Flabby belly syndrome

[Brian75]

hey guys, Just a little background.

I've come out of a bad relationship which had lead me down the path of junk food and couch warming and I have vowed to return to a healthier and happier lifestyle. About 9 months ago, after a serious health scare, I changed my habits for the better. Back then I weighed in at 107kg (@5"11). I altered my diet and began some light exercise and lost about 1kg per week for a total of about 23kg. I didn't need some sort of new age diet, I figured I was smart enough to know what to and what not to eat.

I got down to about 84kg and began working out at the gym. At this point I stopped losing weight yet continued to drop in belt sizes so I knew I was still losing body fat. Now I'm left with a droopy or flabby belly which is my next target as I know I have some abs in there somewhere, I just need to bring them out.

Now I know this has been said before and I have done a search and found pieces of information here and there but nothing conclusive.

Has anyone had success in firming up loose skin or could advise me what to do to fix this area? I've read that moisturisers can help, are there any specific ones I should look for? I have tried to reduce my calorie intake and increase my workouts at the gym, this only resulted in a couple of injuries.

[Sarah91]

Hi, that's great. You already lose weight and able to attain your ideal weight but the problem is how to make your flabby belly and skin tight. That's really awful because flabby belly is also called stomach apron. You may use the hip hop abs that will firm and tight your belly and can create 6 pack abs. You can also make stretches or crunches intensely concentrating on your belly to build muscles. Intense push up will also do.

[Blitz]

I hate to break this to you but no amount of moisturiser or exercise is going to help.

If your skin hasn't bounced back yet then that is the state of affairs. Just think about it rationally for a minute. If a woman carries a baby for 9 or so months and ends up with loose skin then if you carry that extra weight and stretch the skin for dozens of years then you have got to expect permanent damage. That is the price we pay for our "sins".

Trust me - I know what I speak of. I stretched my gut for 35 years and after I lost the weight...well let's say the results ain't pretty!
I was left with a soccer ball size gut of loose skin and mega wrinkles where no person should have them. I always said that if I fell off a cliff naked that I would survive by gliding to earth using the loose skin under my arms as wings!

The only way it can be changed is with plastic surgery which is very expensive. I got a bit lucky there. I had a belly hernia the size of my fist that had to be dealt with once I lost the weight. My surgeon did me a favour...while he was there he hacked off most of the gut (he pointed out this wasn't plastic surgeon...he was right...and hacked off is a good description of it...lost my belly button!). The soccer ball gut is gone but I'm "flabby" still in many places (I've got some side saddles that I reckon can be shaped into extra arms in the future)...but I'm not that worried about all that. I look at my body as it is as a reminder of what was and it is the price I pay for my past folly...and never to go back to that body. Besides - I'm married...who am I trying to impress? My wife has got use to it and isn't complaining (well...not about that anyway).

Kim

[äirly]

Congratulations on your weightloss Brian75 as well as your new healthy lifestyle

If it's a pot/pouch than continued exercise may help. Also diet - one of my friends (a mother) found that a vegetarian diet really helped with her 'pouch' (note I'm not recommending a vegetarian diet, but cutting back of some foods may help?)
However if it's actually loose skin - not much that you can do. Creams etc will not help - as per the post above. Surgery is an option, however look in to it first as I've heard a few pele say that the scarring can be quite bad - making it not much better than loose skin anyway.

[Blitz]

There is a popular book on the market that perpetuates the myth that exercise will get rid of loose skin. The author's method seemed to work for him and his book has broken the spirit of many would be follower because of that.

What people overlook is that he was relatively young when he lost the weight so his skin was more elastic than an older person. Also there is a good chance that he just had very good genetics on his side - and so he just escaped the bus that most of us big weight losers get hit with. Another thing, his weight loss journey was not atypical of most people's. He lost very very slowly at the beginning and much quicker towards the end using intensive weight training. Most people lose weight much quicker at the start and it slowly tappers off until you are moving heaven and earth for those last kilos.

My sister loaned me this book when I started losing weight and it nearly did my head in. Not helpful...and not real world (at least not the world I inhabited). Live to live with what is reality and get on with enjoying your new found life.

In the end flabby belly syndrome is far better than fat gut rot...the healthier lifestyle makes you a winner and a better person inside.

Kim