Body Changes

This is one of those things no one told me about before, and I haven't seen any other posts about it. I should point out I'm on the short side at 5'6". So I've lost 60 pounds, which is great. I feel great. I'm motivated to keep going. But my body now at 210 is a lot different than the last two times I was in the neighborhood of 210. It's not so much that I've lost a lot muscle over the years and replaced it with fat; I've got a pretty decent musculature under my fat. It seems that my repeated  yo-yo dieting has caused the fat around my belly to concentrate each time to the point where I have this huge overhang now that I didn't have the last time I was at 210. I've been wearing loose shorts for at least 2 years now, all the time, because they're the only comfortable thing I can wear sitting down. If I try to wear pants I can't wear a belt, because my belly pushes against it when I sit and it really hurts. So I've been looking forward to slimming down my gut a bit so I can wear pants again. Also, I've been wearing women's cool-max stretch underwear size XL (they're like boxer-briefs) for the last 3 months for compression because otherwise my thighs rub against each other so badly I get cysts between my legs, which causes me to not be able to do any type of walking exercise, which starts a whole negative vicious cycle. Anyway, I tried on some of my old XL boxer briefs yesterday, and they were way too baggy. So I dug out my old pile of size L, and they were also  too big. Medium are so-so, but I just bought some size S and they are a little snug, but still comfortable. So I guess I've lost most of my 60 pounds below the waist (butt, love handles, thighs?). So I can now wear size S underwear, which is a great  step, but I still wear XL shirts, because L are still a little tight on my chest and gut. I tried on some jeans at the store today, and I can fit into 36 (which would be medium) if I wear them low on my waist, or 38 if I pull them up over my gut. But sitting down with either of them still hurts, because my gut gets pushed up into my chest. I guess I'm just venting, but this in-between stage is really weird. I just hope the next 20 pounds starts to show in my overhang. Anyone else have any similar experiences?

Its like that song says... "When your're going through hell, don't slow down". Keep exercising and eating the right way and you'll work right through this uncomfortable stage.  I'm working on my "next 20 pounds" and I gotta tell ya its not as easy as it once was. But I think its my body's way of saying that now its time to settle in and get used to doing the eating and exercising thing for the long haul. Hopefully for the rest of my life.

I can sympathize with you.  This time at 210 lbs, my body is quite differently proportioned than it was the last time I was at this weight.  When I was last at this weight (2001-ish) I was more muscular and had thicker thighs and a bigger butt.  This time as I lost weight, I also lost some muscle even with all the protein supplements and exercise.  In my case the change has been good and I'm happy to have thinner thighs and a smaller butt and 210 lbs feels really good for my height (6'2").  Do I sound like a woman???  I've been lucky in my weight loss, my skin has tightened up as I lost the weight and except for some smallish love handles now, I'm pretty happy where I've ended up.  I'm considering lipo to get rid of the love handles and some slight fat retention in my chin/neck area. I'm sure you'll see shrinkage in your waist area as you continue to lose weight and probably in your thighs as well which might help with the rubbing problem.

How long after losing the weight and having loose skin did it tighten up? I'm only 3+ months post-surgery so I know it's too soon to tell yet, but right now I have two problem areas developing. I definitely have loose skin around the bottom of my gut where it hangs over my belt line. I'm still losing fat there, but the skin doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. And then I have loose skin forming on the pads on my inner thighs where they're rubbing together. Other than those the rest of me seems to be losing pretty smoothly. I know that I won't know until about a year after I get to goal how my skin will fare, and I'm prepared to get PS if I need it. But when did you start to see your loose skin start tightening up?

Rob, Typically the skin continues drawing up and "adjusting" to the absence of fat tissue beneath it for about 6 months after the weight stabilizes. Give it some more time. Congratulations on your Great Loss! Hang in there. Mine all drew up except for a little fold right at my belt line. I was dead set against having PS but finally did. So glad I did too. As you leftover skin causes you irritation problems, Have your doc help you with it. Mine had some success with a couple of prescription creams. Before passing me on to a dermatologist. When both finally convinced me that it would be a problem from now on Unless I had the extra skin removed, I went for it. I had PS (a Panniculectomy) and had it removed summer before last. Insurance covered mine. Clothes fit like never before!! I’m at 34 waist, if a touch snug and a 36 waist, if a touch loose. I do have a few pairs of 35"waist GAP jeans that are like The "Goldie-Locks-Just-Right" Fit. Hope all works out for you. But do give it some more time. Best Wishes- Dx

Well, in my case the skin started drawing up almost as soon as I started losing weight. I should mention that I was only morbidly obese for one year - I started eating after losing my father n1999 and accellerated it when I lost my job in 2002 during the dot com bust and then lost my Mom in 2003.  For me it was like the proverbial "perfect storm= I weighted about 210 in 1998 and was in excellent physical shape but the losses I've described started me down the weight gain train.  I went from about 200 very muscular lbs in 2000 to 330 unexercised lbs in 2006. Technically speaking I was only morbidly obese for the last year or two.  When I had the VSG surgery, my fat was fairly evenly distributed over my body - some was concentrated in my stomach, thighs and in my butt. The relatively even distribution of fat and not having been obese for many years probably worked in my favor and helped my skin tighten up. As I understand it, age is also a factor and I'm in my early 40's so that could have helped too. I lost about 60 lbs in the first few weeks and my skin overall felt a little loose but it didn't bag anywhere.  Over the next 6-7 months I noticed it tightened up a lot. I work out fairly regularly and I think that helps too The rule of thumb is to give it one year after you reach your goal weight before doing plastic surgery. Things tighten up some during that phase.  Some caveats:  The older a person is, the less the skin will tighten up on it's own and the longer a person is morbidly obese, the less chance the skin will tighten up on it;s own, exercise seems to help. BTW, DX is a good resource for these questions.  Don't hesitate to get the plastic surgery to remove the excess skin that is getting in the way on your legs and stomach! Several of the guys on this board have.