About to give up hope...

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mfcisthatyou
mfcisthatyou Posts: 11
in Fitness and Exercise
I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life. At my heaviest in high school I weighed in at 280lbs. Over the course of a few years I was able to drop a lot of it by changing my eating habits and through moderate exercise. Now I’m at 145 with a goal weight of 125 and I’m afraid I will never be able to tone up and feel comfortable with my body. From the extreme weight loss I have quite a bit of excess skin and I’m worried that because it’s been so long since I initially lost most of my weight and didn’t focus enough on tightening up that I’ll never be able to tone without some sort of surgery. My main areas that bother me the most are my thighs and stomach. Is it too late to tone up? Tips on what I can do, especially for my thighs?

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  • Rboch
    Rboch Posts: 53 Member
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    What do you do for exercise now? I would focus on weight training/lifting. You can only go so far with cardio. I'm just finishing P90X and have noticed my arms and legs (all over really) tightening up, I believe from the weight training and trying to use heavier weights than I'm used to. (In combination with cardio- spin class, kickboxing, etc a few times a week). I just finished reading The New Rules of Lifting for Women and I'm about to start the weight lifting program for that. If you're interested in starting/doing lifting its a great way to start (no matter what level you're at really). :)
  • millesun
    millesun Posts: 209 Member
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    I feel for you becaue I am facing the same issue. How about it people how do you tone up saggy skin after losing weight?
  • ElHombre23
    ElHombre23 Posts: 126 Member
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    Don't give up...get on a consistent resistance training program..stick to it it takes time put it will it all tone up...
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
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    First of all, CONGRATULATIONS ON LOSING ALL THAT WEIGHT!!

    second, I have the same problem with my legs. They are just... not cute and maybe never will be. They are saggy looking.

    I have to say after having 2 kids and losing 80 pounds since my heaviest, things do tighten up to a degree, but it takes a while. I mean maybe a year or longer.

    Tightening up the muscles underneath will help. Getting to your goal weight will help... but I'm 31 and there's only so much more tightening that's going to happen. It may take a while, but you may just have to love your body the way it is. Focus on finding things to be proud about who you are and how you look now! Think of how far you've come! Nobody is perfect.

    But I understand, because I will probably always be self conscious about my legs, but that's just who I am, and I'm learning to accept it.
  • estinson79
    estinson79 Posts: 38
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    I am a licensed esthetician, and at the spa I work at we offer a body contouring and slimming treatment. It basically tightens and tones muscles, while infrared treatment helps melt and get fluid moving. One thing we tell all clients is the importance of massage and lymph drainage in the body. As you lose weight, the fat cells shrink and they are very stubborn to remove. That is why even skinny people who have lost weight have that dimpled or bumpy appearance. The best treatment for this is to drink a lot of water and do regular massage to break up that tissue and keep it flushing out of your body.

    I don't know if this is similar to what you are experiencing, but it can always help to try new things!
  • kathyapple19
    kathyapple19 Posts: 1
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    sorry to say that wthout surgy you will have some extra skin I have the same problem to. But do not give up tone what you can but as you tone the extra skin is there. it is that the skin has stretched out and will not go back to the way it was.
  • tjames30
    tjames30 Posts: 229 Member
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    BUMP!

    I would love to know too. I lost 130lbs., then had a baby and am losing 40 to get back down to my lowest. I am focusing alot on my food and don't have a whole lot of time to exercise. Whatever exercise I am able to fit in needs to be efficient!
  • HauteP1nk
    HauteP1nk Posts: 2,139 Member
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    Do NOT give up!!

    Have you had a fitness assessment?? You need to determine for sure that it is loose skin and not just body fat. If it is body fat then you can definitely tone that up!! Now is the time to incorporate some new exercises into your routines. The trick is to keep your body continually challenged.

    I was told by my trainer to do weighted exercises at least 3-4x per week. Resistence resistence resistence!
    Try calisthenics (using your own body weight) too - burpees, mountain climbers, push-ups, planks, sit-ups, etc.

    Also, have patience. It takes time to tighten and firm... You had the required patience to drop that much weight, now have patience to tighten! :) You CAN do it.

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