How to bring a disfigured body into shape..

[rcb7]

Hello people. Before I proceed with the question, a little info about my past. I am now 20+ year old guy. Much of my childhood I was a fat and obese kid. So much so that, by the time I reached age of 18, I had gained around 115 kgs (250 pounds) of weight. I became very frustrated looking at myself and decided one fine morning to become slim on my own. For the next 1 year, i lived a very determined lifestyle. I did extreme exercising, like 2-3 hours of walking and jogging per day, skipping meals, living on pure uncooked veg diet, etc. as a result I lost 30 kgs (66 pounds) within just 1 year. I was happy looking at the number, but it actually has ruined my life further, How?

- My body has completely out of shape and my skin is skipping low in areas like abdomen, chest and arms. When I asked few people, they said may be i am a victim of "muscle loss".

I then joined a gym and they started providing me with weight training for building up lean muscles. It's been around  8 months now with gym going on and there are no visible signs of improvements or muscle gain. I am really tensed. Don't know how to get my body into a perfect figure. I wanted to be slim, but this is not definitely what I wanted for me. If anybody can suggest what steps I need to take, like what sort of exercise I need to do to get the skin tight and build up proper muscles again.

Sorry for posting such a long post. i hope somebody who's patient can put some light over this.

thanks.

[Barb135]

From all the research I've done, I've not run across anything that will cause the sagging skin to "shrink".  The only way to "fill it back up" is to regain some weight.

Once the skin has been stretched and lost its elasticity, surgery is about the only option.  What I'm referring to is the common "tummy tuck", which is done quite often and while there are risks, as with any surgery, it seems relatively safe.

You can do some research and see if you can find something that will help replace the elasticity of your skin.  Lotions and creams with collagen are the most likely.

For anyone losing large amounts of weight, too quickly, this is a possibility.

[rcb7]

thanks buddy.. I suppose I'll have to change my trainer and get a specific exercising schedule carved out specifically for my body type and nature... Cause intense weight training din't help me much in past 8 months as I mentioned earlier..

[seanjam]

I suggest losing weight by doing short reppetitions of intense bodyweight training
For me this was the best option because i started loosing weight fast and my muscels started to grow

[rcb7]

What diet did you follow along with the gym and how long did it take for you to tighten up your skin??

[rcb7]

thanks for the reply ma'm.. I have been taking whey protein since the time i joined gym, but it hasn't done much. My instructor told me about the surgical way out.. But I am not sure how safe it would be... But isn't there any chance that the skin once hangs low may again go back to its place, without surgery??..

and, does diet make any difference.. cause i am mainly a vegan and very very rarely I sometimes consume sea food.

[niknak2014]

*Weren't

[niknak2014]

I didn't follow the advice about protein (no real reason was just being stupid, lol) but I did do some strength training and I saw a difference! I focused on my arms, legs, and stomach. I've always had a "pooch" so the change in my stomach wasn't dramatic but I did tighten up a tad bit. My arms were as flabby and my calf was becoming defined and my thighs slimmed down.

[Barb135]

Did it help you?  

rcb7 has been going to the gym and doing weight training for 8 months and it hasn't helped him.  

[niknak2014]

I had same situation when I lost 70lbs. My skin was saggy and I lost muscle. I was told to eat more protein and do strength training exercises to help tighten the skin. Hope this helps!

[Barb135]

Much as I hate to be the bearer of unpleasant news, I have to be honest.

Sometimes, if we've been overweight for a long time, then we lose weight in a rapid unhealthy manner, our skin starts sagging and unfortunately, there usually isn't much to be done about it, except maybe a surgical tuck here and there, which many  of us can't afford.

If we lose weight in a slow steady manner, our skin often has a chance to rebound, so it doesn't sag so much, but if we lose too quickly, it doesn't get that chance.  

You can try some skin lotions that have collagen and vitamin A in them, but there's no guarantee they will work. You can also talk to a dermatologist, but I don't know what they can do either.

By all means, continue with the exercising, because that will help keep you healthy.