Loose skin VS Skinny Fat?

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lavendah
lavendah Posts: 126 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm 5'6.5" and around 128 lbs and everyone tells me I look skinny,but I don't feel firm when I touch the skin around my abdomen or upper arms.This is probably loose skin from the weight loss.I have lost 40 lbs+.I lost it very slowly,took almost a whole year.But I didn't exercise,only controlled my diet.
so maybe that could be a contributing factor to loose skin? It's not that bad though and no one will be able to tell just by looking,I have no stretch marks or anything.

What I'm asking is,am I also classified as 'skinny fat' now or is that supposed to look different?

Replies

  • auddii
    auddii Posts: 15,357 Member
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    Loose skin should be very thin; maybe 2-3 millimeters thick. If it's more than that, it may be a combination of loose skin and some fat. Adding in exercise (specifically some resistance training) may help you firm up. You may not need to lose more weight but instead work on improving your body composition.
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    Time to start lifting heavy!
  • crosbylee
    crosbylee Posts: 3,455 Member
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    At the end of it all, I think I would prefer to have loose skin rather than be skinny fat. Gotta get there first.
  • gabrielleelliott90
    gabrielleelliott90 Posts: 854 Member
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    Urgh loose skin *shudders*. Well, if it is loose skin, you'd have to get it surgically removed.... usually it hangs I think. I personally have skinny fat- I have excess fat on my stomach and where my abs are and it's so annoying, but I know it is fat, because I was never morbidly obese, at one stage I was obese, then overweight, now a healthy weight, but I just tend to store fat in those places.... It is firm.... Maybe you could visit a doctor and see what it is.
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
    edited February 2015
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    i doubt it's loose skin since 40 pounds is not enough to have that issue imo. it's probably fat. i hate the term skinny fat though. i think it's derogatory. some fat on a women is not unhealthy.
  • rgplayer
    rgplayer Posts: 13 Member
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    It's hard to say without pics, but from your stats I would say you probably just have a little fat left because you didn't do much exercise, specifically resistant training like what has been said. I lost a bunch of weight and had loose skin and probably always will, but i was also left with fat around my mid section despite looking malnourished everywhere else. I started lifting and most of my skin filled out on my arms and chest but I still have fat on my mid section which is what I'm working on now. I personally wouldn't think you were over weight enough to be left with loose skin but that's just my opinion and I could be wrong, everyone's body is different. My suggestion would be to continue eating the amount of calories you are eating to maintain or maybe even a little more and add in some kind of resistance training. You could sign up at gym or if you didn't want to do that you could just do body weight exercises, both would be good.
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
    edited February 2015
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    Well guys! I think atleast a major part of it is loose skin because my legs and thighs have especially become small but I don't feel firm when I touch them either..I'm speaking relatively, as in,in comparison to what my skin used to feel like when I was fatter.It was much thicker at that time.It's not terrible though and people may not be able to tell..

    but my skin is not that thin either and it doesn't 'hang' for sure..won't really know if i still have some extra fat or if it's entirely loose skin i guess..think i should loose few more pounds and see.?

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    jennifershoo wrote: »
    Time to start lifting heavy!

    BAM!
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
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    i can't start lifting (or anything else) rn,far too occupied withstudies and stuff till may. should i lose like 5-10 pounds more till then or should i maintain?
  • higgins8283801
    higgins8283801 Posts: 844 Member
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    Aviva92 wrote: »
    i doubt it's loose skin since 40 pounds is not enough to have that issue imo. it's probably fat. i hate the term skinny fat though. i think it's derogatory. some fat on a women is not unhealthy.

    I hate the term skinny fat too. I thought I was the only one.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    I just wanted to thank you for using the word "loose" correctly.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I just wanted to thank you for using the word "loose" correctly.

    lol this :+1:


    higgins8283801 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    i doubt it's loose skin since 40 pounds is not enough to have that issue imo. it's probably fat. i hate the term skinny fat though. i think it's derogatory. some fat on a women is not unhealthy.

    I hate the term skinny fat too. I thought I was the only one.

    what's the correct term for someone who has got way down to their goal weight but still has flab??

  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I just wanted to thank you for using the word "loose" correctly.

    Right!
  • Aviva92
    Aviva92 Posts: 2,333 Member
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    christinev297 wrote: »
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I just wanted to thank you for using the word "loose" correctly.

    lol this :+1:


    higgins8283801 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    i doubt it's loose skin since 40 pounds is not enough to have that issue imo. it's probably fat. i hate the term skinny fat though. i think it's derogatory. some fat on a women is not unhealthy.

    I hate the term skinny fat too. I thought I was the only one.

    what's the correct term for someone who has got way down to their goal weight but still has flab??

    i'm more okay with "flab" than "skinny-fat" which implies that they are unhealthy and is completely overused for anyone who doesn't have a perfectly toned body.
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
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    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I just wanted to thank you for using the word "loose" correctly.
    Lmao!
  • lavendah
    lavendah Posts: 126 Member
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    Aviva92 wrote: »
    christinev297 wrote: »
    sofaking6 wrote: »
    I just wanted to thank you for using the word "loose" correctly.

    lol this :+1:


    higgins8283801 wrote: »
    Aviva92 wrote: »
    i doubt it's loose skin since 40 pounds is not enough to have that issue imo. it's probably fat. i hate the term skinny fat though. i think it's derogatory. some fat on a women is not unhealthy.

    I hate the term skinny fat too. I thought I was the only one.

    what's the correct term for someone who has got way down to their goal weight but still has flab??

    i'm more okay with "flab" than "skinny-fat" which implies that they are unhealthy and is completely overused for anyone who doesn't have a perfectly toned body.

    Tbh this is what my question was lol..Will I be labelled 'skinny fat' now? Because I hate that term too.. :s not that I care so much but jw
  • mirrim52
    mirrim52 Posts: 763 Member
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    Don't label yourself and then don't worry about it ;)
    You will probably have to start building muscles to get firmer. If you can't lift heavy yet, there are plenty of body weight exercises you can do. I have heard of "you are your own gym" or something like that.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    mirrim52 wrote: »
    Don't label yourself and then don't worry about it ;)
    You will probably have to start building muscles to get firmer. If you can't lift heavy yet, there are plenty of body weight exercises you can do. I have heard of "you are your own gym" or something like that.

    this, who cares what people call you.

    (resistance training is good for your bones, though, it'd be good to do something if you could find the time.)
  • silentKayak
    silentKayak Posts: 658 Member
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    "Skinny fat": we can't make you feel bad because of your weight, so we need to come up with something else to make you feel bad about.

    4fc5b31d50809d084bd63b7ede649d28.jpg

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