Getting rid of the flab

[ffviifan]

Once I reach the weight I want to be, how much with strength training and toning exercises actually help me to get rid of the flab and tone up. I know my body is never going to look like a photoshoped picture, but I don't really want to have a gut anymore. Is there a way to lose the excess skin or should I be contemplating surgery?

[1000kw]

You can lose some or all of the skin, depending on how much you have. If you've got rolls and rolls of lose skin, only surgery is really going to work. That said, if it's just a bit of excess, strength training to build your muscles in the are and time will help you with your gut problem.

[Gina]

Exactly what 1000kw said. If you didn't stretch your skin too much, you can still probably shed the excess skin. It will take time but it is possible with the right strategies. If you find that the skin just won't go away though or you have enough skin that you need to tuck it into your pants...then, yeah, surgery might be the only way.

[tammybear]

How far does your skin have to stretch before it won't return to normal?

[ffviifan]

How far does your skin have to stretch before it won't return to normal?

That's actually a great question and the one I probably should have asked haha.

[brightstar]

There's not real way to answer this question. It can be different for every person. Essentially, if you've gained loads of weight and then lose a lot of weight really fast, you can expect for your skin to sag. Will this saggy skin go away? It depends on a few factors, your age, the elasticity of your skin, how much you exercise, the type of exercise you do, how much skin is loose, etc. Expect it to take a long time though. Don't expect loose skin to go away in a month or two. It could take well over a year. If after a year or more things don't seem to be changing, then that skin may be there forever and you'll need to consider surgery if you want to get rid of it.

[ffviifan]

There's not real way to answer this question. It can be different for every person. Essentially, if you've gained loads of weight and then lose a lot of weight really fast, you can expect for your skin to sag. Will this saggy skin go away? It depends on a few factors, your age, the elasticity of your skin, how much you exercise, the type of exercise you do, how much skin is loose, etc. Expect it to take a long time though. Don't expect loose skin to go away in a month or two. It could take well over a year. If after a year or more things don't seem to be changing, then that skin may be there forever and you'll need to consider surgery if you want to get rid of it.

it can take over a year....

[treehuggertodd]

it can take over a year....

Yes. When it comes to weight loss, you should expect to see results over a long period of time. Nothing happens overnight. It's a gradual process. Anything that happens quickly isn't likely to last. For instance, if you drop a lot of weight in a matter of days or weeks, it's water you're losing and not fat. People who go from having pounds of skin hanging off them to none or very little have had surgery. The body just doesn't naturally bounce back as soon as you make a change. In regard to stretched out skin that you want to go away, think of it like a giant wound that's healing. Your body doesn't heal itself overnight.

[ffviifan]

Yes. When it comes to weight loss, you should expect to see results over a long period of time. Nothing happens overnight. It's a gradual process. Anything that happens quickly isn't likely to last. For instance, if you drop a lot of weight in a matter of days or weeks, it's water you're losing and not fat. People who go from having pounds of skin hanging off them to none or very little have had surgery. The body just doesn't naturally bounce back as soon as you make a change. In regard to stretched out skin that you want to go away, think of it like a giant wound that's healing. Your body doesn't heal itself overnight.

True. I never thought of it in a healing sense before. Thanks for the analogy Treehuggertodd, that one really kind of hit home with me :)