When does the flab go away?

Sesame85
Sesame85 Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all!

I've been working out every single day since April and have been very good about keeping tabs on what goes in my mouth. While I haven't lost noticeable weight, I expected that due to my crappy body and a long tl;dr history.

What I'd like to know is about transition from flab to firm. After all of this time, I'm super proud of my progress. My stomach is fat, but the muscle under it is now solid. My arms have gone from flappy bat wings to fat but muscular. My thighs are still big, but they are firmer. My question is what the next step is? I'd like to have a smaller figure and lose this weight, not just bulk up. How long does it take to go from strong underneath the blubber to having that excess stuff go away?

Sorry if I'm phrasing this wrong. Let me try again. Right now I'm fat but I am hiding muscles under everything. When does the fat begin to disappear? Are there exercises I can do to help this along?

Replies

  • shabaity
    shabaity Posts: 792 Member
    The fat goes away with time and a calorie deficit. That being said some people don't have the long lean muscles that are so in vogue right now some of us are just built solid for lack of a better term.
  • itsbasschick
    itsbasschick Posts: 1,584 Member
    while the fat will go away if you eat less calories than you burn, you don't mention the kind of working out you're doing. if you're working out with weights or other resistance, consider going heavier/more intense and giving yourself a day between each workout OR doing upper body one day and lower the next. also if you want to lose weight, you might want to cut out some calories each day - try cutting 500 and you should lose about a pound a week. keep up resistance training, eat enough protein and don't lose too fast and you should keep most of your muscle.
  • accelerashawn
    accelerashawn Posts: 470 Member
    I'm in the same boat. I've got hard muscles and thinning skin but the thinning skin is kind of loose and floppy.

    From what i've read, it depends how long your skin has been stretched as to how long it will take to tighten back up but reducing body fat to very low levels is the fastest way to get it to tighten up.

    For me, at around 13-14% bf...i've assumed that I need to drop to 10-11% and hold it there for a few months before it tightens to the point where i'm happy.
  • Sesame85
    Sesame85 Posts: 14 Member
    while the fat will go away if you eat less calories than you burn, you don't mention the kind of working out you're doing. if you're working out with weights or other resistance, consider going heavier/more intense and giving yourself a day between each workout OR doing upper body one day and lower the next.

    I alternate. I do cardio 3-4 days a week and a different muscle building workout on the other days. I don't have a set routine as I don't want to get bored (a major problem in the past) but I do make sure to alternate so my body has time to recover.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Depends on age, genetics, how much you have to lose, and how long you were overweight... and how low you're willing to go. I'm 36, was obese for 15 years, lost 80 pounds, the flab on my arms and stomach will not go anywhere unless I go down to a very low body fat percentage, which isn't happening.

    Of course it's best to exercise and do some strength training while losing, but there's only so much it can do.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Bump
    Someone let me know when I can expect it to disappear!

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