weight loss fears!

[reachingforthestars]

Hi all! I started my weight loss journey a week ago (early days I know) - I started at 110.1kg and now 107kg but instead of being excited by seeing certain changes and the number go down on the scales I have so many fears .... I want to do this not only to be healthier but to feel good about myself for once in my life ... but ... what if that doesn't happen? What If I end up with loose skin and feel even worse about myself? What if loose skin turns my partner off? Am I the only one thinking about these things or does anyone have any tips? I'm currently doing a mix of walking, zumba, pilates and I'm doing the 30 day challenge with squats, push ups, planking and crunches! Tia

[admin]

HI Tia,
Welcome.
You are over thinking it and I would suggest that your number 1 priority is to become healthy and everything else will fall into place.
With all that exercise how can you not end up gorgeous? Not sure why you are thinking about loose skin.....calm down, enjoy the new you and you will shine.
Good luck and look forward to your progress.
Sharrelle

[Blitz]

Welcome to the Forum Tia.

For such a small post there is a lot to say about the subjects you have raised. As someone who has lost 87kg in a reasonable amount of time (153.7kg to 66.6kg in 60 weeks) I can certainly give you some insight on loose skin!

Firstly, I would advise to focus on the task at hand and worry about loose skin when it arrives (if it arrives). You'll have enough on your plate losing the weight you need to. The journey towards success will also mentally equip you for the challenges of maintaining weight loss and all the baggage of that part of the journey. So concentrate on what needs to be done now and the rest will take care of itself.

Secondly, in all the biographical books I've read about people who have lost significant amounts of weight...all of them except one ended up with loose skin. Many of them ended up having some sort of corrective surgery. The one that didn't, famously totes his "Method" as a way to avoid having loose skin. He lost weight very very slowly at the beginning and lost huge amounts towards the end of his journey after building muscle fitness. His experience is the exception...most people start with good weight losses (like you and me) and end up slowing right down towards the end. He took a really long time to lose his weight. What his book doesn't allow and ought to - is the importance of good genetic background and the fact that he was relatively young (young people's skin are more elastic) when he lost his weight.

Thirdly, there are no miracle products out there that can moisturise or regenerate your skin's elasticity. There are lots of beauty products out there that make many claims but have no real science to back them up. Save your money - they don't work. The best you can do is lose weight at a moderate rate (such as a kilo a week as recommended by the best weight loss experts) and drink lots of water to keep your whole system hydrated. The only other thing you can do is hope that youth is on your side and pray that you have a great gene pool!

Fourthly, your skin will become loose no matter what anyway...that is what we call aging. Get use to it...the only way you can avoid that is to follow the title of the Blondie song "Die Young - Stay Pretty"...not really the way you want to go!...life is too grand to stop that adventure so short.
It is just part of life. Rather than fight the inevitable it is better to embrace it with a bit of dignity instead.
Having a baby will also stretch your belly skin. My wife has always been very trim - but one pregnancy has given her loose belly skin. I stretched out my belly skin to a greater girth than hers and I did it for over 30 years longer than she did. What right do I expect to walk away from that action without consequence?

Fifthly, if you partner is worth his salt he will stand by you. If he doesn't then he isn't worthy of you. Love isn't about "looks" - it is about the heart. What is within is greater than what is outside. The greatest sexual attraction in any relationship happens in the mind. The physical attraction goes but a real relationship is deeper. Check out the elderly couple in the movie "The Notebook" for an exploration of that theme.
My wife is thrilled with my weight loss. It is a dream come true for her and the loose skin I have is a small price to pay for it.
Relationships can run into trouble during and after weight loss but only because the partner wasn't actively involved in the creation of the new healthy lifestyle that was being undertook. For the best results you must engage your partner in your new lifestyle. If you do it right you will find that the whole process will bring you even closer...and loose skin will matter even less.

Sixthly, losing the weight will more than make up for a bit of loose skin. Your life will be so much better for it. As much as you think your life will improve by losing that weight...the reality of it is so much more! In this Forum I'm always banging on about a better future - that is because it is so very much better than anything that you can imagine! Loose skin is such a small price to pay that it really isn't worth the worry. The pay off for losing the weight is so much the greater. Trust me...I'm living it!

And lastly, if it does bug you...there is always surgery. It will not deliver perfection (no surgery can - look at all those horrible plastic surgery results...yuck - give me natural any day) but at least it will take care of the worst of it. I was fortunate in this area. I had a belly hernia that needed operating on (part of the reason to lose that weight) and the surgeon agreed to "hack off" (this can never be described as plastic surgery) the extra belly skin free of charge (since he was there with the knife anyway ). It was worthwhile doing because I had so much around my gut that it was getting in the way and wasn't very hygienic. Understand I still have lots and lots of loose skin. On my hips I carry "saddlebags" of it like a gunslinger would carry two holsters. The skin around my groin and upper thighs particularly look horrific...but I'm not planning to do anything about them at all. I look upon them as a badge of achievement and a reminder to never ever regain that weight again!

Wishing you that better future!
Kim

[DD Diva]

Hi Tia,

And welcome to the forum.

I agree, I think you're worrying about something that may not even be an issue (much will depend on your age, the elasticity in your skin and of course, the amount of weight lost) but let's start with getting the weight off and worrying about loose skin (if and/when we get to that point).

In answer to your fear that it may be a turn-off for your husband, I can't see why that would be. He obviously loves you regardless, so if carrying excess weight isn't a turn off then neither would a bit of saggy skin. Don't worry, I think he will be delighted for the newfound confidence you'll have, and how it will enrich both your lives, as you'll be happier and healthier.

I've lost over 50kg and sadly I have SOME excess skin, but I'm not going to worry about all that until I'm at the end of my journey. When I started, I thought I'd have heaps of it sagging about, but instead I've found that it really isn't as bad as I had thought. Mostly on my upper arms and thighs, which under clothes isn't visible to the world and my husband still finds me attractive, in fact, he says I positively "glow" these days with confidence and vitality that I never even had when we first met!!

So really, don't worry, first things first, lose the weight then see if there's anything to worry about having removed; chances are you may not have anything to be concerned about.

Cheers,
Josie

All the best, and I look forward to travelling with you on this journey!

[Blitz]

[quote="DD Diva"
my husband still finds me attractive, in fact, he says I positively "glow" these days with confidence and vitality that I never even had when we first met!![/quote]
Absolutely right about all this Josie.
Instead of being a lump on the couch...with the new found energy and zeal - Tia will be a lightening rod in the bedroom!

Tia, what are your stats? We know how much you weigh, lost in a week and your exercise but can you share your age (just roughly as a guide to us), your height, your goal weight and your calorie/eating plan? With this information we can have a fairer idea of the state of play for you.

Kim

[jessyjordan567]

I am 21 years old. My weight is 187 lbs and height is 5.4'inch.. My weight goal is 165 lbs. How can i start any one suggest me.?

[Blitz]

I am 21 years old. My weight is 187 lbs and height is 5.4'inch.. My weight goal is 165 lbs. How can i start any one suggest me.?

Yes Jessy...start by reducing your meal sizes and also plan on at least 30 minutes of exercise (walking is a good thing to start with). Do this and you will lose that 10 kilos that you want to lose.

Kim

[AllisonR]

Hi Tia,
Firstly congratulations for making a decision to concentrate on YOURSELF! We so often put ourselves behind others. I strongly believe if you are feeding yourself on a cellular level you can avoid the loose skin. I've helped a friend lose 61kg in 14 months from a size 26 to a size 12/14 and there is no loose skin on her!! So wonderful that you're exercising as that will help and it will get easier as the weight falls off you. PM me if you'd like some ideas to help you along xx

[Blitz]

Hi Tia,
Firstly congratulations for making a decision to concentrate on YOURSELF! We so often put ourselves behind others. I strongly believe if you are feeding yourself on a cellular level you can avoid the loose skin. I've helped a friend lose 61kg in 14 months from a size 26 to a size 12/14 and there is no loose skin on her!! So wonderful that you're exercising as that will help and it will get easier as the weight falls off you. PM me if you'd like some ideas to help you along xx

Well I'm interested in what you think that you can do...so rather than taking your advice to private message why don't you share with the Forum and benefit all of us?
But I got to say that I'm very sceptical...I've done research in this area and I've read a lot of hype but very little actual fulfilment that can be proven with real science.

Kim

[AllisonR]

The whole idea is to get your body from an acidic state to an alkaline state - you do this by eating clean, supplementation as our foods in this day and age don't have the same nutrients as 30-40 years ago - our soils are bankrupt, and cleansing out the impurities on a regular basis from the whole body. You cannot "diet" (I hate that word!) by just reducing calories and not reducing toxicity out of the body or the fat cells will just shrink and when you "go off", "fall off" whatever...your diet, your fat cells will just plump up again - therefore expanding our body again. We never lose fat cells they only shrink and grow. We all have a level of toxicity and to protect our bodies, the fat cells surround those toxic beasts. The only way to maintain your weight is to continue to cleanse out the impurities and try as best you can to keep your body in an alkaline state. It's amazing what our bodies are capable of when they are in that state to do repair work, function as they were meant to. When it's broken down it really makes sense - hope this helps...xx

[Blitz]

I think that you are confusing fat cells and loose skin.
Whilst there is some residue fat in what we label as loose skin...the vast majority is actually loose and excessive skin.

In my super obese days I was literally more than twice the man than I am today.
To accommodate that volume my skin was stretched and grow additional acreage.
Think in terms of a balloon; once a balloon is blown up it is never the same again once the air is let out.
Many women who have had one or more pregnancies discover that after nine month their stomachs are never the same again.
They were never fat as such - but the skin was stretched and the elasticity (elastin) in the skin is gone.
When you have been obese or super obese you have probably stretched your skin out for decades...no small wonder loose skin is present.

You are right that fat cell shrink (and not removed as most people think) but it has nothing to do with food toxins as such. What is actually expelled from fat cells (through a rather elaborate chemical process) is two components - water and carbon monoxide. The water is removed by your bladder and sweat glands while the carbon monoxide is literally breathed out. This removal is yet another good reason to exercise.

Our bodies are very good at naturally removing toxins. Most of our stomach organs are all about removing all sorts of toxins. If it didn't we would all die within 24 hours. Things like poisoning are about overwhelming the body's ability to cope with removing it. Hemlock and arsenic for example are notorious for failing because the body can often find ways to expunge the toxins before becoming lethal. The body is a wonderful thing...it takes what it needs in the way of nutrition, stores the extra energy for later (this is where the fat cells come in) and removes all the stuff (what we call waste and toxins) that we don't need. It certainly can cope with what the modern farm can produce. Also I think that you have a very romantic idea of farming as practised 30 - 40 years ago...the fertilisers and insecticides were used in far greater and lethal doses than used today.

You also don't have to use supplements either. Most are in huge unnatural dosages which the body deals with by passing most of it out of it's system like the rest of the toxins and waste. Literally, people who use supplements are pee-ing money down the toilet. Eat properly in a balanced healthy way is all you need to do.

Kim

[AllisonR]

Not going to get into a debate on how the body works - however it does still work the same way it did when our bodies were created and we didn't have the global toxins that our world does today. Our bodies can no longer deal with the amount of toxins we are bombarded with which is why we have so many -un-diagnosed illnesses these days. Our soil is bankrupt - that's not a fantasy of how farming was 30-40 years ago, it's a fact - and a sad fact at that. Our foods DO NOT have the nourishment they used to - again it's a FACT!! So even with clean eating - organic too, your body will require supplementation. It's finding the right supplementation and yes the body absolutely will expel what it doesn't require. As for the loose skin, if you are nourishing and cleansing on a cellular level you will NOT end up with all the loose skin you talk about - it can be done and is being done. I've watched many friends achieve this wonderful result. For those of you still on your journey - I hope this helps you. My goal is to help as many people as possible to live a healthy life

[Blitz]

Our soil is bankrupt - that's not a fantasy of how farming was 30-40 years ago, it's a fact - and a sad fact at that. Our foods DO NOT have the nourishment they used to - again it's a FACT!! So even with clean eating - organic too, your body will require supplementation.

Unfortunately, asserting something without proof does not make it a fact.
I'm old enough to remember in the 60's and early 70's the dire predictions that before the year 2,000 the world will be unable to feed itself.
This did not come to pass because of the great scientific breakthroughs in the fields of improved grains, yields, farming practices and the like.
You mentioned organic food...you may be interested to hear that testing shows that regular food is nutritionally superior to organic foods.
That is because modern farming practice is better at producing quality.

We are actually better served food wise than at any time in human history.
Our problem with obesity isn't about the quality of the food (and alleged toxins) - it is about what sort of food we choose to eat.
Remember the food pyramid that is used by the health and education departments?
We are simply eating too much of the "sometimes" food and not enough of healthy food choices.
As a consequence we are getter fatter.

If we ate properly and make healthy choices then we will have everything the body requires for a healthy lifestyle.
We do not need any supplementations at all...a good natural eating lifestyle will provide all that our body requires.
Supplementations are only required if you are suffering acute gout or scurvy...otherwise healthy eating will keep you on track.

As for loose skin, you still haven't demonstrated how on earth detoxifying and supplements can undo stretched skin.
Testimonial are fine...but without scientific rigour behind them they are just anecdotal.
Questions like; how old were these people (younger people have more elastin etc than older people)? How much weight did they lose (world of difference between losing 10 kilos and 50 kilos)? How much loose skin is currently present still? What are their genetic backgrounds like?

If you do have a magical way of undoing loose skin - the aging/beauty industry is awaiting your wisdom...and the plastic surgeons are quaking in their boots!

Kim

[DD Diva]

If you do have a magical way of undoing loose skin - the aging/beauty industry is awaiting your wisdom...and the plastic surgeons are quaking in their boots!

And the formerly obese, quivering with excitement in their loose skins!!!

[Blitz]

The formerly obese quiver (and jiggle) in their loose skins with or without excitement in any case!

Kim