Bodyfat percentage and loose skin

Ok I didn't really know where to put this question so it kinda just ended up here. My problem is this; I've lost a lot of weight over the past 14 months and I have loose skin (it's a terrible problem to have) I'm trying to work out the macro's and calorie needs as accurately as possible so I can add some muscle without adding too much fat that I'll have to lose again. Most of these figures require a bf percentage of some sort or at least the most accurate ones do. The problem is it's damn near impossible for me to get an accurate reading even with caliper because of the loose skin. I measured my waiste (where my body naturally bends at the sides) and it's 34 inches. Combined with my height and weight the bodybuilding.com calculator gave me some crazy number like 12% I never in a million years thought I was that low. Are there some other ways to tell your bf% without getting professionally done.

I'm actually a little slimmer than my avatar picture. I can see the veins in my forearms throughout the day (That's new to me lol so maybe it helps) and when I workout my upper chest and shoulders become quite vascualr too. (you cant see it in my lower chest because I have loose skin there too, which is why I'm going to put massive pecs behind it to fill em out haha)

Any help would be appreciated.

p.s. My scale says my bf% is anywhere from 21% to like 40% lol and its made swings like that in a days time so I cannot trust it

Anybody have any helpful advice... I have an entire days worth of Reps to hand out too lol

If you're having issues getting an accurate reading using callipers, then you could try the submerged water tank method (most accurate) or an Inline 3.0 machine. They claim that it's 99.9% accurate, although that's definitely debateable. Most doctors/gyms have them and they work by sending electrical currents through your body and then giving you a detailed readout.

try using some creams.. i have loose skin too , sucks.

[url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=4203833&size=big&cat=500[/url]



[url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=4203793&size=big&cat=[/url]


Here are a couple links to photos of what I'm talking about. Both of which are of me not flexing at all so please let's be gentle about the lack of pop in my biceps etc. lol

The lighting kind of sucks in these pics, theyre literally completel overhead and side washouts, but You can actually see my abs and then there is this nasty skin flap that just hangs over everything. Om my pecs too. You can feel the nicepectoral ridge underneath the skin... it's quite sad

[QUOTE=Vigilante_Inc;289905771][url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=4203833&size=big&cat=500[/url]



[url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/showphoto.php?photo=4203793&size=big&cat=[/url]


Here are a couple links to photos of what I'm talking about. Both of which are of me not flexing at all so please let's be gentle about the lack of pop in my biceps etc. lol

The lighting kind of sucks in these pics, theyre literally completel overhead and side washouts, but You can actually see my abs and then there is this nasty skin flap that just hangs over everything. Om my pecs too. You can feel the nicepectoral ridge underneath the skin... it's quite sad[/QUOTE]

I can't be sure, but it looks like you're suffering from gyno.

Damn son! How much weight did you lose? I know that you aren't going to want to hear this, but there are two fixes for skin like that.

#1 - time, which may or may not fix it over a few years.

#2 - surgery, which will absolutely fix it.

[QUOTE=Toshiya;289908661]I can't be sure, but it looks like you're suffering from gyno.[/QUOTE]

I believe that it may not have been gyno. It could have been estrogen related fatty deposits that left with the fat loss. It may not have been actual glandular tissue. Either way, the skin there is certainly stretched.

Well the official amount of weight lost is 108 pounds. But that doesn't take into consideration that I had nearly no muscle on me before and I have much more now lol. So prolly about 120 pounds of fat. And yeah I've definatly got gyno lol When I was fat my nick name was C-Cup! I can literally pull on my chest and flatten the extra skin out... Depressing! Surgery is probably in order. I'm going to add some serious mass to see what that does. I believe I can fix my chest that way but my waiste is probably only going to get smaller so I doubt the skin skirt I've got going on down there is going anywhere without the knife

p.s. Just putting this picture on here gives me the heebie jeebies. I have some major body image issues and the loose skin isn't helping lol. I used to swim in a shirt at the pool. Being overweight really ruined my childhood. It's the only thing I can remember from being a kid... being fat. Now I have this lovely reminder of all the wrong choices I made as a youth haha... great. I'm optimistic about it though. I figure I'll re-assess January 2010 and if the loose skin is still a major problem then it's gonna get cut off. First step is to add mass for the next 7 months then diet for the last three and see where that leaves me

This is turning into the all me thread lol... anybody else have some input.

Hey bro.. i dont have any solid advice for you yet... but im definately in the same boat. I lost 131lbs.. and i have the same issue with loose skin. But im taking your same approach to it right now.. and im just going to build as much mass as i possibly can for some months to go... cut.. and see where i'm left.

Unfortunately, surgery will likely be your only option.

First, let me say congratulations on loosing that much weight! I think it is quiet and accomplishment and you should not feel ashamed of your body because at least you have gotten to where you are with hard work and determination. This body is yours and it is your work!

Now for the question...

What are your lifting stats?

I ask because I still can't see your abs, which leads me to think that you still have a bit more to go in terms of fat lose and looking at your arms.... MMM, I think you still have room to [i]gain[/i] muscle.

I would just build muscle until that skin stretches again with muscle underneath... Then and only then, would I worry about surgery/creams/etc.

Like I said before I do have more to gain and I will gain it. My arms are 15 and 15.25 inches cold (I wasn't flexing in those pictures so be nice lol) It's very hard to see my abs because the skin above them has been stretched so much it's no longer tight against my muscles. The worst part is The weight I lost was all pretty much from my chest and stomach. My legs were never very big my arms were never very large for my weight etc. So most of the weight I lost was abdominal fat (that's just how it situates on me I guess) I can see where my abs are. Theyre not highly defined or anything but I can see them with a nice overhead light lol (this may sound like a hope and a prayer, but I've honestly NEVER seen my abs so it's a big deal for me lol) As far as I can figure my bf % is between 15 and 20 percent (If I dehydrate a little bit you can really see my muscles coming through, but I stay overly hydrated all the time and I take creatine so I'm always a bit fluidy looking. lol) Having said that my running weight is around 200 pounds so that means there is an additional 30 to 40 pounds of fat still on my frame as far as I can figure. I would like to get down to about 10 percent bodyfat and add as much mass as possible over the next year. (I actually gain muscle VERY easily lol, I wish I'd known this when I was younger. I've actually managed to lose weight and add mass at the same time quite efficently. Although it's been getting more difficult as my bf percentage drops)

As far as lifting stats they are a bit skewed because I am dieting, but I'll post them anyways as far as I can remember. I don't have my logs with me here.

Bench 245 is my current max
(I usually use DB's though. Somehwere around 80 to 85 pounders. I'm a firm believer in range of motion)

Deadlift 405 current max

Barbell curl 115 pounds (strict motion! I can cheat way more than this but i don't think that counts lol)

I don't squat because of my knees so...
leg press -whatever my knee can handle on that day lol

there isn't enough weight in the gym for my calves they are so strong. Probably from carrying my fat ass around lol

bodyweight dips etc... but I usually do the stack (200 pounds) on the machine dips and ghetto rig a 45 pound plate to it.

*I really want to bring my triceps up the most. I want some underside mass to my arms. My biceps are coming along nicely considering I've been dieting.

I eat about 2500 cals a day right now.

I'm definitely in the same boat as you. It sucks having lost 80lbs and still having excess skin :( Sometimes I think to myself [I]what's the point of all this?[/I] I've worked my ass off for the past 12 months and still look like ****.

My main issues are the skin around my chest/nipples. It looks like a have big man boobs when I wear a t-shirt out in public (really depressing and kills all confidence)

And also, I have excess skin folds on my back. I'm trying to build muscle right now, so I'll see how that goes for the next 10 months.

Good luck.

well my main goal is to widen and thicken my back and to add mass to my chest. Im very confident that if you can get wider lats and a thick chest that the loose skin on your chest will go away too. Literally after a good back session my chest looks better just because of the pump it tightens my skin, same on chest day. So im confident that can be fixed. But the abdominal is the killer. Because my waiste line keeps shrinking and the loose skin just gets worse and worse. Im hoping that is i add some serious trap size back size chest and shoulder size it will kind of alleviate this problem a bit. Plus getting rid of the loose fat inside the skin will narrow my visual waiste line. Like i said i have a 33 inch waiste but it looks like its 42 inches because it droops over my thighs

I could be wrong but based on the pictures I would say you still have fat to lose. People crying surgery are crazy I think. I would cut more before even considering that. You may have mentioned this but how long ago did you lose the weight?

[QUOTE=angelusnexx;290405531]I could be wrong but based on the pictures I would say you still have fat to lose. People crying surgery are crazy I think. I would cut more before even considering that. You may have mentioned this but how long ago did you lose the weight?[/QUOTE]


I do still have some fat to lose. I'm not denying this fact, and I'm not crying surgery, as a matter of fact that's the last thing I want. I may still have some fat left on me but compared to someone who is my heigth with the same amount of mass and same bf% but who has never been severely overweight... we look alot different.

[QUOTE=Vigilante_Inc;289858971]Ok I didn't really know where to put this question so it kinda just ended up here. My problem is this; I've lost a lot of weight over the past 14 months and I have loose skin (it's a terrible problem to have) I'm trying to work out the macro's and calorie needs as accurately as possible so I can add some muscle without adding too much fat that I'll have to lose again. Most of these figures require a bf percentage of some sort or at least the most accurate ones do. The problem is it's damn near impossible for me to get an accurate reading even with caliper because of the loose skin. I measured my waiste (where my body naturally bends at the sides) and it's 34 inches. Combined with my height and weight the bodybuilding.com calculator gave me some crazy number like 12% I never in a million years thought I was that low. Are there some other ways to tell your bf% without getting professionally done.

I'm actually a little slimmer than my avatar picture. I can see the veins in my forearms throughout the day (That's new to me lol so maybe it helps) and when I workout my upper chest and shoulders become quite vascualr too. (you cant see it in my lower chest because I have loose skin there too, which is why I'm going to put massive pecs behind it to fill em out haha)

Any help would be appreciated.

p.s. My scale says my bf% is anywhere from 21% to like 40% lol and its made swings like that in a days time so I cannot trust it[/QUOTE]

Congratulations on your weight loss.

[url=http://www.thesurgerystore.com/body_fat-weight_loss/body_fat_analyzer_scales.htm][u][b]Body Fat Calculator[/b][/u][/url] are inherently inaccurate. Devices that send a current through the body depend on the skin's impedance which varies on moisture, lotions, humidity, stress, and many other factors. Calipers have a long learning curve and fail with folds of skin after massive weight loss. My Olympic athletes and Navy Seals have access to the much more accurate Archimedes water displacement testing, not practical for most of us.

Getting the body fat to a comfortable level can help to a degree. However for some, the connective tissue is damaged (i.e. stretch marks) and will only shrink so far.

Being patient helps. [url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/a/after_weight_loss/index.html][u][b]After massive weight loss[/b][/u][/url] loose skin can be a factor. For gastric bypass patients, it can take from 6 to 18 months after weight stabilization for the skin to catch up. Pregnancy stretching is typically for a much shorter interval than for the massive weight loss patient and typically takes a few months. How much it will shrink depends on how damaged the connective tissue that makes up the skin and deeper layers.

Loose skin only adjusts so far after [url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/a/after_weight_loss/index.html][u][b]Weight Loss[/b][/u][/url]. The loose skin is usually a global problem involving chest, abdomen, thighs, buttocks, arms, and legs to varying degrees.

[url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/tummy_tuck_loose_skin.html][u][b]Loose Skin of the Abdomen[/b][/u][/url] can be managed by a [url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/abdominoplasty/index.html][u][b]tummy tuck abdominoplasty[/b][/u][/url]. More extensive hanging tissues of the belly, buttocks, and thighs can be sculpted with a [url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/body_lift/index.html][u][b]Lower Body Lift Surgery[/b][/u][/url].

[url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/male_breast/gynecomastia_excess_skin.html][u][b]Excess Skin of the Male Chest[/b][/u][/url] also can be a factor, skin compensates only so far after it has been stretched out for a long time.

Building chest muscles can help fill the empty balloon of skin, but it can take a great deal of muscle to make a change of the chest. Muscle building does not help fill the loose skin of the abdomen.

I have developed a series of [url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/male_breast/gynecomastia_excess_skin.html][u][b]Standard Pictures to evaluate Male Chest and Excess Skin with Sagging, Drooping, or Ptosis[/b][/u][/url] that demonstrate the components of the problem.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
[b]Learn More About[/b] [url=http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/male_breast_lift/index.html][u][b]Gynecomastia of Male Chest Ptosis - Sagging and Male Mastopexy Chest Lift Sculpture[/b][/u][/url]

First off Congratulations on losing that weight man thats very impressive. Secondly i have a question just in general how fast did you lose that weight?? Does the speed at which you lose effect loose skin?? I think if you could fill out though and add muscele over the next year you may be able to get away with not having surgery.