weight, you will likely not be happy with how you look because of all the skin and lack of muscle tone.
If MFP gave you 2,000 calories to eat, then that number already included a calorie deficit. You're eating 600 calories BELOW that by eating 1400 with no exercise, and with exercise, you're likely netting around 1,000 calories a day. This is not healthy for anyone.0 -
Okay that's reasonable. I will start eating more calorie dense foods and increase my caloric intake.
Thanks again for your help!!0 -
Okay that's reasonable. I will start eating more calorie dense foods and increase my caloric intake.
Thanks again for your help!!
How much protein are you eating?
You should make sure you're getting enough protein as well, which can be difficult on a vegetarian diet. This will help with retaining muscle mass while eating at a deficit along with lifting weights.0 -
Reasonable OP is reasonable...
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tincanonastring wrote: »Reasonable OP is reasonable...
Agreed! I am pleasantly surprised.
Hooray for OP!
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what is your lifting regimen like OP? Is it a structured one or one you have designed on your own?
oh, and I agree with others you need to eat more. If MFP gave you 2000 then net that number.0 -
I've be lifting since I was 13. I'm 41 now.
On leg day I do squats, lunges, leg extension, seated leg curls, and calve raises. On stomach and back day I do sit-ups, leg lifts, lat pull downs, and roman chair (lower back). On arms day I do barbell curls, incline dumbbell curls, tricep push downs, and wrist curls (forward and reverse). On shoulders and chest day I do bench, dumbbell flys, military press, and shoulder shrugs.
I change it up a bit here and there too. I do several variations of each exercise. I also use the rowing machine pretty regularly.
I'm going to go to about 2200 calories. It seems pretty easy. I'll add more almonds and another protein shake.
Again, thanks for your help!!0 -
I've lost 55 pounds since April 13th, 2015 and I have about 50 more to lose. I am obviously losing it pretty fast. How can I avoid getting loose skin?
I have a daily calorie allowance of 2000 and I eat roughly 1400 calories per day. The calories I burn exercising, I do not eat back. Should I be eating back those calories? If so, why?
The biggest risk factor for loose skin (besides age) is losing too fast. You've lost 55 lbs. in three months. What's that, 4.5 lbs. per week?! Losing more than 2 lbs. per week drastically increases the odds that you'll need surgery. Please slow down and give your skin a chance to adapt.
Your calorie goal already has your deficit built in—that's why you need to eat back your exercise calories. To understand how MFP works, please read the Sexypants post: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p10 -
Thank you all for your replies. I am not worried about muscle loss. I do at least 30 mins of cardio 6 times a week and 4-5 days a week I lift weights. I'm gaining muscle or at least not losing it. I've always been a muscular guy, but I gained a lot of weight from being lazy for several years.
The calorie deficit is one issue I'm unclear about. I have a daily calorie allowance of 2000 and I eat roughly 1400 calories per day. The calories I burn exercising, I do not eat back. Should I be eating back those calories? If so, why? I'm not hungry for more food. I've been eating this way now for a good while.
**doublefacepalm**
For a man you should never eat below 1600 calories, faster you lose you will have a lot lose skin, plus you have more of a chance regaining all the weight back plus more.
Slow and steady is the healthy way of losing weight.0 -
I've be lifting since I was 13. I'm 41 now.
On leg day I do squats, lunges, leg extension, seated leg curls, and calve raises. On stomach and back day I do sit-ups, leg lifts, lat pull downs, and roman chair (lower back). On arms day I do barbell curls, incline dumbbell curls, tricep push downs, and wrist curls (forward and reverse). On shoulders and chest day I do bench, dumbbell flys, military press, and shoulder shrugs.
I change it up a bit here and there too. I do several variations of each exercise. I also use the rowing machine pretty regularly.
I'm going to go to about 2200 calories. It seems pretty easy. I'll add more almonds and another protein shake.
Again, thanks for your help!!
You routine sounds a little bit all over the place. Where are the compounds? No squats, deadlifts, etc??
I would really suggest finding a structured lifting program like strong lifts, all pro beginner, etc and run something like that for a three months and then once you get a feel for it, bump up to a more intermediate program like a four day split or something...0
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