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I'm not trying to be morbid. But what happens to all the skin tissue that gets removed? Can it be donated to burn victims, or reused for treating other conditions? Edit - I work in the recycling industry. So it tends to dominate the way I think about things.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 08:25 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 06:37 |
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She could make a dollhouse for her daughter or something I didn't assume you'd have that much loose skin from your pictures, but i guess that you're having this (rather hard to have) procedure just adds to the exclusivity of your crazy transformation, few people have gone that far.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 11:16 |
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Miguel- I looked into the donating part when I first start thinking about having all of this removed. Sadly no, the only donor skin that can be used at burn centers is cadaver skin processed through a skin bank. Only skin from cadavers is used for skin grafts, because cadavers give the greatest amount of surface area – up to 10 sq. feet of usable skin for a burn patient. Skin that could be taken from a person who had excessive weight loss would not generate the amount of skin or quality skin needed to treat burn patients. Was what I learned. You can bet though I have signed up as a donor when I croak for all of my bits and pieces before they crispy fry me in the oven. Drowning- I think you are going a little small with that house. If I was to construct one from the amount they are taking off we are talking Malibu Barbie Dream House with full furniture! Not some small hand held thing! That said I'm not really very arts and crafty so I don't think that will happen. Perhaps a nice decorative lamp shade as a conversation piece? The loose skin isn't that noticeable under clothes but it has it's share of draw backs. In summer time I can get yeast infections between the folds and under my breasts since I sweat and it collects there. If I am going for a day at the beach I have to grab a bottle of Tinactin type spray and coat the flops to prevent it. I really hope the end results are as amazing as I keep hearing they are. Keeping my fingers crossed this will be the end of a long journey and a start of a new healthier chapter in my life.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 15:36 |
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Good job, looks good to me! I couldn't even tell that they were actually photoshops at first glance. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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| # ? May 27, 2012 15:57 |
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Darnea posted:I'm Darnea from the ultimate weight loss thread and I updated a while ago about maintaining my weight for the last three years I lost all of my weight from life style change, diet, and exercise and keep it off the same way: http://forums.somethingawful.com/sh...0#post400034504 I'm floored, you look like a completely different person  . I'm anxious to see how the surgery goes.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 17:05 |
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idiotbitch.fucker posted:Good job, looks good to me! I couldn't even tell that they were actually photoshops at first glance. Am I misunderstanding? Are you saying her pics are photoshopped in this thread?
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| # ? May 27, 2012 17:23 |
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idiotbitch.fucker posted:Good job, looks good to me! I couldn't even tell that they were actually photoshops at first glance. Hmmm none in this thread. In the after the one holding my daughter with the cow is Photoshopped a bit by my husband. It was turned black and white and he did some stuff to make it sharper so we could make a shutter fly book out of it for my daughter to remember her time at the farm. But I figured that one was obviously changed like that. I also blacked out my daughter's face it really isn't a black blob. The rest in this thread are all taken with a cell phone camera. So this doesn't turn into a derail hopefully this will be enough proof both are me (i couldn't get the tape to stay put on my skin):     If that doesn't satisfy you not sure what will and have no further rebuttal to offer. EDIT: Ok blond moment it is the 27th not the 26... curse you long holiday weekend. I can retake with the 27th written on it if needed for more proof.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 17:57 |
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Darnea posted:So this doesn't turn into a derail [...] It won't.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 18:54 |
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I was actually about to make this same thread, but then I decided to add my problems to here. I went from 364 to about 204 in this pic (at 198 now)  I look fine covered up, but if the shirt comes off then I look like this.  and to further illustrate, here's me bending over.  I have no idea what is loose skin and what is fat and I have no idea who to ask. My weight loss method was to do as much cardio as I could, while reducing my diet greatly (no fast food, no soda, smaller portions) and it took about two-and-a-half years to get where I am now (minus one jump of thirty pounds when I had to move back in with Mom for a bit to take care of her). I've been doing light weight training for about eight months now and I do have a bit of muscle (was kind of surprised when I tried to do a pull-up as a joke and found I could do five...felt like I leveled up) but I don't want to gain too much. I'm still doing cardio six times a week (for about an hour) and I've added about four hours of weight training to that as well. Mix with that with twice daily applications of lotion (supposedly) designed to tighten skin and fight stretch marks and you'd think I'd be seeing noticeable results, but I'm not. I don't even know how much more weight I can even lose, since I've been at around 198 since Feb, but my clothes have been gradually getting looser. I could just really do with a bit of guidance right now if anyone has any suggestions. Sorry if this steals any of your thunder Darnea, I know how much work it took to lose all that weight. I just had some questions and didn't want to make a redundant thread.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 20:46 |
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I know what you when you say "cheat" as well. I have nicer clothes than (I feel) my body image allows for. I'm wearing an XL shirt right now, and the shirt in the 204 pic is a Large. These are normal people clothes and I still feel huge. I remember how excited I was when I went out shopping for a new jacket about eight months ago and was able to pick one out based on whether or not I liked how it looked and felt, and not just if it fit or not. Shoes were still a hassle to shop for though, but that's all part of wearing size 14. The biggest problem with loose skin, at least to me, is that it takes away from the effort and the achievement. There are shows, books, media personalities, and overall a massive industry devoted to doing what I did...and yet I still look like crap.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 21:02 |
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Vlaphor- You are not stealing anything silly! This is what the thread is for! I wish I could give you a giant hug right now. First AMAZING job on the weight loss. Add to that my deepest respect that you had a major life change moving in with your mom to care for her which is stressful and hard to keep from eating the stress. Which you saw yourself doing and corrected which is the BIGGEST part of keeping your life style change going. That is such a MAJOR break through and such a show of strength of character. I hope you take pride in that because you should. Could you please tell us how tall you are? That can help for people to understand where you should maybe shoot for weight wise. I will say I work out like you cardio 6-7 days a week for an hour to 1.5 hours and I lift 45-60 minutes a day as well. Have you talked to a doctor about where you should be? Mine said 170-175 and the plastic surgeons applauded him for that because if I try to go lower I could hurt myself by cannibalizing muscle or trying to lower my calorie consumption to dangerous levels. Estimates after surgery for me are 130-140 ending weight which means I will be pretty darn small for my 5'8 frame. Your tummy looks like it is a deflated balloon like mine. So what I think you are seeing is left over fat tissue and skin. As for filling it with hot sexy man muscle hopefully a person who does way more lifting then me can help. You could still be shrinking fat and changing it to muscle which would explain the scale not moving but your clothes getting baggy. There is not a lotion on the planet that can fix the skin when it is stretched to such extremes. Talk to any dermatologist they will tell you that. It can improve the feel and the look a bit but the skin is not going to fall off from lotion. Wish it was that easy! Would be way less painful then being chopped 360 degrees and resewn together. It is the most amazing thing to fit into normal people clothing! But you feel like some sort of alien grabbing the sizes there when you have been big your entire life. I totally understand what you are saying. It is so freeing to be able to pick and choose your clothes on how you LIKE them as opposed to "well crap it fits... guess I have to get it." I know all to well the feeling of "I did all of this... and yet... I still don't look normal naked." I want to make sure though you know you look great I really am amazed by you. For shoes make sure to get them measured! I went from a size 11 shoe to a size 9 over the last few years since loosing weight. EVEN YOUR FEET SHRINK!!! It's pretty nifty. Shine- You are the best. That is all.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 21:16 |
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To answer one of your questions, my height is between 6' 3 and 6'4
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| # ? May 27, 2012 21:31 |
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Vlaphor posted:I have no idea what is loose skin and what is fat I was curious about this too. Not so much in your case Darnea but maybe for people who have lost less weight and it's not obviously a bunch of extra skin, how can they tell the difference between extra skin that needs surgery vs extra fat that can be lost through normal weight loss means?
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| # ? May 27, 2012 21:56 |
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I don't have an answer for the above question; just wanted to chime in and thank you for being so open about your issues with loose skin. A lot of transformations show goons with great skin elasticity. I'm pretty sure I won't be as lucky and it's truly gratifying and comforting to know that a) I'm not a freak and b) it probably doesn't look as bad to others as it does to me.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 22:41 |
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Fruity Nutbar posted:b) it probably doesn't look as bad to others as it does to me. This! She keeps talking about these lumps she sees when she's dressed and I'm like dude. You have no weird lumps to an observer that isn't you. I can only hope I look that good clothed when i slim down. But I can't even imagine how mind bending it is to look at yourself naked. This should definitely be a surgery that is covered by insurance more often.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 22:52 |
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Three- You are so awesome I am lucky to have met you and have you in my life. You are going to look amazing when you finish I keep telling you that! Queen- My doctors a few years ago told me it was fat cells and skin based on a few factors. Maybe this can help people judge if I go through what they told me. First is appearance. If I look at myself do my collar bones protrude, do I have defined cheek bones, looking at my wrists and lower arms can you see the bones under the skin? These are all signs of someone who is near normal body weight. Next is feeling the "quality" of the fat. When you roll it between your fingers or grab it is it soft with no round nodules? Or is it more feeling like large pearl tapioca? If it is soft with out large "beads" it is most likely deflated fat cells that are just sitting there. For skin when you grab it and pull does it thin out away from your body? Or does it stay filled when you tug? If you can pull it away and it is like paper then you have excess skin. If you pull it and it stays thick it most likely is still filled with fat. Have you done everything you reasonably can to loose weight but stayed the same for 2 or more months while at or near a realistic body weight? If yes then you most likely won't drop much else and are near where you can get alone. As a disclaimer I would say ALWAYS talk to a doctor to confirm what is right for you. But these factors can maybe help you see if you are close to what you can do before making that appointment. Vlaphor- Using the basic BMI calculator (which I hate for people who have had massive weight loss because it doesn't compute everything in) says you are in a normal and healthy weight range for your height. So I really don't think you can loose much more then you already have. You should really talk to your doctor and get their input. To find out about your skin see if any Board Certified Plastic Surgeons (look for American Society of Plastic Surgeons to find referrals) do free or low cost consultation near you. They can give you good feed back on what is going on. Even if you can't afford surgery it is still HUGELY rewarding to hear you have done all you can through working out and diet. Fruity- You won't be a freak. You will kick rear end and look amazing. Good luck and on completing your goals!
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| # ? May 27, 2012 23:28 |
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Great job Darnea on your loss. A huge accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself. Question about safety. Are there any major risks or is this just a routine procedure? Obviously any surgery has its risks, but I'm wondering if they've laid them out to you. I'd imagine you'll be fully under for this and there maybe a some risk of infection. Are there any kind of numbers on things going wrong? Not trying to be a downer, just genuinely curious how safe this procedure is these days.
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| # ? May 27, 2012 23:39 |
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Darnea, you are amazing. Thank you for making this thread. Your transformation is incredible and I hope that the procedure goes well! When is your surgery? Has your skin tightened up at all while maintaining your weight loss for three years?
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| # ? May 27, 2012 23:46 |
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Great job, and the insurance company should be grateful to pay for the surgery given the money you are saving them over the long term.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 00:29 |
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Niwrad- I am nervous as heck about the surgery! Good question to talk about the risks. I will be under general anesthesia. Meaning my breathing will be done by a machine with a tube down my throat into my lungs. There are tons of risks as with any surgery but I'll give you guys the highlight reel! 1) Blood clots. In the stomach where the incision is, in my legs, in my lungs. If that happens it could be deadly either causing a heart attack or a stroke. To prevent this from happening my doctor had me stop my birth control pills three weeks before my surgery and for three weeks post op. Legs- While I am under I will have compression stockings on and have a machine wrapped around my legs constantly tightening and loosening to force blood to circulate through. Post op I will be having to wear the compression stockings for 1-2 weeks until I am able to be more mobile. Stomach- There will be drainage tubs helping to remove excess fluid build up to prevent hematomas from forming. Lungs- Just hope that the compression stockings and circulation will be enough to prevent them from forming. 2) Infections- Most common are along the stitches, in the lungs, more rare is the deep fat tissue dying deep inside my body and becoming infected after such an extensive surgery. To prevent this they give antibiotics via IV during the entire surgery and afterwards I will be on Cipro for 14 days. Also the drainage tubes will help remove excess fluid build up lessening the chances of internal infection. For the stitches the night before and day of I will be bathing with a special soap that will wipe out bacteria, fungus etc. I will be seeing the doctor for bandage changes and evaluations to make sure the incision stays in good shape every few days for the first few weeks until the stitches come out. It is important to make sure your surgeon is operating in a AAAASF (American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities) approved facility if you are having out patient procedure. You also want to make sure they are affiliated with a hospital so if something happens you know you can be under their care and admitted quickly if needed. Those with out certification means they may not follow proper procedure and could increase your chances for infection and complications. If they are not affiliated with a hospital it is a HUGE red flag that they may have some serious issues that no hospital is willing to work with them. 3) Uncontrollable bleeding during the operation requiring blood transfusions. This happens in 15% of surgeries of this kind. I am very low risk for this since I am not on blood thinners. My doctor also prohibits the use of Ibuprofen, aspirin, vitamin E, etc 2 weeks pre op in order to prevent blood thinning/unable to clot. I have been complying with that which further increases my chances of avoiding this complication. 4) Constipation- It actually is a very common complication. Think about it pooping requires ab muscles. Trying to poop hard as rock poop not a fun idea for those who just had major abdominal surgery. It is caused by the anesthesia and pain medication. To prevent this my doctor has me starting to drink milk of magnesia post op for a few days until things are moving through easily. I can't tell you how gag worthy it will be choking it down but it beats the alternative. 5) Post op swelling- This can be really bad for some people. What happens most of the time is people not following post op instructions. Not wearing their binders, sitting up to much, over doing it etc. I plan to be a good patient and follow all the post op instructions so hope not to have this complication. Those are the major ones for this surgery there is always the not waking up, or something going wrong like with any major surgery. Frown Town- My surgery date is June 8th. I arrive at 7:45am and will be in the OR at 8:30. I am the first and only surgery of the day since it will last 4-6 hours. My skin has tightened some if you can believe it. However it won't get any better then it is now. jamal- if only all insurance companies would believe that! Morbidly obese vs loose skin removal seems sort of a no brainer you would think. There would be more people who need to loose weight with one less excuse out there to get rid of the poundage. It just makes me shake my head when someone tells me they would loose the weight but they don't want loose skin. Makes me internally face palm!
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| # ? May 28, 2012 01:42 |
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Darnea - I am watching the thread like a hawk, I cannot WAIT to see how it looks. I'm so excited for you!
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| # ? May 28, 2012 02:54 |
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Vlaphor: I just wanted to give you some props for your transformation, too. You guys are so inspiring and allow me to give myself no excuses when it comes to commitment. Rock on, guys 
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| # ? May 28, 2012 02:59 |
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ThreeFish posted:Vlaphor: I just wanted to give you some props for your transformation, too. You guys are so inspiring and allow me to give myself no excuses when it comes to commitment. Rock on, guys Thank you. This thread is kinda making me a bit sadder, as I have no way to pay for the surgery (which costs way more than I thought it would). I'm gonna start towards my bachelor's degree in the fall and my income is virtually non-existent, so it's unlikely I'd be able to get a loan. Any idea how long it would take for my body to take care of this on it's own? I've heard that it'd take about four years for this to happen, if it'll happen at all.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 03:13 |
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It doesn't look as bad as you think! Really! I'm sure you look down on it and are like  but honestly, if I saw you shirtless in person, I'd think "bro lost some weight, good on him." That's it. But I totally hear you both on gross things happening under skin folds ashamed owner of an epic pannis.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 03:36 |
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I have a very close friend who lost around 70lbs in a few months. He had some issues initially with his loose skin but over the years it's slowly but surely shrank down. He initially looked like he had a deflated tire around his mid-section but now it looks like run-of-the-mill love handles which he is very happy with. Just wanted to pop in and say lots of people deal with this and congratulate you being rad. Keep being awesome.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 03:36 |
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Vlaphor- It has been 3 years post weight loss for me. There is some tightening that will happen over time. It has been three months since you stabilized if it has been since Feb. Chin up sweetie! You have a while before your body is done sucking up the skin. Give it time and it may get way better. Mine improved some but with the amount of damage I did to my skin it won't bounce back at all from where it is now. Age plays a factor too. I don't know how old you are but I waited until I was 29 to make my change which means I already had an uphill battle with skin bounce back. Also look at surgery if the skin is not as tight as you want after a few years as a long term goal. I made myself wait to make sure I could maintain my life style and make sure I was happy having just one child. I am going to get spayed when everything is said and done since I don't want to ruin several thousands of dollars worth of surgery by getting pregnant again. Since you are a guy that is not something you need to worry about though lucky duck. Just know people can't tell what is under your clothes. It took me a while to come to grips with that. On the relationship note since I know it goes hand in hand with being naked self esteem- if you find someone you want to have sex with they sure as hell better like you enough to not care about some loose skin or they are not worth getting it on with. Fruity- I stalked your fitness log. You are just amazing to me. I have the foompa doompa pannis from hell too. HI PUBIC MOUND I KNOW YOU ARE UNDER THERE SOME WHERE!!! Honestly I am just as excited to be able to look down and see that as much as my belly button. Monster- That is awesome you can share that some people do get the skin to bounce back! That is great news to hear.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 03:52 |
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I'm turning 29 next month.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 05:39 |
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This thread is incredible. And also terrifying! I only have 20kg or so to lose and I have private health insurance (sup Australia) but I hope my skin just bounces back  I've only been overweight for probably 4 years or so I guess.I am so thrilled for you that soon you'll be able to look in the mirror and see the body you TRULY deserve and have worked so hard for, Darnea
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| # ? May 28, 2012 06:20 |
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Great job to both of you. Vlaphor, you definitely have some loose skin, but to be totally honest, you also don't have much muscle mass either, which could really help take care of the problem. Especially since surgery isn't in the cards, if I were you, I'd focus on recomposition and trying to build muscle, because it's going to be really hard to drop much more fat without it.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 16:22 |
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ne plus ultra posted:Great job to both of you. I'm not looking to build up lots of muscle, that's not how I want to look. I do weight training four or five times a week, gradually increasing the weight/reps when it gets too easy and I feel that works well for me. My goal is thin/lean. Vlaphor fucked around with this message at May 28, 2012 around 17:02 |
| # ? May 28, 2012 16:25 |
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Thanks Shark! I stalked your thread too. I love your hair. You are going to be flaunting an amazing hour glass figure when you are done. Vlasphor- Muscles really help with loose skin and body proportion. You don't have to get huge and bulky to make an impact. It has really helped me look good in clothes and define out my body. Look at my leg area I have the almighty thigh gap that was once an elusive dream! My arms look good in shirts because they are defined minus the HUGE flap of skin hanging off it. I don't think you are as bad off as me and some total body muscle mass could really fill out your loose skin. Being skinny is great but being healthy and strong at least to me is better. I could drop some numbers on the scale but I would be killing off the muscle mass I worked so hard for. Add to that building muscle means you burn more calories even sedentary. It is a GREAT way to help maintain weight loss since even sleeping they are working to keep you thin by burning calories. It is a personal choice but I think ne plus ultra has a good idea with trying to swap in some more muscle mass.
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| # ? May 28, 2012 20:20 |
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Vlaphor posted:I'm not looking to build up lots of muscle, that's not how I want to look. I do weight training four or five times a week, gradually increasing the weight/reps when it gets too easy and I feel that works well for me. My goal is thin/lean. Have you considered starting crossfit? It's kind of the crossfit body to be lean and muscled, vs big and bulky. I really enjoyed it while I was doing it.
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| # ? May 29, 2012 10:37 |
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You won't get "big and bulky" unless you eat enough to get big and bulky, whether you do Crossfit or SS or bodybuilder splits or anything else ever.
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| # ? May 29, 2012 11:19 |
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So what is crossfit? I see the website, but I still can't tell what it is.
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| # ? May 29, 2012 11:53 |
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Vlaphor posted:So what is crossfit? I see the website, but I still can't tell what it is. Brand name circuit training. YLLS has a thread.
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| # ? May 29, 2012 11:58 |
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Julio Cesar Fatass posted:Brand name circuit training. YLLS has a thread. Expensive group-based circuit training.  It's fun if you have the money and are motivated by group exercises.
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| # ? May 29, 2012 12:06 |
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Is this the time I can post "Squats fix everything?" I seriously love what they do for your thighs, arms, butt... Just amazing. The lifting threads here have some great videos on how to do things correctly. If you are going to college check out the gym there. I went to my small community run fitness center and just walked up to the seriously ripped guys in the lifting area introduced myself and asked for help with form. They could not have been nicer teaching me and helping to correct things like grip and posture. I am sure at college there will be guys who lift that would be happy to help you as well! Shine also has a great point you need to be eating enough to support the muscle growth to get big. Which if you are on a limited calorie diet you won't be fueling enough to see large visible gains. (I think that is how it works anyways I'm no expert)
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| # ? May 29, 2012 14:50 |
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Vlaphor posted:So what is crossfit? I see the website, but I still can't tell what it is. An expensive way to get injured
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| # ? May 29, 2012 14:53 |
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please respond posted:An expensive way to get injured If we are going to start arguments about work out styles could you make a new thread? Since it would be nice to keep on topic about loose skin. Gaining muscle to fill out loose skin is a great topic! Arguing about how to achieve the muscle via certain work outs doesn't fit so well.
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| # ? May 29, 2012 15:31 |
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| # ? May 24, 2013 06:37 |
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I remember reading Hughlander's comment in one of the transformation threads (this could have been years ago) where he said that he wished he had started weight training at the beginning of his weight loss journey. You lose weight more slowly but your new muscles add shape. Doing so saves you from having to backtrack and fill in muscles after you reach a goal weight / size. And I think we can all agree that part of the weight loss goal (for most, save perhaps for those with extreme obesity-related medical problems) is to look better. Do whatever program you enjoy enough to do consistently and eat a calorie surplus. Specifics for how to do this are all over the forum in a variety of threads. But of course, in the the cases discussed here, muscles can only fill so much room. But think of how SHAPELY Darnea will look once she has the skin trimmed off! Squatz ---> badonkadonks
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| # ? May 29, 2012 19:35 |
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