Fat or loose skin ?

aaron8494

Hi

I’m 5ft 8 and 63kg . I do resistance training 4 times a week but nothing hardcore . I have lost weight but was never obese but even though I’m at a low weight and can feel and see muscle I have this skin or fat hangover at bottom of the belly . I just want to know will it go if I lose more weight (I do worry if I go much further below 63kg I’ll look gaunt ) or is it skin that will never go ? It’s only there when I sit and bend over . Here’s a pic standing up and then hunched over . Any advice or help appreciated .

AnnPT77

I'm not seeing what I'd call a meaningful amount of either one - maybe not any. You're quite lean.

If you keep working out, ideally lifting progressively, and do that at constant body weight, you may lean out a little more. Even if you lost an additional tiny amount of weight by continuing a small deficit, no guarantee the current state would visibly change. We don't control which fat deposits deplete when, even if we have some fat on our body. Fueling your workouts likely has higher odds of success.

About the leaning over thing: If skin or a tiny, even, healthy subcutaneous fat layer are stretched when the body's extended, there's going to be a tiny wrinkle or fold with gravity when bending over like that. There's a limit to skin elasticity in the moment.

As an aside: How's your posture? A lot of us these days have a bit of rounded- shoulders, chin forward posture from hanging over our phones and keyboards (kyphotic posture, "nerd neck"), or a bit of anterior pelvic tilt, or a tendency to lock our knees when standing. Any of those can be like being a little bent forward all the time, and lead to some mild sag or prominence in the belly area even for a slim person. If any of that's in the picture, look for videos on YouTube with exercises for it. The Bob & Brad physical therapy channel would be a good source.

If you've lost weight relatively recently, there's a chance you may get some skin shrinkage with time, too. You look young. I'm old, and my skin kept shrinking very gradually at least into year 2 at goal weight. Patience can pay off.

Try to imagine me as your sincere and caring - but brutally honest - old internet auntie when I say this next: Truly, I think the extremely tiny fold you're seeing is mostly an issue of self-consciousness, self-confidence and internalized body image. You look great. No one else will be noticing that.

Best wishes!

springlering62

This reminds me of something that @AnnPT77 said several years ago that stuck with me.

I was complaining about my “bat wings”. She made the very valid point that you have to have some extra skin to provide for flexing, raising arms overhead, bending elbows etc. you’re always going to have - and need- extra skin.

As she says, you look very lean. If you hunker over, of course you have extra skins. That’s why you never see influencers hunkered over. They always do the one leg out, slightly twisted, or back subtly arched to give that tight “abs” look.

I would venture that you need that tiny little bit of pocket in order to make yourself 360 degree flexible. You couldn’t do a backward bend or a “banana” pose to the side without it. It give you flexibility.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.

I’m pretty lean, but can easily get a double chin or a panicle (? Is that the right word? A belly fold) if I fold myself up trying to find something to critique myself about.

What really helped me was having a trusted person (my trainer) take photos and video of me while working out. It helped me see the constant flexibility required of my skin to work out, much less to cook, crawl on the floor to clean up after pets (a big issue this week. aaaargh), or do elaborate needlework.

If everything were super taut and tight, you’d be like the Tin Man. Squeak squeak squeak can’t move at all!

if I do a deep forward fold, I’ve got that tummy fold and sometimes tuck it back to get it out of the way so I can get my head on my knees.

Yet…Try doing a glute bridge from the floor. I can go all the way up til my tummy skin just can’t give any more. That’s what I mean.

tulips_and_tea

Looks like just a bit of loose skin to me, which is normal for that area. We need to be able to move. You look great! Lean over all and in good shape. Our bodies are meant to move, so we need our skin to be able to move with it. Certainly nothing to worry about!

pnrbor

Now I think you are showing off with that body lol. You can't possibly lose more weight.

springlering62

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/comment/48669835#Comment_48669835

as someone who went through some pretty intense body dysmorphia myself (and still do, occasionally) it’s a valid question.

I’m afraid that for some of us, there’s always that kneejerk reaction to look in every mirror or window reflection to make sure we didn’t somehow get fat in the past few minutes.

It diminishes after a while, thank heavens.

I was listening to a podcast by a well known British comedian the other day, who has used this app, and he made the comment that “there’s always a fat guy trying to get back out”.

I totally and utterly relate to that, and would guess that OP shares that to some degree.

If he needs reassurance, that’s cool and most of us here are happy to give it to him.

And also, having been judged by the public at large for being obese for years, and now finding myself sometimes being judged for being “too” fit, you know what? You do you, and let OP do OP.

AnnPT77

If someone sincerely wants support, as I believe OP really does, then there's no element of showing off involved.

Personally, I want people to feel free to post about any concerns or fears they may have. I do think OP looks great - and I mean that it the most decent, granny-esque way humanly possible.

But how we look and how we feel can be out of harmony with each other, and that's 100% a legit thing to talk about here. Ditto if someone has achieved great progress, reached amazing goals, but isn't quite where they want to be yet.

claireychn074

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10941970/fat-or-loose-skin

I think the issue you have is that you’re comparing yourself to staged photos. You’ve worked hard, have a great physique. But bodies are designed to move so when you bend over you will always have a skin fold. When your knees are straight you’re likely to have skin you can pull (you need extra skin there for when you bend your knees) - your waist is the same. I can’t objectively see any fat on you - I personally don’t think you need to lose any weight.

ddsb1111

You should see how my stomach hangs when I plank, but when I stand up it’s mostly flat. That’s just how bodies work when we bend, plank, move. Great results btw! You’ve clearly put in the work.

age_is_just_a_number

I'd say it is just skin that needs to be there so that you can do things like reach up high to the top shelf.

IMO, you don't need to lose any more weight. I know BMI is flawed, but it is easy: You are right in the middle of normal BMI.

Based on the pictures, you seem pretty young. If I were you, I'd stick with what I'm doing and continue to progress at the gym. Eat plenty of protein and you might put on more muscle.

age_is_just_a_number

reggaereggie

Totally normal, even fit people have that when sitting or bending over. It’s likely just a bit of loose skin. You're in a great spot already!

Retroguy2000

You clearly have low bf %.

You should be lifting hard with progressive overload and with a small calorie surplus. There isn't enough stored energy on your body to fuel muscle building without some extra calories.

I2k4

Looking pretty young, fit and lean (though not competitively "shredded") I'd say an experiment with collagen supplementation would be worthwhile at least for the skin surface. Only more calorie reduction and intensified lower ab training might gradually get to the little pouch through fat loss and building supportive underlying muscle in that local area ("spot" fat loss is a myth but spot muscle building is not).

Re collagen online information is easily found, but after dropping about 30 pounds from my senior body a few years ago 400 grams of collagen at 10 grams/day mixed in morning oats or smoothies removed new belly skin wrinkles above the navel, along with some minor improvements to eye wrinkling and hair. Some people don't respond or the supplement is redundant to a varied meat diet, it's a fairly cheap experiment to try over a few months. Also note collagen is enhanced by ordinary Vitamin C and the effect of "types" from animal sources vary - skin improvement is commonly more likely from fish (type 1) and/or beef (types 1 and 3) while chicken (type 2) primarily builds joint tissue and bone.