normal bmi but still fat

prisimmook
prisimmook Posts: 3 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
So about a year and half ago I started my diet at 289 and now I'm down to 154. I hit my normal bmi about a week ago but I still have a ton of fat around my waist area and it isn't making me happy at all. I was going to the gym but eventually stopped about 5 months ago. I'm confused on where to go from here now, do I continue doing my diet and try to go down to 144 ideal weight according to websites or do I do something else? my other stats are 32 years of age, 5'8 height and 154 lbs. will attach photos as well. any help will be highly appreciated.

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Replies

  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited May 2018
    This content has been removed.
  • prisimmook
    prisimmook Posts: 3 Member
    that's what I thought too but when I feel the area it feels like fat instead of skin on my belly. I'm no expert but maybe I might be skinny fat or is it really just loose skin that's messing with my head?
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,138 Member
    There is definitely some loose skin there. Might still be a thin layer of fat (all us guys seem to get the spare tire going to some degree) but hard to say for sure.

    You are still pretty young so the skin will probably tighten up some over time, but that can be a year or more depending. Usually when you lose that much the weight comes off faster than the skin can adjust. I think moisturizing the area can help?

    If you are happy with your weight than maybe look into doing a recomposition? That's usually a great way to get some of those last stubborn pounds off without getting too thin/skinny.

    Congrats on the big loss, too!
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,149 Member
    There is some loose skin, but the bulk is fat. Loose skin is papery thin (think tissue paper) and it looks like a deflated balloon. My belly looks similar minus the hair. Generic advice would be to look into doing bulk/cut cycles and keep going to the gym.

    I'm normal BMI and fat as well, but I did enough to get where I am and I don't have the resources to drop the 30ish pounds to get a flat stomach.
  • prisimmook
    prisimmook Posts: 3 Member
    thanks everyone. so pretty much I'm guessing I should be eating at maintenance then and back to weight lifting? if I do eat back at maintenance where do I stop at? like for me maintenance is 1930 do I eat all 1930 or do I stop at 1880 so I'm not going over maintenance and gaining fat. sorry for all the questions new to the maintenance part.
  • mywayroche
    mywayroche Posts: 218 Member
    Bottom line is, you're not very fat at all. If you're still unhappy then the gym is the next logical step. You could bulk and cut or try to recomp, either way you would feel more confident.
  • mywayroche
    mywayroche Posts: 218 Member
    Oh I saw your second post. You need to gain fat and muscle at the same time unfortunately, body builders call it bulking. Then it's all about keeping the workouts while dieting to retain as much muscle as possible because dieting is catabolic
  • try2again
    try2again Posts: 3,562 Member
    edited May 2018
    Maybe this can help:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1161603/so-you-want-a-nice-stomach/p1
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    Maybe this can help:

    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

    I would suggest this as well, with maybe eating at just a very slight deficit ... very slight.

    While you clearly do still have some fat there, it's also obvious that you've put in a lot of work and lost a great deal of weight, and it takes your body a long time to adjust to that.

    I would not recommend running bulk/cut cycles just yet without cutting some more body fat and settling into a pattern of maintaining your weight loss and getting into a regular gym routine first.

  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    Agree with what has been said already. You may want to Google anterior pelvic tilt. IMO your posture isn't doing your appearance any favors in the side view.

    Great job on the weight loss.
  • xOlaf
    xOlaf Posts: 39 Member
    It looks like fat more than loose skin to me. Like it doesnt really have the appearance of loose saggy skin. I'd honestly get into weights at this point. Diet alone is effective for weight loss, but working out tones up our body. Even my sister who's maybe 110 lbs has some belly fat.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,333 Member
    It looks to me like you still have a bit of fat on your stomach. i'm female..5' 10 and i am five pounds from my goal weight of 150. i keep losing becaause my stomach isn't gone yet..even though my bmi is normal. Fat is fat. Also..looks like you need to build muscle...eat a lot of protein and hit the weights to balance out your body.

    You've done a great job losing all that weight.. you just need to set new fine tuning goals and push across the finish line.
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