gswizzle's Journal, 02 June 2015

I am also stuck but trying to get more calcium in, maybe that will work? ö.O 

Thought I'd chime in only because the first 50lbs or so that I lost have been a completely different experience than this last 20-25 that I'm working on now. There is some evidence that the body has "set points", but genetic capacity to "control" it is in question and in terms of how MUCH, in weight, it can actually influence. My personal experience has been that I found that losing a lot of weight over some months, it's like going back in time in terms of where my body seemed to want to "wait/hang on" as if it remembered smaller weight points from past years - but pushing on, and re-evaluating along the way, it eventually moves on as you continue your program. And perhaps that's the other possibility might be that if you're not re-evaluating BMR/intake at this new, lower weight and different activity level, then it may well be that it needs to be looked at again depending on your needs. You've lost quite a lot since then, so depending on your individual body's way of dealing with the compositional changes, and how fast you lost it, what you might think is "fat" could also be a case that you have some extra skin - this is one of those things where, I guess, everyone's mileage may vary. When I was 22kg or so heavier, I really didn't have to count anything; it was just moving a bit more and reining in the carbs - worked slowly but brilliantly. That worked for quite some months - then my body hit about 80kg and the whole ballgame changed, I've had to be more strategic now - and because I like, and want to exercise but still lose weight, the days of "not counting" calories or caring about macros are definitely over for me! Hope this helps in some way.  

It just depends on how fast you lost, how old you are and how much water you drink. The more water, the more elastic the skin. Sometimes, if you have been heavy for years, the skin will take some time to shrink up. I'm going on two years of lifestyle change to lose the weight, and you have to be consistant with your exercise and eating. You will find that your body did the same thing when you were gaining. You hit these plateau's in both directions! I'm at one now, and it just takes some patience. Drink more water, do a little more exercise, walk a little further, a little faster if you can. Good luck and keep up what you've been doing!! It'll come!  

From my experiences, if you lose quickly, especially a large amount like 50 to 100 lbs, the skin doesn't have time to recover and you can be stuck with the excess, especially as you age. You can fill up some of the area underneath with muscle and that certainly helps. A friend of mine plans on having his extra belly skin removed as a 50th birthday present to himself when he is done losing. He has lost 125ish lbs so far and is down to last 20ish. It's frustrating but it is what it is.  

Exercise will tone it - I don't think you are screwed (at least, I hope not because I'm trying to lose over 100 lbs and don't wanna be stuck with the skin but I once read this book by that Simmons guy and he lost a ton of weight fast and had to have surgery to remove the skin). Maybe drinking plenty of water and focusing exercise on the problem areas will help? 

I've lost 131 pounds so far and the skin on my neck, arms, and legs is slowly shrinking. I'm still having a problem with my lower belly but I have back damage and abdominal exercises are difficult. 

i drink about a gallon of water a day, ill admit im not 100 percent on my diet but I try to keep it in check, and have some bad days of 2800ish cal, but I set mine for 1600, but yea eating clean is tough when my lady eats pizza hut, and fast food, brownies, kraft mac and cheese lasagna, all the stuff I love but try and stay away from. 

Lift heavy things and eat clean ! 

where in Upstate Ny are you ? 

The less you have to lose, the slower it comes off. I know that's nothing new that you haven't probably heard before. I'm at the point where I still have some weight to lose but it comes off much more slowly and takes more effort both in exercise and watching what I eat to do it. The easy stuff is gone. I'm looking at it like this: I still plan on being alive a year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, etc. into the future. I want to be healthier and fitter at those times than I am now. As long as I continue working towards that goal I will over time get additional weight off, build more muscle, and be healthier. It might eventually happen so slowly that it'll be hard to measure short term, but as long as I continue to improve myself over the long term, that's what's most important. For me, thinking that way helps me to have more patience and not be too frustrated with things not moving as fast as I would otherwise like. Ok enough of that...you've done great, congratulations on all you've accomplished, keep working hard and moving forward to get where you want to be. 

It will come off, but you have to work at it. Eat lean proteins, no starches, drink A LOT of water and when lifting weights go for more reps with lighter weights. PLANKING will do wonders for the spare tire. This from a woman who has had 3 c-section children with a major "overhang". I have a buddy who is a weight lifter and this is what he did and he dropped an amazing 200+ lbs and firmed up. Pillsbury dough boy turns to Mr. Clean. LOL I am working on mine. I need to lose a few inches. Not so much the weight its the inches that are important now.  

Part of it is genetics. I'm down 100 lbs from my worst (285lbs and 5'10"). I've been naked in front of nurses who've told me my skin damage is not as bad as others, however it's still permanently damaged. The stomach skin above my navel and my chest area will never tighten up without surgery. Please also keep in mind that you can lose body fat while gaining muscle weight. You can get smaller but gain weight. Only way to see/know this is to take measurements around critical parts of your body (upper arm, chest, waist, hips, thighs, calves). You've done great!!  

Here's a free meal plan.... try it out for a few weeks.... I kind of disagree with the lifting light theory and plank theory regarding "spot reduction". Your body will take it off where it wants to take it off. Lift heavy and change your workouts weekly. Just my two cents. http://www.evolvext.com/blog-meal-plan---workout.html  

hey tamara jo, live in Potsdam, ny about 4 hrs north of Albany, and yea ive hit my diet hard and started doing basics of exercise, dragon flags, and jogging pushups, (jog for ten seconds drop down 2 pushup, pop back up) for five min then pushups 15 reps x3 and leglifts/dragon flags 15 reps 3x all week and as of my last weigh in its working again, so thanks for the support and we seem to be going in the right direction so yea well see how it goes. But Thanks everyone on here! MUCH HELP. 

Cut out snacks or cut your portion sizes by 1/4 and see if the scale moves over the next couple of weeks. You weigh less now, you might need to eat less to support your ideal weight.