100 lbs to lose Suggestions to prevent loose skin

writerinmc67

I am on a restricted budget, so a trainer is out for now. I am focusing on cardio right now, but I want to work on my tummy, rear end & upper arms while I lose weight.

Does anyone have a suggestion where to start? (An App or a book, maybe?)

r3488

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Cutemesoon

Would you rather be ur current size or be 100 less with a little hanging skin? A lil hanging skin won't kill you. The only suggestions I have are to keep the skin moisturized and do a progressive load strength training program. Look up strong curves or strong lifts 5X5.

AnnPT77

Cutemesoon wrote: »

Would you rather be ur current size or be 100 less with a little hanging skin? A lil hanging skin won't kill you. The only suggestions I have are to keep the skin moisturized and do a progressive load strength training program. Look up strong curves or strong lifts 5X5.

Gotta believe on-point nutrition - for healthy cells and all that - also couldn't hurt, might help, and sensible people wanna do it anyway for other reasons.

Cherimoose

Search the forum - there have been many good discussions on it, both here and in the "General" forum.

And thank you for spelling "lose" and "loose" correctly.

writerinmc67

Cherimoose wrote: »

Search the forum - there have been many good discussions on it, both here and in the "General" forum.

And thank you for spelling "lose" and "loose" correctly.

You’re welcome.

100_PROOF_

If a trainer is out of the question, could you possibly get yourself some dumbbells or bar and plates?
I'm asking because I believe it is a good idea to work in some strength training.
Start looking around for a program that suits you. You'll thank yourself later!

JorrunFulhelm

Strength training is the way to go, also if you lose slowly your skin will likely be less "saggy". Your skin has elasticity to it and will shrink back naturally over time, if you lose slowly you will see better skin results. Keep hydrated too and moisturize skin regularly.

ServusChristi

My dermatologist says it makes no difference whether you lose quickly or slowly. It is what it is.

AnnPT77

ServusChristi wrote: »

My dermatologist says it makes no difference whether you lose quickly or slowly. It is what it is.

I think some people say it makes a difference because skin shrinkage Is likely to be slower than fat loss. (My loose skin kept shrinking well into my 2nd year of weight maintenance.)

People who lose rapidly give the loose skin less time along the way to shrink, so the wrinkles are more dramatic, while people who lose slowly "hide" some of the loose skin while they lose because the shrinkage is closer to keeping up.

Also, I should point out that some of us (like me) look much worse, in terms of what we perceive as loose skin, at a "partway to goal" stage, and things will improve from there and be better at goal (and can keep improving for quite a while afterward). This is because we can lose fat density anywhere in our fat mass, so that the overall fat area gets less firm/dense, more squishy/floppy at a midway stage - kind of like a water balloon partly full of water (no air ) as opposed to one totally full and firm.

This "squishy fat" is enough to conspire with gravity to keep skin stretched out so that it really can't shrink much. At that stage, it's easy to have the misimpression that one will look like a Shar-Pei puppy at goal weight . . . but that's not the case. When the fat mass depletes more with more weight loss, the situation will improve and be much better at goal weight. Then it can keep shrinking for many months beyond.

True loose skin, without much subcutaneous fat, is thin wrinkles, like wrinkles in fabric. Thicker rolls, like 1/2" plus, still have some underlying fat pulling them down.

Most people's worry about loose skin, IME, is worse than the reality.

OP, I think if you go over to the "Success Stories" part of the forum and read some posts, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the appearance of most people who've lost weight, including large amounts of weight. Some of the posts there are very honest about their loose skin, with bathing suit photos and such. Do they have loose skin? Usually, yes . . . but not the full-body flaps of it that I think many obese people imagine. Almost universally, loose skin isn't visible when people are wearing street clothes.

steveko89

Cutemesoon wrote: »

Look up strong curves or strong lifts 5X5.

Given your description of areas you want to target, I would suggest Strong Curves over SL 5x5. My impression is that Strong Curves is very scalable to equipment and lifting level. Having tried SL 5x5 I don't think it's nearly as good as the quantity of recommendations would suggest.

writerinmc67

Everyone has great suggestions; I will definitely read the success stories. I want to do strength training but I am leery about bad discs in the left side of my neck. I think I need to ask my doctor about weight limits. I was checking out Planking, Pilates and Yoga last night online as well.

I won’t stress to death about excess skin. I just wanted to be proactive about what I can control, especially since I am 50 years old.

Thank you for all the great suggestions & insights!

Jen

AnnPT77

writerinmc67 wrote: »

Everyone has great suggestions; I will definitely read the success stories. I want to do strength training but I am leery about bad discs in the left side of my neck. I think I need to ask my doctor about weight limits. I was checking out Planking, Pilates and Yoga last night online as well.

I won’t stress to death about excess skin. I just wanted to be proactive about what I can control, especially since I am 50 years old.

Thank you for all the great suggestions & insights!

Jen

The link r3488 provided above includes beginner bodyweight programs (no/minimal equipment) as well as regular weight training programs, just for the record. Some of those still might be incompatible with your physical issues, but I just wanted to clarify that it's not all dumbbell/barbell stuff.

writerinmc67

AnnPT77 wrote: »

writerinmc67 wrote: »

Everyone has great suggestions; I will definitely read the success stories. I want to do strength training but I am leery about bad discs in the left side of my neck. I think I need to ask my doctor about weight limits. I was checking out Planking, Pilates and Yoga last night online as well.

I won’t stress to death about excess skin. I just wanted to be proactive about what I can control, especially since I am 50 years old.

Thank you for all the great suggestions & insights!

Jen

The link r3488 provided above includes beginner bodyweight programs (no/minimal equipment) as well as regular weight training programs, just for the record. Some of those still might be incompatible with your physical issues, but I just wanted to clarify that it's not all dumbbell/barbell stuff.

Thanks! I just went back and looked at the list again! I’ll spend some time reading to find the right one. I appreciate it!

tammie614

sadly , i have loose skin. i'm not sure if it can be avoided. some have more than others. i used to work with a woman who had the gastric surgery and has not one inch of loose skin. i used to stare at her like she was extinct. LOL meanwhile my arms/triceps are just ugh!! i've accepted the fact that they may never "tighten up" as long as i stay consistent i wont complain too much. i've lost over 140 lbs so again i think "some" loose skin should be expected, for most people