Laying down vs standing up

kallen771991

When i stand i habe a pretty pronounced B belly. And i figured out if i lay flat, my belly virtually disappears. 2 inces difference to be exact. So do i just have a ton of loose skin? I am confused as to what, if anything, this means.

AnnPT77

It means gravity pulls your skin, remaining fat, and other body tissues downward toward the center of the earth (more or less) in all cases, so where the flexible parts end up varies with your body position. When you're lying down, probably more of it is pulled downward to your sides, maybe some down into your abdominal cavity, versus hanging out/downward in front.

You may have loose skin, you may have fat that's gotten somewhat squishy. (Fat areas often get squishy part way through a weight loss because fat cells deplete anywhere in the fat mass, they don't neatly melt off the outside layer then proceed inward likely peeling an onion. It's more like a water balloon with less water in it - stops being a firm mass, gets more squishy/floppy. Skin can't really shrink until more of it's gone, and then it will take some more time for the skin to shrink).

IMO, it doesn't really mean anything. If you still have weight to lose, do that. Then, give the skin time to shrink, if it will. (My excess skin kept shrinking at least into the 2nd year of maintenance, maybe longer - hard to tell at that point.) It's pretty common to look a little worse, in terms of loose skin and other similar tissue, part way to goal weight. At goal, it'll likely look better, and even better than that a few months down the road in maintenance. Give it time before you worry about it. (I know that's frustrating, believe me.)

Working on your posture may help a little, appearance-wise, too, at any stage: Lots of us these days have a little bit of anterior pelvic tilt, plus some head-forward/rounded-shoulders kind of thing going on, both of which tend to push any excess abdominal tissue outward and downward, making it look more prominent. If that's going on with you, there are exercises to improve that - look for ones on YouTube from actual physical therapists.

kallen771991

AnnPT77 wrote: »

It means gravity pulls your skin, remaining fat, and other body tissues downward toward the center of the earth (more or less) in all cases, so where the flexible parts end up varies with your body position. When you're lying down, probably more of it is pulled downward to your sides, maybe some down into your abdominal cavity, versus hanging out/downward in front.

You may have loose skin, you may have fat that's gotten somewhat squishy. (Fat areas often get squishy part way through a weight loss because fat cells deplete anywhere in the fat mass, they don't neatly melt off the outside layer then proceed inward likely peeling an onion. It's more like a water balloon with less water in it - stops being a firm mass, gets more squishy/floppy. Skin can't really shrink until more of it's gone, and then it will take some more time for the skin to shrink).

IMO, it doesn't really mean anything. If you still have weight to lose, do that. Then, give the skin time to shrink, if it will. (My excess skin kept shrinking at least into the 2nd year of maintenance, maybe longer - hard to tell at that point.) It's pretty common to look a little worse, in terms of loose skin and other similar tissue, part way to goal weight. At goal, it'll likely look better, and even better than that a few months down the road in maintenance. Give it time before you worry about it. (I know that's frustrating, believe me.)

Working on your posture may help a little, appearance-wise, too, at any stage: Lots of us these days have a little bit of anterior pelvic tilt, plus some head-forward/rounded-shoulders kind of thing going on, both of which tend to push any excess abdominal tissue outward and downward, making it look more prominent. If that's going on with you, there are exercises to improve that - look for ones on YouTube from actual physical therapists.

I wish the app would let me post pictures so i can show the difference. But your right. Your also the second person to mention posture. I started out at 303 lbs last august, i am 249 today and i have mainly lost that weight in the back. Like, my butt, back, bra band area but the front has barely changed and i have a lot of wight up front. It hurts to sit up streight plus i have a back injury on top of it. I am trying to figure out what to do about it. Not saying i can't fix it, i just lack the wisdom, i have always been front heavy, even as a kid, so its something i've always done. Any suggestions?

snowflake954

Congratulations on over 50 lbs lost! The best thing for your posture is to continue losing. The weight on your front will slowly come off too. You may also need to do exercises to strengthen your back muscles. If you've had an injury, ask your doctor, you might need physiotherapy to start. It can change your life. Best of luck!

springlering62

I was very underweight til my early 20’s. What you describe happens even to the thinnest of people.at 18, I could lay on my back and wrap my hands (granted, long fingers) around my own waist with fingertips touching. No way I could do that standing up. Not even close.

Yes. Following weight loss, some of it is extra skin. So what? There’s Spanx, most leggings have some compression, I was in the Levi’s store a couple of weeks ago and every womens style had a “holds you in and shapes you” type tag. There’s ways to hold it all in, so it’s your secret.

The only guys who know I have “udders” when I plank are the one who matters most, and a half dozen guys who regularly attend or instruct yoga.

Also begin experimenting with the “stomach vacuums” discussed elsewhere by @ninerbuff I feel like those have been very effective for me.

This is a great thread begun by @KickassAmazon76.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10842208/moment-of-realness/p1

I piggybacked with uncomfortable photos of my own belly. I need to update it because I’ve thinned out a bit sizewise around hips and thighs since then (without losing additional weight- your body is always, always changing, during and well after loss) and that’s made my belly “appear” noticeably bigger and softer.

As my husband has so wisely told me many times, under so many different circumstances, “Don’t fret, Mel. It’s better than it was before”.

That’s the takeaway you have to remember.

The wrinkles, extra skin, temporary bagging here and there, wierd face and neck stuff, it’s really not that important, and most of it will pass eventually. We are so conditioned to be dissatisfied with ourselves, whether we’re the Barbie, cover girl, or Insta generation.

I’ve been in a text convo with my daughter overseas this morning, discussing the family proclivity for arthritis, and it occurs to me that with weight loss, the past couple of winters have been a doddle by comparison to the heavier years. It’s that kind of stuff that ultimate matters.

Xellercin

It doesn't mean anything, it's just gravity.

I have very, very little belly fat and my stomach collapses into my abdomen when I lie on my back because my organs fall back.

When standing, you can't see my hip bones, but when I lie back, you can see inches of hip bones, bacuse my uterus falls back instead of resting forward.

It's just gravity working on the meat sack that is your body, don't give it much thought.

CurvyEmmy

The same thing happens to me! My tummy is flatter when I lay down but it hangs out and I get fat rolls on my sides as soon as I stand up

Sitting is the worst, my belly rolls in the front and the sides and my pants feel tighter.

It’s like it gets fatter just from sitting. What the heck??

I hate the look of the fat rolls… how do I stop this from happening?

cwolfman13

This is how gravity works.

FWIW, lean people also have "rolls" when they sit...because gravity and the way the body is situated when sitting compresses everything into one place.