Are You Happy With How You Look As You Lose?

arabianhorselover

Wondering how people feel about how they look along this weight loss journey. All along my biggest fear has been ending up with loose skin. I wanted to only lose 1 pound a week in the hopes of preventing that, at least somewhat. Even though I increased my calories several times, I still lost two pounds most weeks until recently. I have done weight training all along to try to preserve muscle, but I'm not sure it's been working. I feel so flabby. And there sure isn't much left on the chest! i know it's still worth it for my health, and the way I look in clothes, but not sure otherwise!

mdinms

I just hit a 40 lb loss, with about 35 more to go, and its taken about 6 months to get this far. I firmly believe that I will have loose skin on my tummy, (and my boobs have shrunk too ) and I have come to be at peace with it. I already look better in clothes, and I feel better, so I just take the good with the bad.

ChrysalisCove

I am doing some light strength training to hopefully tone up as I slim down & am ensuring I don't drop too quickly so my body can adjust, but that's about it. Generally speaking I look better than I did... I am MUCH healthier & that is enough for me! I also know that once I get to a maintenance phase my body will be able to spend more energy "catching up" w/ the weight loss.

arabianhorselover

Well, the younger you are, the better. Only wish I had done this sooner.

easjer

I have lots of rippling, dimpling cottage cheesy skin and loose skin. And my face looks weird to me. I mean, better without the three extra chins and re-emergence of my neck, but different. I can get self-conscious about it, if I'm honest. But I also know I'm the only one noticing and that this is still better than the puffy, fat chick squeezing out of my chair or my pants or my bra. And after nursing, my shape is now pear instead of hourglass (esp with how I lose weight - hips last). And it's weird losing in different parts, so I'm in between random sizes (need a bigger size for my arms, but then things are loose on my chest, or whatever).

But it's still better than it was. So I focus on that. The end result will be a lot better, I think.

Eric_DeCastro

hell yes. i love how I look. I love how I feel. I love the new lifestyle. it's a great feeling knowing I can buy smaller clothes. I just went from 3x to a Large. and I feel and look great.

GodMomKim

I am not seeing the flabby part yet, but only down 6lbs but I have worried too ! When I am shopping this week, I plan on buying a loofa or other roughish sponge to wash my tummy area with in hopes that that will stimulate the skin to shed faster and hopefully (maybe I'm dreaming) shed to the new right smaller size.

I could never ever afford any sort of plastic surgery to tighten any thing up and in truth am not a huge fan of cosmetic surgery - so can't imagine trying it if I could afford it; but for some it is a real possibility. Looking at some of the success story pics of folks who lost 2-300 lbs the amount of extra skin would be tough to keep clean, dry and healthy and if I was in that situation I might be more likely to consider/do it.

Jkn921

Yeah I lost 1.5 stone so far but have stretch-marks, feel much better in general.

SezxyStef

very happy with how I look...but my weight hasn't changed that to be honest.

I am losing weight for health...I have always been confident in how I look...

chelstakencharge

lifting while losing helps a lot!

arabianhorselover

I really can't imagine that. Must be nice.

very happy with how I look...but my weight hasn't changed that to be honest.

I am losing weight for health...I have always been confident in how I look...

SezxyStef

I really can't imagine that. Must be nice.

very happy with how I look...but my weight hasn't changed that to be honest.

I am losing weight for health...I have always been confident in how I look...

I know lots can't...I think it was in my upbringing...I was always told how cute I was, what a cute little figure I had (I was never a small female but curvy) and as a women in my early 20's always had male attention...most call me conceited...hehe

I wont say that the "being smaller" part isn't nice it is...and yes Lifting helps a lot...

arabianhorselover

Well, both of my parents had very low self esteem, and my Dad was not one to give compliments. I didn't actually have any positive role models in my life, so all of that didn't help.

Lauren5280

As a general rule I am happy with the way I look with each pound lost. I have hit times where the skin grossed me out but it always seems to tone up and look more normal. I figure during those phases I look good clothed and not naked but I know I will get there!

gurlygirlrcr80

I'd rather have extra skin under my clothes that nobody sees versus weighing what I used to. Because everyone can see your shape when you are bigger but not everyone can see your skin. I'll take being smaller any day of the week. The speed at which you lose doesn't have as big an effect as your genetics and health does.

arabianhorselover

I think it's a combination of a lot of things. Age, and how long you have been overweight have a lot to do with it , also.

carliekitty

I notice sometimes i hate the way i look and then i will loose another 10lbs and i will be like oh i look so much better…but then after another five i'll feel lumpy again. I don't think you should judge yourself during the journey cause it is all gonna change. As you workout your gonna build more muscle and that will make everything tighter. I don't know if you will have what you think is a perfect body but you will look and feel better then you use to.

lesteidel

Oh part of loose skin is just genetics and age. I wouldn't worry too much about it, I promise you see it more than anybody else does.

I know women who have "loose skin" who have never even been overweight, simply had a child and got a little older. A little loose skin is just a natural part of life, Women who have flat washboard tummies after thirty are gifted genetically. A lot of us, no matter how much work we put in just won't look that way. Everybody's body is not the same. And you have to learn to be happy with your body no matter what size it is. You only get one. You might as well love it faults and all.

lesteidel

And that being said. I feel fat no matter whether I am in a healthy weight range or not. We all have days where we love the way we look and days where we hate it. Losing weight doesn't necessarily stop you from feeling fat. It never did with me

margannmks

Im also 53 i have lost 25 lbs in the last 1 1/2 years so i definetly did it slow also have lifted the whole time. The most i ever lost (40 lbs) previously was in my 30 s and i dont remember having issues with skin.Whats weird is for the first time in my life i love my arms cant wait for summer and no sleeves ,the thighs are ok still have cellulite but im ok with that. What im having a hard time accepting is my abdomen, most women complain about a pouch,but my fatty area is above my waistlline and my lower stomach is flat but ive got loose skin,not the kind from massive weightloss but what i call old lady skin. I have it on my arms right above my elbows too, but you only see it when i reach down. I do ab exercises 5 days a week so i know there under there but yet i think i need some fat as filler so to speak. I would like to lose 10 more lbs but im probably just going to up my strenght training and hope the muscle will fill out these areas. Im wearing a bikini this summer, in florida theres lots of old saggy women on the beach so ill be fine

smc864

I have a little loose skin on my stomach but I think that has a lot to do with my pregnancy... I don't care about it in the slightest.

As I lose I get more and more pleased with the way I look. Strength training is the key!

hasta_la_vista_belly

I love how I am starting to look, but not quite to a point where I could say go swimming on a beach with no shirt on. But compared to 2 years ago, I look a lot better and I love it. Probably won't reach my goal till late summer or towards the end of the year is my guess. Got about 20 pounds of fat more to lose and certainly need to build muscle.

The other problem I have is that my belly and love handles area has really crazy stretch marks and I have no idea how to get rid of them or if they are just going to go away. So far they haven't been. And the funny thing is that I didn't get too terribly fat and yet I have these stupid marks all over. *angry*

arabianhorselover

Interesting. My arma are worse than my abdomen. Don't think it will be possible to get rid of the "flapping wings".

uote]
Im also 53 i have lost 25 lbs in the last 1 1/2 years so i definetly did it slow also have lifted the whole time. The most i ever lost (40 lbs) previously was in my 30 s and i dont remember having issues with skin.Whats weird is for the first time in my life i love my arms cant wait for summer and no sleeves ,the thighs are ok still have cellulite but im ok with that. What im having a hard time accepting is my abdomen, most women complain about a pouch,but my fatty area is above my waistlline and my lower stomach is flat but ive got loose skin,not the kind from massive weightloss but what i call old lady skin. I have it on my arms right above my elbows too, but you only see it when i reach down. I do ab exercises 5 days a week so i know there under there but yet i think i need some fat as filler so to speak. I would like to lose 10 more lbs but im probably just going to up my strenght training and hope the muscle will fill out these areas. Im wearing a bikini this summer, in florida theres lots of old saggy women on the beach so ill be fine
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arabianhorselover

I think that a lot of what I'm considering loose skin still has fat under it. I can only hope the skin will shrink up when the fat is gone.

Iwishyouwell

I've lost a lot of weight, even more than my ticker shows.

I've gone through periods of looking awful. Why? Because fat doesn't deflate in nice, smooth, even patterns. I've had plenty of periods along the way where I was losing, and the fat got terribly flabby looking; again, the body doesn't drop it uniformly.

But the areas always eventually tighten back up...until the next woosh. Even though I'm a man, I carried an obscene amount of fat in my thighs. My inner thighs looked terrible during the loss. They looked like what people typically call "excess skin"; wrinkly, deflated, saggy. Same with "batwings"; those are almost always FAT that's become loosened and is causing skin to hang. Most people just seriously underestimate how lean you have to get in order to eliminate "batwings" if you're genetically predisposed to carry a lot of fat in the arms.

But what did I do? I just kept losing more fat. Eventually you discover that a lot of the things people call "loose" skin, or "flab", is just body fat that's now become less compact, and is causing skin to hang. The best way to combat this is to keep losing FAT, not just weight, and aim for a lower body fat percentage. If all you're going by is an arbitrary scale number, and not your actual body fat levels, you're fighting a losing battle. Scale weight is only half the story.

I've still got a bit to go, but after losing well over 100lbs and going through various stages of "flab", it's good to know that most of it is turning out to just be body fat that still needs to be dropped.

kgeyser

Some days I am. Other days I look in the mirror and it seems that the fat is just migrating to different locations.

arabianhorselover

Well, I've lost another pound this week, so that's good. So how, exactly, do you lose body fat, and not just weight?

ALNoog

Yes and no.... I am confident with my looks... The only thing I don't like is that my boobs go completely away... I go from a large C to an A.... I hate that!

But people tell me that I look just like my momma... she passed away almost 12 years ago and it makes me so proud to hear that I look like her because she was so beautiful!

Francl27

Yes, obviously I look much better. Sad about the loose skin though... but I have to realize that it's still better than the alternative.

I look more muscular than I'd like though, yet still have too much body fat on my hips (and belly, maybe, but I think it's mostly skin at this point). Damn genetics.

Joebob8

When I went from 192 lbs to 135 I thought I was more or less done with my weight loss and all the loose skin was my burden to bear unless I went in for surgery. Then I kicked my fitness into high gear with serious weight training, focusing on diet, etc. I'm 123 lbs now and ab muscles are beginning to appear. I still have some stretch marks and would feel wayyyy too self conscious in a bikini but my body has gone from "normal/average" to amazing. I was overweight from the age of 5, btw (30 now).

Loose skin is like thin crepe paper. Loose fat is when you have an inch to pinch. Keep working.

Joebob8

To answer OPs second question about losing body fat and not just weight: 20% deficit from TDEE and no more than that. Solid amount of protein. 80% of calories from foods that provide real nutrition and not just taste. 3-4 days per week weight training. Other people on MFP say cardio is not for weight loss but I disagree. It provides a little extra calorie burn, more importantly it gets those endorphins going so you feel good and are more apt to make better choices. It also helps regulate appetite.