Fat or loose skin?

mommaxoxo
mommaxoxo Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone! I had a child a year ago. I've lost my weight slowly, and am now ten pounds below my pre pregnancy weight. So, at 125, I am starting to get discouraged with my results. In clothes i look fine, but i feel like my bare stomach is only looking worse. I have not done any strength training but i do have my first personal training appointment next week to give me an idea of what i can do. I'm scared to lose the next 10 pounds and just end up with a lot of loose skin... My husband doesn't think i have any, but i feel like he has to say that haha. I just want honest opinions on what realistic expectations are and what my best bet to get optimal results would be. Thank you. Also, I'm 25 if that makes a difference. I'm on my phone, so after i post i will go get links for pictures and edit or include in comments.
Also, I'm 5'6
2njbm7l.jpg
Heres a direct link cause i can't make it smaller http://i41.tinypic.com/2njbm7l.jpg
Kind of hunching over so you can get a better idea 23rr3mf.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/23rr3mf.jpg

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    It will be easier once we see pics. But I suspect a combination of higher body fat and not enough lean body mass. How tall are you BTW?
  • ewartluft
    ewartluft Posts: 79 Member
    I have the same problem, especially in the tummy area.
  • TheBitSlinger
    TheBitSlinger Posts: 621 Member
    Which is better to have, fat or loose skin? Even if it is loose skin, about the only thing you can do is focus on your body fat percentage: http://www.burnthefat.com/loose_skin.html
  • mommaxoxo
    mommaxoxo Posts: 4 Member
    It will be easier once we see pics. But I suspect a combination of higher body fat and not enough lean body mass. How tall are you BTW?

    5'6!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    It will be easier once we see pics. But I suspect a combination of higher body fat and not enough lean body mass. How tall are you BTW?

    5'6!

    Your bigger issue is probably lack of lean body mass. I see this very often in those at the low end of an acceptable weight. Essentially, you can't have definition and a tight body if you don't have enough muscle to show through the skin. A good bulk phase would probably be very beneficial so you can gain 10 lbs of muscle. And then follow it with a cut phase. Or do this in several phase where you switch between a slow bulk and cut.
  • TheCaren
    TheCaren Posts: 894 Member
    I've got the same problem. 5'4" and 120 pounds. I've accepted my tummy is skin and just living with it. However, I'm 44 years old and the weight loss aftermath has left extra skin a variety of areas. So this is just one of several...

    Tighten up everything underneath the loose skin and suck it in when you're clothed. Unclothed, just accept that you are what you are and you look great!
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
    Lift heavy, eat a a slight deficit and you'll see body composition changes.

    While you appear to have a gorgeous shape and beautiful body, the parts you zoned in on look like you have some extra fat. You'll be able to tell once you lose the fat underneath and have loose skin. I speak from experience. See my pix? :wink:

    ETA: Your skin might be stretched still from pregnancy, thus giving the appearance of MORE underlying subcutaneous fat than there actually is. I have this on my thighs and arms. My abs, what you see around my belly button is extra skin with very little underlying fat. That's what I mean by you will be able to tell if it is fat or loose skin. With loose skin, it's just that....loose skin.
  • nihaotina
    nihaotina Posts: 25
    I say it's loose skin from having a child.
  • grimm1974
    grimm1974 Posts: 337 Member
    Just pinch the skin of the area that you think you have loose skin. If it is very thin, then it is likely loose skin.
  • BetterKimmer
    BetterKimmer Posts: 178 Member
    I had a breast reduction a few years ago and during the follow up I explained to the Dr. my weight loss intentions. He told me to limit my weight loss to avoid loose skin and deflating his work. LOL. He told me if I lost the weight I wanted to I should come back and see him for a tummy tuck. It actually made me scared to lose it. Well, I have lost over 40lbs (some before I tracked on MFP) and was with a trainer for a couple of months now. MY TUMMY IS TIGHT AND FLAT. Get with a trainer and you will be fine! Even without a PT YouTube can shows many great core routines. Planks of all kinds are my favorite.
  • BeccaBollons
    BeccaBollons Posts: 652 Member
    It took a couple of years for my skin to tighten up from baby number 2, but it did happen. Bit stretch marked (like yourself) so there is a slightly crepey feel to it if I run my fingers over it. It looks like you probably could do with getting bodyfat % down, and everything WILL look smaller and tighter. Get working that core now, and when the fat has gone you may get a hint of the abs beneath!
  • fbmandy55
    fbmandy55 Posts: 5,263 Member
    I'd like to believe that it is an inbetween stage. When i first lost 50lbs, I had the same issue. After having my son, I had a lot of excess fat that was very low on my stomach, just above my pelvis. As I started to lose weight, I felt like that pouch was getting worse, but really, it was getting thinner. eventually the pouch disappeared as I lost the fat.

    After gaining the weight back, I am now again at the inbetween stage!
  • Woomytron
    Woomytron Posts: 253 Member
    Honestly it just looks like you have tummy pooch that most women get after kids. It doesn't look like its hanging much so if there is loose skin it isn't very noticeable in the pictures. I say if you get your body fat % down it will go away. You are beautiful though. I would love to look like that, I got a c-section belly out of my pregnancy. :sad: lol
  • HeinekenMan
    HeinekenMan Posts: 80 Member
    You are a mother. That's more beautiful than having a perfect body. Consider those minor flaws to be a tattoo that says, "I'm a mom, and I rock." As long as you are able to maintain a healthy weight, don't sweat the rest of it.
  • ecw3780
    ecw3780 Posts: 608 Member
    probably both. Loose skin is pretty thin when pinched. If you can grab it, and it feels bumpy or grainy under it, there is fat in there. Strength will help, but so will losing weight slowly. It will allow your skin to snap back faster. That being said, I have some loose skin on my arms that just sort of hangs there and never seems like it is going to snap back.
  • DWaraxa
    DWaraxa Posts: 2
    I also had a child a year ago... when I started going back to the qym, my Zumba instructor told me she had a baby 8 weeks prior and looked AMAZING.... I asked her for suggestions to help me out. She told me that a common misconception, which I also held, was that you can to a bunch of cardio and you'll lose the wight and be fine. She recommended a weight lifting class to help tone everything up as I lose the weight. As women, we tend to stay away from weights in fear that it will bulk us up, but as long as you stay with the lower weights, you'll be fine. I haven't lost as much as you have, mostly because of my lack of commitment, but i can definitely see results from the weight lifting class. I even wore a bikini a few weeks ago. Good luck to you.
  • ragingmrs
    ragingmrs Posts: 34
    You are young so you skin should be elastic. Looking at the pictures you do not have a huge amount of weight to lose. Stay hydrated, exercise and eat healthy and I have no doubt you will have the stomach you want in no time flat. Loose skin should *not* be an issue for you.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I also had a child a year ago... when I started going back to the qym, my Zumba instructor told me she had a baby 8 weeks prior and looked AMAZING.... I asked her for suggestions to help me out. She told me that a common misconception, which I also held, was that you can to a bunch of cardio and you'll lose the wight and be fine. She recommended a weight lifting class to help tone everything up as I lose the weight. As women, we tend to stay away from weights in fear that it will bulk us up, but as long as you stay with the lower weights, you'll be fine. I haven't lost as much as you have, mostly because of my lack of commitment, but i can definitely see results from the weight lifting class. I even wore a bikini a few weeks ago. Good luck to you.

    Even as a women, you can lift heavy and not bulk up. Heavier you lift, the stronger you will be. In fact, lifting won't allow you to gain muscle unless you eat a surplus of calories. And even if you powerlift and eat a surplus of calories you still wont' get big and bulky. The only way for you to bulk is anabolic steroids. Below is a perfect example of a power lifer who has gone through bulk and cut phases.



    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/903628-one-year-of-barbells-and-ice-cream-my-story-so-far-pics?hl=a+year+of+lifting+and+ice+cream
  • HappyStack
    HappyStack Posts: 802 Member
    Just pinch the skin of the area that you think you have loose skin. If it is very thin, then it is likely loose skin.

    This.

    Pinch the skin on the back of your hand, then pinch the skin on your belly.

    You're in good shape, I would suggest listening to the others and taking up a lifting regime with a small, sensible calorie deficit. And don't worry about loose skin, it's barely noticeable and will get better over time.
  • SerenaFisher
    SerenaFisher Posts: 2,170 Member
    Cocoa butter or stretch mark based products with similar ingredients will also help. I had my daughter (baby 2) seven months ago and have used cocoa butter religiously. The stretch marks are still there but the skin is tighter. I read in "the girlfriends guide to pregnancy" BEST baby book out there IMO it can take up to a year for your skin to return to normal, sometimes longer. And yes lifting and building muscle mass will help.
  • mommaxoxo
    mommaxoxo Posts: 4 Member
    Thanks for all of the responses!! I like a lot of women i know, have steered away from weight training and only focused on cardio! Which is great but i think in my case incorporating weight training is a must. I'm excited to see what all i can change, and trying not to focus on the things i can't. I have seen the skin pinch test mentioned...am i trying it determine how think the amount I'm grabbing or how far i can pull from my body? Thanks again for all the responses!! I really appreciate it. Hopefully in a few months with your advice I'll have a body i recognize again!
  • mommaxoxo
    mommaxoxo Posts: 4 Member
    actually i found a more detailed skin test description... after doing it I'm confident that i definitely have more fat to lose before i can grasp what I'm working with as far as loose skin. To me, it sends like i do have some just not nearly what i thought before this thread! Woo hoo, cheerleader body, or as close back to it as i can get...here i come!
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    Looking at the pictures, I would say it's a combination of three things; too high fat content, a little loose skin and not a lot of lean body mass.

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