Is this mostly excess skin, or a lot of fat?? (Pictures) PLEASE help!

numinousnymph
numinousnymph Posts: 249 Member
edited December 18 in Fitness and Exercise
Just a heads up, these pictures are a bit unsightly.






I'm 5' 4", 121 lbs. I am 24 and have been overweight since I was around 7. My highest weight was when I was 15, at 192 lbs. When I began losing weight, I knew there was a risk of getting loose skin. But I thought, oh, since I'm young, and I don't have 100 or more lbs to lose, I probably won't get sagging extra skin. Well, here I am, 71 lbs lighter, and I have this awful, terrible abdomen. I hate it, am disgusted by it, and it really crushes any confidence I have from losing weight. I feel like it makes me look like I'm pregnant when I stand. When I sit, it will still bulge. I do a decent amount of strength training, including core exercises. I am trying to get down another 5 - 10 lbs, to try to eliminate as much fat as I can, because if there is any chance most of this is still fat, I need to get rid of it. Once I get to around that 5 - 10 lb mark I'm going to try some body recomp. Sometimes it gets me so upset that I will cry and be so angry at how I look and feel so hopeless and defeated. So I need to know if I'm really getting upset over fat, or skin. I know a body fat scan would be the most telling, but until I can do that, I'd just like peoples' opinions.

So, I'd really like everyone's 100% HONEST opinion. Does this look more like mostly skin or mostly fat to you?




And just if anyone's confused, the first picture is what my stomach looks like from below when I am bending over.




16ie3yr.jpg

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Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited October 2014
    This content has been removed.
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    looks like both. did you lose the weight really fast? i know that can cause extra skin even if the loss isnt over 100. i have heard that it can take a couple years sometimes, and that after a couple years if nothing changed you can look at surgery options. remember your skin has been stretched out since you were 7, it shouldnt be surprising that it takes time for it to get back...
  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    until then, spanx are your friend....
  • DaFibble
    DaFibble Posts: 152 Member
    edited October 2014
    Not an expert but that definitely looks like mostly loose skin plus a minor remainder of stubborn fats, the kind that work themselves out with time. 100% honest. I have two friends who lost an enormous amount over a couple of years and they had to deal with this at the tail end. They were older though, so body less adaptable. What chadya07 said, this is true!

    You lost weight quickly, no? Maintaining the established BF level and building up some muscular strength will help afaik. Maybe a lot. If the loose skin is still a problem down the line, which you'll know for sure as things progress, there are ways to deal with that too.

    Don't despair. You've done such an incredible job. You look amazing! Please don't let this mess with that.

    Also, everyone, even the skinny, feel fat when they sit down. Its a thing.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    It's both. Let's face it, if you've been significantly overweight for a significant amount of time, chances are that you aren't gonna bounce back perfectly. Your current condition looks typical, especially for someone who has lost over 1/3 of their bodyweight and was heavy for a long time. Hell, at your final goal you're going to be down about 40% of your overall mass. That's a lot of extra skin to compensate for. Especially if you've lost it somewhat quickly (doesn't give time for the skin to recover).

    For me, I lost about the same relative amount (~1/3 of my bodyweight) and my results were pretty similar.

    Hit the weights hard and give it a few years and it will improve at least somewhat, if not dramatically.
  • MyRummyHens
    MyRummyHens Posts: 141 Member
    I don't think it looks thin enough to be just loose skin. Loose skin is very very thin and wrinkles more when you are both standing and bending from personal experience.

    I suspect you have some loose skin, which can take 2 years to retract so please don't panic yet, but I suspect there is some fat left there. I found as my tummy fat is/has subsided that it all seems to loosen up somehow, a bit like it's detaching from my abdominal wall, before it sheds. Not got any science to back that up, it's just what I noticed as my tummy fat has come off. You say you are doing strength work, which is great, the type of strength work which has made the most difference to me as been barbell compound moves, with some non-barbell work, especially planking, thrown in. It might be worth making sure your strength work is challenging enough for you and that whatever you have chosen you are making progressively harder and not just going through the motions.

    Re the 2 year loose skin thing, is really is true, I had a massive baby at 30 (10lb and I'm a 5'1 98lb female with 32 inch hips!) and the improvement is still happening to my tummy skin over 2 years on. Other than a few faded stretch marks I'm actually at the point where it doesn't look like I've had a baby any longer. It really is worth carrying on with the strength work and allowing your body time to heal, repair and adjust. You are much younger than I am so you have that advantage on your side too, more elasticity in the skin.
  • pinkiezoom
    pinkiezoom Posts: 409 Member
    Hey you look amazing, do'nt beat yourself up about the little bit of loose skin, what a shame you hate it so much after coming so far, I think you need to try and not obsess about it hun, or you are never going to love yourself. It is not awful or massive in fact it will may go in time as suggest above with workouts etc, i am no expert but just had to add to the thread to tell you, i think it looks worse in your head than it actually does.
  • bradsbaby1996
    bradsbaby1996 Posts: 154 Member
    I don't know if this will help you but I'm hoping it will! I am 35, have had 3 kids by c-section and a hysterectomy in the same scar. I have lost almost half my body weight (113 lbs) and now I am left with loose skin on my stomach.. with lifting and running it is getting much better but in the end I will have to have a tummy tuck. . Keep doing what you are doing, I think you will get where you want to be!
  • Valeen2013
    Valeen2013 Posts: 8 Member
    You look great with a cute little poochy stomach. Loose skin can take up to 2 years to acommodate weight loss. You'll find no shortage of doctors willing to nip your extra skin and fat, or you can be cheap about it and wait up to 2 years. I wouldnt worry about it too much--if you were genetically predispositioned to inelastic skin, you'd have other areas of loose skin, and it doesn't look like you do. Just the last stubborn deposit. Even if you didn't lose any more weight, it would eventually adjust and get tighter. Its up to you and how patient you want to be.
  • Kate7294
    Kate7294 Posts: 783 Member
    In all honesty I would work on recomp-ing . It doesn't look like you have a lot of stretch marks so with building lean muscle I think you'll be great. I know I'm prone to stretch marks myself and 20 yrs. older ( after 2 kid's ) so my own will probably not end up as well as yours will.
    I've heard it can take a year or more for the skin to bounce back some. Please work on accepting and learning to love the body your in. You look great! Congrats on all the hard work.
  • numinousnymph
    numinousnymph Posts: 249 Member
    edited October 2014
    Bumping up to see if I can get any more people's opinions.

    Thank you for all the kind replies so far, I really appreciate them. To answer some people's questions:

    I'm not sure if I lost the weight that quickly. At 15, at my highest weight, was when I started to intentionally lose weight. I did it slowly and lost about 55 lbs in 1.5 years. I maintained for a year or so before starting to relax too much about food and gained about 35 lbs of that back in about five years. Last September was when I got serious about losing the weight again and so since then, I've lost about 47 lbs. I don't know if losing 47 lbs in 13 months is too quick or not. I don't think it is, but I'm not sure.

    I do a lot of exercise. On average five times a week, usually about 30 - 40 minutes of moderate cardio and 15 minutes of intense cardio. As for strength training, if I add up the time I spend doing it (not including breaks) for the entire week I would say it's about an hour to an hour and a half's worth. I do challenge myself, I have definitely increased my strength and my arms and legs are quite muscular when flexed. I practice progressive overload so I know I'm challenging myself and I see the amount of weights I can handle increase. I do core exercises about 30 minutes of that hour and a half. I do mostly minute-long planks, 2 - 3 times each core workout, as well as plank pushups, toe touches, and ab twists. When I shed these last 10 lbs (which I am intentionally doing slowly - probably like 0.3 - 0.4 lbs a week) I'm going to substantially increase my strength and core workouts, probably twice the time I am doing now. I don't have hours and hours to spend at the gym so right now most of my gym time is for cardio because I am more focused on a defecit right now, but I make sure to get some strength in each time.

    I feel like this is enough strength and core to keep my muscle definition up while I am still losing. Would anyone else agree?

    I know I need to wait at least another year. But the thought of all of this skin hardly going away, even once the fat is reduced a bit, is so difficult to handle... I have good and bad days but mostly I try to ignore looking at it. I've hated my body for so long, and I feel like I've ruined my body even though I try so hard to keep it in shape. I feel like anyone who looks at me would think I'm just another skinnyfat person who isn't exercising and eating well, when it's the exact opposite (at least the lifestyle part). I feel like I'm doing everything right for the most part.
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    Enough has already been offered about whether this is fat or muscle and that is not really my area. What I would suggest is you could train your abdominal muscles to suck in strongly, which will help improve tone in your midsection even in the relaxed state.

    Have a look at these yoga practices focussed on strengthening your abdominal muscles that suck in - the ones behind your 6-pack.
    http://www.yoga-age.com/asanas/nauli.html

    Whether its excess fat or loose skin, doing these exercises daily in the morning before you eat, will strengthen and re-compose your abdominal wall in a deeper way and will improve the appearance of your mid-section, as well as squeezing and relaxing and massaging your internal organs, which can only be a good thing for internal health.
  • Uhfgood
    Uhfgood Posts: 128 Member
    sounds like you've been doing some body weight exercises for strength training. If you aren't doing it already would suggest hitting the iron. And mostly the compound exercises, squats, and the like.

    Also I wouldn't worry about losing any more fat/weight.
  • fleetzz
    fleetzz Posts: 962 Member
    Looks like both to me. There are some stretch marks too, but luckily you are quite young. I think if you continue to maintain your weight the skin will slowly shrink.

    Heavy weight lifting will tighten things up too. Just don't regain the weight.

    Unfortunately when you have kids this may pop up again.
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    A lot of loose skin, I doubt it's all going to bounce back. You're not there yet, but you're going to need surgery at some point to get rid of it.
  • yc4king
    yc4king Posts: 117 Member
    I'm in exactly the same situation as you. I was expecting it somewhat though, I was quite overweight for a long time.

    Is it ideal? No.

    Is it better than being overweight, in poor shape, risking diabetes and whatever else in the long run? HELL YEAH!

    You're worrying too much about what other people will be thinking of you. Just try to be proud of your accomplishment and how far you've come.

    Also I do highly recommend getting some compression shirts, I have a few and they make an enormous difference shaping your body to hide the loose skin.
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
    It looks like mostly skin. Sucks. I would pretty much ditch cardio and do almost all big barbell lifts. The more muscle you get, the better it will look. Good luck
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    To me it looks like 95% skin at least.
  • alereck
    alereck Posts: 343 Member
    It looks like you do have mostly skin but you are not very toned either. I think that if you do a more challenging strength program and tone up more it will help. If you look at my profile picture you can see loose skin in my lower ab. In a standing position you can't see it too much but once I bend over the skin hangs and folds in half.

    Most people look like us, loose skin, stretch marks, cellulite, it's all part of most people's bodies. Don't feel discouraged. I don't know how many partners you've had in your life but I've had plenty to know that no one is perfect when naked. No even the hot ones :smile:
  • zoeysasha37
    zoeysasha37 Posts: 7,088 Member
    It can take time for the loose skin to tighten up, so until then I'd concentrate on lifting.adding more muscle will definitely help.
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
    Give it more time. The body is pretty amazing and you are young.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    I am also 5'4 and 119lbs, 27 yo. My tummy looks like yours, and it doesnt bother me, at all.

    I used to be 175lbs, and my stomach was much bigger then, and now its a little bit of skin that I can choose to remove at some point (but likely will not).

    I had two kids via Cesarian section, but I have met another mom who's stomach went back to flat after her c-section, so who really knows.

    Maybe its fat in there, maybe its just skin... maybe its not even worth caring about.
  • mamasitaroja
    mamasitaroja Posts: 52 Member
    It looks like loose skin to me. I am 40, have had 3 kids (gained and lost the same 75# with each one), and six months ago I could have taken a belly selfie that looks almost identical. I've lost 36# in six months, and there is improvement weekly. Wait and see if your body catches up and firms up before getting desperate....I use a mix of Eucerin lotion and some polypeptide face firming cream to give it extra help, and it seems to be working.
    Standing up straight, my stomach is almost completely flat. But bend or sit, see the pics above.
    You're so young, I would bet you will continue to see improvement in skin tone. Good luck, and keep a photo record for sure!
  • juanitarochelle2014
    juanitarochelle2014 Posts: 58 Member
    Yes its skin..i know what u going through I have some too and I have 3 kids and my youngest is going to be three and I have lost almost 100lbs in the past 8 yrs after my oldest son who now is 13 .... I just need about 15lbs to lose and tone little more ....u will transform your body just give it time my exercise is speed walking and jogging 4 miles 5 days a week and slim in 6 DVD that has help me with my inches lost in my waist good luck you can add me if u like ok take care :)
  • daydreams_of_pretty
    daydreams_of_pretty Posts: 506 Member
    I think that it's not just skin, but you should switch to more weights.

    Also, I still think that you look beautiful and should be proud of yourself. :star::smiley: I understand why you're upset, but it seems worse to you than it does to others.
  • 1nnocenteyes
    1nnocenteyes Posts: 7 Member
    Looks like my stomach since I had my c section almost 3 years ago... Honestly it is NO WHERE NEAR as bad as you think.... In my opinion it is loose skin but with a little bit of fat there too, I mean if you lose a tad more weight some of it might go, but the will always be some loose skin there, nothing that can be done about that really, but honestly, it doesn't really look that bad so don't let it get you down... You have done really well.
  • Fatandfifty3
    Fatandfifty3 Posts: 419 Member
    There's a lot of sensible stuff being said here. For what it's worth I'd say it was a mix, some loose skin/some body fat. Like someone else has said your skin looks in good condition, nice and smooth, not wrinkly so I reckon given time it will snap back. What I'm concerned about is your own mental image of yourself. You do look good. Surely, if you compare those pics to what went before, do you not feel a little proud? You should be! Be a little kinder to yourself. wear things you feel good in (the how you 'feel' is important not necessarily how you look) and if it makes you feel better get some spanx. The added support whilst your body sorts itself out wont hurt. You've done great things here.
  • onionparsleysage
    onionparsleysage Posts: 103 Member
    Congrats on the weight loss!

    It does look like skin, and a doctor can nip that off pretty easily if it really bothers you. I wear compression shorts when I'm feeling self-conscious about my stomach fat, which could be an option for you if you get self-conscious about your silhouette under fitted clothes, too. Maintain your healthy body weight, and enjoy your fit body!
  • missmiller1
    missmiller1 Posts: 131 Member
    We have very similar backgrounds. Overweight from the same age, got up to almost 200 pounds by the time I was 13, slowly dropped weight in high school and college. In grad school I worked out 6 days a week doing cardio, light weights, and running and got down to 112 pounds. I had the same tummy as you, but even worse. The skin on my legs was saggy too at that weight. Still unhappy with my body I decided to start weight lifting to get some definition. I lifted heavy weights for 2 years and while my legs and butt looked better, I still had the overhang on my belly. Now nearly 30 and battling my body weight for half my life, I have decided to look into getting a tummy tuck.
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