Lost the weight, but still need help - Exercise & Fitness Message Board

dekuscrub · 02-02-2007, 01:20 PM

Greetings,
Once upon a time I weighed 250+ Lbs. (I'm 5'11").
A gym membership, healthier eating habits, and a few years later and I am down to a comfortable 160 Lbs.
However, I am paying the price for not taking care of myself. I have excess skin around my stomach, a mild case of "man boobs," and some stretch marks.

The stretch marks I think I am stuck with. But is there any specific excercise that will help get rid of this excess skin?
Should I just stick with the treadmill + diet routine and lose more weight until it goes away?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Naxis · 02-02-2007, 05:34 PM

Unfortunately there is nothing that will get rid of excess skin. However, if you lift weights and add some muscle bulk, it can help fill in some of the looseness with solid mass. It may also take months or years, but sometimes skin just takes time to tighten back up (ask any woman who's had a baby). How long has it been since you've lost the weight and how old are you now?

ktt · 02-02-2007, 06:11 PM

HI D,

Congratulations on the weight loss and healthier lifestyle. Bulking up through strength training will help with loose skin but sometimes the underlayer, the dermis, can be stretched beyond it's ability to recover and then only a nip/tuck would fix that. I would concentrate on building up the area with muscle and then see how it looks. That may just be enough to solve the problem. You can try using cream on stretch marks. It may help diminish their appearance. Good Luck.

dekuscrub · 02-02-2007, 06:57 PM

Thanks for the responses.

I am 27 y/o. I was at my heaviest at the age of 20. Since then it has been kind of up and down, but more down than up.
The last 10 months I have really been aggressive with diet + excercise and dropped the remaining 50 Lbs.

I have just been doing cardio, but it looks like it's time to hit the weights. Anything in particular I need to build stomach muscle?

Thanks again!

Naxis · 02-02-2007, 07:38 PM

Situps, crunches and leg lifts. But stomach muscles dont get very bulky. Focusing on upper body (chest and back) will be more conducive and fill up more space .. in general. And you're still fairly young, so you may yet tighten up on your own.