Fat or Loose skin?

lturner1120
lturner1120 Posts: 6 Member
edited November 24 in Health and Weight Loss
Feeling pretty deflated. 2 c sections later, oldest is 10 months, and despite my efforts.. I still feel fat. I lift heavy, moderate cardio.. HIIT.
I would like to consider myself decently fit, no body builder by any means. Highest weight was 223 and sitting at about 148/150 usually. I’m 5’7”
I know ultimately if I want that perfect body, I’ll have to get surgery.. just seeing if there are any one with experience that could help be out a bit.. thank you so much..

Replies

  • lturner1120
    lturner1120 Posts: 6 Member
    sardelsa wrote: »
    It does look like some loose skin and a bit of fat, but nothing super serious. Do you have a photo of you not leaning down or pinching it, just standing upright? You look pretty lean in your profile photo there. I have loose skin from two pregnancies. It does get a bit better over time with more fat loss and with weight training. Mine is really only visible now when I crunch down or do a plank, not enough to bother me to be honest.

    Thanks for your reply, it’s always beneficial to here from others that have went through the same thing.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,073 Member
    Skin is pretty thin, so there's definitely still some fat in there. I've heard (not personal experience or knowledge) that if there is any fat in there, the skin won't tighten up as much as it otherwise could (which can be pretty frustrating for some people!). That being said, there's a chance that there's enough excess that a surgery could help, but I'd hold off until you're sure it's not going to get any better.
  • lturner1120
    lturner1120 Posts: 6 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    lturner1120 wrote: »
    Feeling pretty deflated. 2 c sections later, oldest is 10 months, and despite my efforts.. I still feel fat. I lift heavy, moderate cardio.. HIIT.
    I would like to consider myself decently fit, no body builder by any means. Highest weight was 223 and sitting at about 148/150 usually. I’m 5’7”
    I know ultimately if I want that perfect body, I’ll have to get surgery.. just seeing if there are any one with experience that could help be out a bit.. thank you so much..

    I think it's mostly skin.

    Is the bolded correct? Or is the youngest 10 months?

    Either way, your skin hasn't completely recovered from pregnancy. Give it a couple years. It may tighten up some on its own.

    Yes, 10 months. I will continue to put in work and dedication and maintain for two years and see where that takes my physique. While trying not to compare myself to others is hard, trying to avoid surgery as much as possible. Thank you for your time xoxo
  • Aw0627
    Aw0627 Posts: 82 Member
    I know the feeling and I don't have any kids but my stomach looks a bit like your before pic I'm 5'6 at 130/134 heaviest 204 I want to lose a bit more weight but I don't think it will change much maybe with time who knows, but you have achieved an amazing feat, and I honestly think you look great
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    I think there's still some subcutaneous fat keeping the skin stretched, plus some other loose skin. In your photo where you're pinching a section of your abdomen, the part between your fingers includes subcutaneous fat IMO, and the small wrinkles below (leg-ward) are what loose skin alone looks like.

    My loose skin (the small wrinkles) kept shrinking well into my second year of maintenance. How much skin shrinkage happens is believed to be mostly genetics + age, but mine shrunk fairly well at age 60-61.

    I've seen others here get good results with the residual fat layer via body recomposition at goal weight. In case you haven't seen it, info/examples in this thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat
  • lturner1120
    lturner1120 Posts: 6 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    I think there's still some subcutaneous fat keeping the skin stretched, plus some other loose skin. In your photo where you're pinching a section of your abdomen, the part between your fingers includes subcutaneous fat IMO, and the small wrinkles below (leg-ward) are what loose skin alone looks like.

    My loose skin (the small wrinkles) kept shrinking well into my second year of maintenance. How much skin shrinkage happens is believed to be mostly genetics + age, but mine shrunk fairly well at age 60-61.

    I've seen others here get good results with the residual fat layer via body recomposition at goal weight. In case you haven't seen it, info/examples in this thread:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat

    Thank you so much for your reply!
  • staticsplit
    staticsplit Posts: 538 Member
    I've heard it mentioned a few times that skin can keep shrinking up to 2 years after weight loss, so I'd keep being healthy and working on recomp and then reassess in a year or so. You still look pretty great to me, and congrats on your success!
  • Jingsi84
    Jingsi84 Posts: 126 Member
    edited January 2018
    I think you look great too but if it bothers you, lose a little more weight, wait a bit, and it should firm up. I checked and it seems you can still lose 25-30lbs and still be at a healthy (albeit lower end) BMI. That amount of weight can drastically affect the appearance of your belly if that is where you store the most fat.
  • Fitnessmom82
    Fitnessmom82 Posts: 376 Member
    Girl I feel you!! Three babies (including twins), weight gain and the loss....my belly looks almost exactly the same as you. We are the same height. I'm at 161 right now, aiming for 145-150. Years ago when my twins were little I weighed about 145. Saw a plastic surgeon who said it was basically all skin and I would need a tummy tuck. I'm planning on hitting my goal weight, doing a little recomp and maintaining for a year. Then it's tummy tuck time!
  • pogiguy05
    pogiguy05 Posts: 1,583 Member
    You should not compare yourself to others cause everyone is unique and there is no one else like you in this world. If we men had to go thru pregnancy and a C section I am sure we would not look any better. You and your body have given life to two persons so far and I am sure getting cut for a C section damages some of the muscle in the area. So keep up the great work and give your body time to recover more.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    There's still some fat but I'm not sure there's anything you can do about that... definitely mostly skin at this point.

    For what it's worth, my skin didn't shrink at all after 3 years of maintenance, so the whole '2 years to bounce back' thing might work for some people, but not for people like me who were overweight/obese all their life.
  • sofchak
    sofchak Posts: 862 Member
    I agree with others - first and foremost, you look fantastic! I think we are all our own worst critics. Be kind to your body as it’s made a couple miracles happen. :)

    My two cents on personal experience - definitely recommend patience here. My husband and I discussed a tummy tuck for me if a year after weigh loss showed no tightening of the skin... while not perfect, I saw enough positive results in recomposition that it was worth saving the money and avoiding the risk of surgery. My stomach is not perfect, but I don’t have a goal to be a Victoria’s Secret model... so I’m ok with the little bit of extra skin.

    Good luck!
  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
    Little bit of fat and some loose skin. You are doing all the right things, keep it up. Skin needs time to recover and youth is on your side.
    I’ve had one pregnancy at 42 & have a little loose skin. I don’t notice it unless doing a plank.
    No one has a perfect body. Just try to feel good in your own body. You look great and have made very good progress!
  • lturner1120
    lturner1120 Posts: 6 Member
    Thank you so much to everyone who’s taken the time to reply.. it means so much.. sometimes all you need is some insight from others, the weight journey is defiantly not been as hard as the “getting toned and fit journey”
    Especially hard when weight hasn’t moved or gets stalled, patience is key I suppose! XOXO
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