loose skin and waist trainer

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i started the whole 30 program a month ago, and lost 16 pounds in the first 30 days. yay! i plan to keep it up (with a few days off during the holidays) until i lose the 100 pounds that needs to go bye-bye. i know since i'm 57, i will probably end up with a lot of loose skin. anyone know if those 'waist trainer' corset things help with this?

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  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Hydration and getting enough fat is your best bet. Per same weight fat takes up less space than fat so you can't count on muscle to replace the volume under your skin from fat loss.

    Drink enough fluids, eat enough fat and use a good moisturizer. These will help keep your skin supple. The rest is up to time and genetics.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
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    Hydration and getting enough fat is your best bet. Per same weight fat takes up less space than fat so you can't count on muscle to replace the volume under your skin from fat loss.

    Huh? Typo or can you please elaborate? I mean yeah I guess fat can certainly fill in the loose skin but I think it might hinder the op's goal of losing weight.





  • jessicarobinson00
    jessicarobinson00 Posts: 414 Member
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    Just TIME helps. After hitting my goal weight, it took about 9 months for everything to tighten up...same time it took to grown a baby!! ;) BUT the reality is: some damage can also just be simply beyond repair...and you may be left with a little extra skin: at least you will be rocking a more slender, healthy YOU!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    Hydration and getting enough fat is your best bet. Per same weight fat takes up less space than fat so you can't count on muscle to replace the volume under your skin from fat loss.

    Huh? Typo or can you please elaborate? I mean yeah I guess fat can certainly fill in the loose skin but I think it might hinder the op's goal of losing weight.

    Typo - pound per pound muscle takes up less space. It's more compact.

  • Grankakes
    Grankakes Posts: 128 Member
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    thank you all! i am walking 2 miles a day right now - going to get that up to 3 pretty soon. i will start doing some resistance/weight training in the near future. i know time is probably my best bet. i'm trying to drink a gallon of water a day. i would really like a faster weight loss because i'm not a patient person! but 16 pounds in 30 days does make me happy.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
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    Waist Trainers are a waste of time.
  • erockem
    erockem Posts: 278 Member
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    If it's around your waist, tucking it into your pants is the only solution without surgery. :/
  • MsRuffBuffNStuff
    MsRuffBuffNStuff Posts: 363 Member
    edited October 2016
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    TeaBea wrote: »
    Hydration and getting enough fat is your best bet. Per same weight fat takes up less space than fat so you can't count on muscle to replace the volume under your skin from fat loss.

    Huh? Typo or can you please elaborate? I mean yeah I guess fat can certainly fill in the loose skin but I think it might hinder the op's goal of losing weight.

    Typo - pound per pound muscle takes up less space. It's more compact.

    Ah, but there's a problem here. In order to gain a pound of muscle, you have to eat at a SURPLUS of calories, which most people aren't willing to do, when they are on a weight loss program. If you're on a caloric deficit, you can tone your muscles, but you will NOT gain muscle weight...

    ( I realize this is not what you were saying, just wanted to clear up any confusion about what might "fill in" loose skin during weight loss)
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    Stay hydrated and try to build muscle. Even if you can't do that while in deficit much, strive to maintain what you have by eating enough protein even though you are in a deficit. Once you hit maintenance or once your weight gets manageable to do more exercise start in on some weight training or body weight training. If you build muscle the loose skin will be used elsewhere in your body and it'll help, but beyond that your body will probably absorb a small percentage of it over time (as in years) but there isn't much else you can do about it. The biggest help I've seen personally over the last year, is hydration, exfoliation (seems like it's not helping at first but over time it does reduce some loose skin), and muscle growth. Beyond that it's better to live with some loose skin than live obese.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited October 2016
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    Grankakes wrote: »
    thank you all! i am walking 2 miles a day right now - going to get that up to 3 pretty soon. i will start doing some resistance/weight training in the near future. i know time is probably my best bet. i'm trying to drink a gallon of water a day. i would really like a faster weight loss because i'm not a patient person! but 16 pounds in 30 days does make me happy.

    You didn't gain the weight that quickly, nor will you lose it, I'm afraid.

    The rapid weight loss you've seen so soon is most likely NOT mostly fat-related. At the beginning, there tends to be a quick drop that is from retained water weight being shed. So don't be discouraged or disappointed when this rate of loss doesn't continue into the second month. :)

    Edited to add: And so called 'waist trainers' are a total scam. Your body will drop weight wherever it's genetically programmed to. For a lot of people the waist area is the last to go. And that's completely normal. :)
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
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    Hydration and getting enough fat is your best bet. Per same weight fat takes up less space than fat so you can't count on muscle to replace the volume under your skin from fat loss.

    Huh? Typo or can you please elaborate? I mean yeah I guess fat can certainly fill in the loose skin but I think it might hinder the op's goal of losing weight.

    Doh! Obviously that's a typo. Fat can't take up less space than fat, right?

    It should say "muscle takes up less space than fat". mea culpa
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    AprilCoe wrote: »
    TeaBea wrote: »
    Hydration and getting enough fat is your best bet. Per same weight fat takes up less space than fat so you can't count on muscle to replace the volume under your skin from fat loss.

    Huh? Typo or can you please elaborate? I mean yeah I guess fat can certainly fill in the loose skin but I think it might hinder the op's goal of losing weight.

    Typo - pound per pound muscle takes up less space. It's more compact.

    Ah, but there's a problem here. In order to gain a pound of muscle, you have to eat at a SURPLUS of calories, which most people aren't willing to do, when they are on a weight loss program. If you're on a caloric deficit, you can tone your muscles, but you will NOT gain muscle weight...

    ( I realize this is not what you were saying, just wanted to clear up any confusion about what might "fill in" loose skin during weight loss)

    Not true. You can build muscle in a deficit and at maintenance but it's not at the same rate as it would be in a surplus and not ideal. But if programming and nutrient is solid, than it's definitely possible. Things that need to be considered is training, size of deficit, protein intake, genetics, how overweight they are, how new to training they are, and prior training history.