Achievable? (Terrible pics!)

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Truthfully, it's hard to tell, when we still have a good bit of weight to lose, what's underneath. Everyone's most beautiful body is a different, personal shape.

One thing I know: You can have a rockin' body. Your rockin' body. It might match the other photo, it might not. Doesn't matter, I swear.

Best strategies:
* Sensible calorie deficit (not super-fast loss).
* Disciplined, progressive strength training (details here: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/)
* Some regular cardio you enjoy (good circulation helps appearance)
* Enough protein.
* Well-rounded nutrition generally (that protein thing, plus healthy fats, plenty of varied, colorful veggies & fruits)
* Good hydration.
* Patience. And then some more patience. Did I mention patience?

You can achieve wonderful things: You can surprise yourself. You will.

wmweeza wrote: »

Yes, but it will take a lot of discipline, and a lot of time. Also sadly you may end up with some loose skin so you may not look super smooth in a dress like that.
I say this because I've lost 87 pounds and I'm starting year 3 soon so this has taken me much longer then I thought it would (gone from 263 to 176 so far). That said....the time will pass anyway so why not use it to achieve your dreams? Also I do have some loose skin, so if I was my goal weight my arms and stomach will not quite look like that picture.
In short, yes, but don't just make a plan for "I want to look like that", make a plan you can maintain forever and can live with.

My experience is that until the fat mass is depleted enough that the subcutaneous layer of increasingly-squishy fat stops conspiring with gravity to keep skin stretched, the shrinkage of loose skin can't really even much start. Therefore, some of us (including me) look worse loose-skin-wise part way to goal than we will at goal weight. Then, my loose skin kept shrinking at least into year 2 of maintenance, and possibly beyond . . . even though weight loss was at age 59-60.

Now heading into year 4, I don't think I look much different from women my age who have always been at a healthy weight, especially fully clothed. (People I meet who didn't know fat me are visibly startled to see old photos of fat me.) Genetics plays a role, among other things, of course.

But mostly, patience. And more patience. Did I mention patience?

AnnPT77 wrote: »

With the upper arm area especially, please be sure that you're not making a conceptual error that's extremely common, especially among women.

If we hold our relaxed arm out horizontally from our shoulder, and move it around, the underside of the upper arm will wobble. Many women mistake this whole wobble for fat or loose skin, and even have ugly names for it (chicken wings, bat wings, arm flaps, etc.).

Here's the thing: If we take that same arm, raise the upper part above the shoulder, bend the elbow to curl the arm toward the shoulder, bend the wrist to curl the hand toward the wrist, generally try our best to look like a bodybuilder flexing the arm, and work really hard at tightening up the whole thing, especially the upper arm . . . that wobbly bit tightens up, at least partially.

To verify this, take the opposite hand, and while the arm is still relaxed (before the flex), use the opposite hand to grab the soft bit of the upper arm, getting the finger tips as close as possible to the bones of the upper arm. Hang on. Then tighten the arm bodybuilder-like. Really work hard at it, as described above. Almost certainly, some of the squishy/floppy bit will become firm in your hand.

Guess what? That firming-up part is muscle. Specifically, it's triceps muscles in the upper arm.

Even quite fit/muscular women (and men) will have a mobile area in the upper arm, when the arm is relaxed, because relaxed/slack triceps muscles are soft and mobile. It's not all fat or loose skin. Some of it, perhaps lots, is muscle. Good, useful muscle.

Sure, there can be some fat or loose skin there, too. But every woman I've ever led through this exercise in person has been misidentifying some of her nice triceps muscles as fat or loose skin . . . every one.

Be sure you're not mistaking nice muscle for fat or loose skin, and hating on it!