Are my expectations unrealistic? Need advice...

AuntieKT

Good morning! In the past year I have lost 105 pounds. This is my third time losing a large amount of weight. I am just about happy with where my body is. I like the way I look in clothes and I feel really good and eat as cleanly as possible. The only thing that I am still unhappy with really is my stomach. I have heard on here that I have to start lifting heavy and cleaning up my diet. I have done both of these things. I have been lifting heavy now for over a month and my eating for the most part has been spot on. I know that this is going to take a while, but I feel like I should be seeing some sort of progress. I feel like I have seen some noticeable differences in my arms (another trouble spot for me), so I know something is happening at least. Maybe I am just not able to see it cuz I am looking at myself everyday, but it just seems like my stomach looks the same. I took measurements a few weeks ago and I am going to check them soon, so hopefully that will reinforce that I am making some progress. My question was for people who have lost a large amount of weight...has anybody been able to make their stomach look good after 100 plus pounds of weight loss? I am not saying that I am giving up exercising and eating right, or even that I think this should be happening quickly or anything. I just wonder if it is possible that no matter what I do I will always have an unsightly midsection? Should I start trying to make peace with my less than stellar stomach or should I keep expecting things to eventually start looking good down there? I'm not saying I want to wear a bikini or anything. I just want to not be embarrassed when I take my shirt off and not feel my stomach flapping around down there when I am doing exercises. I'm looking forward to what everyone has to say and hoping that some people have had success in this area.

musycnlyrics

I am wondering this as well. I still have about 100lbs to lose, but already I am noticing my belly hangs lower than it did 17lbs ago...I am not looking forward to the flabbiness that will come with the weight loss

d2footballJRC

Good morning! In the past year I have lost 105 pounds. This is my third time losing a large amount of weight. I am just about happy with where my body is. I like the way I look in clothes and I feel really good and eat as cleanly as possible. The only thing that I am still unhappy with really is my stomach. I have heard on here that I have to start lifting heavy and cleaning up my diet. I have done both of these things. I have been lifting heavy now for over a month and my eating for the most part has been spot on. I know that this is going to take a while, but I feel like I should be seeing some sort of progress. I feel like I have seen some noticeable differences in my arms (another trouble spot for me), so I know something is happening at least. Maybe I am just not able to see it cuz I am looking at myself everyday, but it just seems like my stomach looks the same. I took measurements a few weeks ago and I am going to check them soon, so hopefully that will reinforce that I am making some progress. My question was for people who have lost a large amount of weight...has anybody been able to make their stomach look good after 100 plus pounds of weight loss? I am not saying that I am giving up exercising and eating right, or even that I think this should be happening quickly or anything. I just wonder if it is possible that no matter what I do I will always have an unsightly midsection? Should I start trying to make peace with my less than stellar stomach or should I keep expecting things to eventually start looking good down there? I'm not saying I want to wear a bikini or anything. I just want to not be embarrassed when I take my shirt off and not feel my stomach flapping around down there when I am doing exercises. I'm looking forward to what everyone has to say and hoping that some people have had success in this area.

I've lost about 130 pounds (With about 60 to go). I will say what my Dr. said. I can continue to drop bf% and tone up and the skin will come back some. Keep hydrated and keeping the skin hydrated will help, but it'll never be perfect. If you want tight, it's going to require a tummy tuck.

That's been one of the things that has sucked the most, the more weight I've lost the lower my stomach has hung. Making me almost in a way look fatter!

AuntieKT

Thanks for the replys so far. d2footballJRC, that is what I was afraid of. I work in healthcare and I have seen so many horror stories result from unnecessary elective surgeries that I think I would be way too scared to ever have a tummy tuck. Maybe if I had to have a c-section someday or something and I would already be cut open...but then again I think doctors don't really let you get a tummy tuck at the same time as a c-section...or at least that's what I've heard. I think I'm going to just keep on and make things the very best that it can be down there, but at the same time start to try to make peace with the fact that I'm never going to look like a fitness model. I guess it's just my punishment for letting my weight get so out of control to begin with... Does anyone else have any experiences or advice for me?

monjacq1964

Thanks for the replys so far. d2footballJRC, that is what I was afraid of. I work in healthcare and I have seen so many horror stories result from unnecessary elective surgeries that I think I would be way too scared to ever have a tummy tuck. Maybe if I had to have a c-section someday or something and I would already be cut open...but then again I think doctors don't really let you get a tummy tuck at the same time as a c-section...or at least that's what I've heard. I think I'm going to just keep on and make things the very best that it can be down there, but at the same time start to try to make peace with the fact that I'm never going to look like a fitness model. I guess it's just my punishment for letting my weight get so out of control to begin with... Does anyone else have any experiences or advice for me?

If your skin is damaged, eg stretch marks, it will NOT go back to its former glory. I've lost 130 lbs over the past year, and my stomach is full of stretch marks, and looks like a deflated balloon. I'm afraid that the only thing that will fix it is plastic surgery. You may be able to get insurance to cover it, if you have certain health problems, like rashes under the skin, or if it hangs down past your genitalia.

contingencyplan

I had to get a panniculectomy (tummy tuck) because after losing 135 lbs I had an overhang of skin from the lower abdomen that was significant enough to be deemed medically necessary, and as such, was covered by insurance. The criteria they use is that if it hangs low enough to obstruct view of the genitals when looking at you from the front, then your insurance should cover it and at that point is considered a medical procedure, not a cosmetic one.

jrue1985

I had stretch marks from pregnancy and mine are fading some, and tightening up. They say that it takes 2 years total for your stomach to recover from having a baby... I can only assume the same to be true about losing so much weight. Give it time before you decide the only thing you can do is resort to plastic surgery. A few months isn't long, be patient :-)

AuntieKT

I had stretch marks from pregnancy and mine are fading some, and tightening up. They say that it takes 2 years total for your stomach to recover from having a baby... I can only assume the same to be true about losing so much weight. Give it time before you decide the only thing you can do is resort to plastic surgery. A few months isn't long, be patient :-)

Like I said earlier, I have no plans to get any kind of plastic surgery. I was kind of being facetious when talking about getting a tummy tuck along with a c-section.