My Pics, In need of your Help/Opinion.

[MyLossMyGain]

To begin with, I am currently 24 years old, 6'2" and 172lbs.

Long story short, I was obese as a teenager, reaching a peak of 285lbs at 6'1" at age 19. My second year of college I knew something had to change but being uneducated about weight loss, bodybuilding, etc. I probably didn't go about things the right way. Eating strictly low fat, consuming a low number of calories per day, and doing tons of running/eliptical/biking I was down to a low of 164 lbs by age 21. In the process I dropped a ton of fat but also probably a lot of muscle and strength.

Ill, tired, and depressed about my physical appearance and still being "fat" I continued to obsess about my weight (counting around 1800-2000 calories and doing far too much cardio) until I was 23 and realized I was doing damage to my body. Since then I have adopted a very clean eating style, 45/40/15 with a monthly cheat day/meal and approximately 2750 calories per day. I cut back on the cardio and have adopted a 4 day split plus one day a week to play drop-in hockey for the past 11 months. My strength has gone up a little but plateaued recently and although I feel better eating 7 times a day following the principals of the nutrition forum, having once been so fat "bulking" is still a weird concept to me.

I am basically posting these pics for opinions. I still have a significant amount of loose skin around my gut due to the (admittedly stupid) rapid weight loss and it does not appear to be going away any time soon. I have used digital calipers and my doctor has used metal ones to calculate my bf% around 7-9% (can that really be correct or is the loose skin causing false measures??) I guess my biggest question is whether to bulk for a while and then cut in the future or to keep cutting and whether or not you think I'll be able to lose the skin in either situation. Any other comments (kind or harsh) about what I should/shouldn't do would be greatly appreciated.

[Txstudboy22]

let me just say this. I am very impressed with your success. You have done a great job. Do not get down at this point! You are so close to your goal. YOu have done well, you look good and you will achieve your desires. GOOD JOB!

[MyLossMyGain]

Just a few "extra stats" about me as I just measured myself, unflexed.

38in chest
33in waist
11.5in bicep

[Quintessence]

Well done on losing so much weight. You definately don't need to cut right now, you're already at a pretty low bf% and I don't think that bit of excess skin you have is going to go away from cutting any further.

You need to bulk, big time, and when you pack some muscle on to your frame you may find your waistline expanding a bit which should help take care of some of the excess skin.

[MyLossMyGain]

Judging from the pics does that bf% even seem possible? I look at pics of guys on these forums with similar numbers and they look absolutely shredded. More opinions and advice would be appreciated.

[muscl_savant]

Judging from the pics does that bf% even seem possible? I look at pics of guys on these forums with similar numbers and they look absolutely shredded. More opinions and advice would be appreciated.

Your body fat level seems possible. Loose skin is a side-effect of having so much extra fat for so many years. Sorry, but from what I've seen of transformations on TV, once a person is well into their 20s, it is too late for skin to shrink with your loss of fat. But, congrats on getting healthy.

I think you are saying your diet is 45% carbs and the 40% is protein, and that isn't too far from 40/40/20. Make sure the 20% is EFAs or essential fats like fish and flax oil. Your brain and other parts are made of fat. It even covers your nerves so think about that. Your bones store calcium, and your muscles store protein. Eat more calories including protein, gain more muscle. At least that's how it works if you train with weights. Meat and cottage cheese plus eggs and whey are really good sources of protein. Finally, for energizing your workouts, I would definitely use BCAAs. These are aminos that your muscles use directly for fuel, without changing or breaking it down first. Take some 15 minutes before hard workouts or cardio.

Dude, fill out those muscles, fill up your skin, and show us the progress.

[SkinnyTallGuy]

I didn't read your story at first and i just thought damn that ectomorphs gotta bulk. And then i read the other comments.... But anyways that skin can be filled in when you start bulking. And i suggest your start that routine pronto. Congrats on the weight loss.

[MyLossMyGain]

Thanks for the suggestion and nice words you guys, any others advice, suggestions, or similar stories would be appreciated. I kinda figured bulking would be the best plan now........I guess I've just got to stop paying so damn much attention to the scale since every time I gain it feels kind of weird having been so big for so long. Damn funny having my pics looked at and being called an ecto.........trust me, I could breathe pizza fumes and gain a pound. Once again, thanks to you all and rep for your opinions.

[uhockey]

First of all, Bump because I've seen quite a few people with similar loose skin situations and wondered whether "filling out" was possible. Otherwise, wow, congrats on the weightloss and sorry I can't offer too much other advice.

[Hoss from AM]

Great progress on the weightloss bro. Post up your current diet or PM me what it is, i'll write you up one that will but some lean mass on you real fast!

[MyLossMyGain]

Diet consists of approx 2750 calories per day with a 45/40/15 carb/pro/fat split and the following sources:

Protein:
Chicken Breast
Canned Tuna in Water
Fat Free Cottage Cheese
Skim Milk
Hood Low Carb Skim Milk
Preservative Free Sliced Deli Turkey
Shrimp on Occasion
ON 100% Whey
Egg Whites

Carbs:
Oatmeal
Light Whole Grain Bread
Kashi GoLean
Uncle Sams Cereal
Fiber One
Brocolli
Spinach
Lettuce
Red Onion

Fats:
Natural Peanut Butter
Whole Roasted Almonds
Whole Flax Seeds
Fish Oil Capsules
Avocado

[MyLossMyGain]

Any other ideas/suggestions from other users? Supplements that may be useful for my condition/bulk? Other advice?

[JohnLeitch]

HEy I think I know who you are! Chris Moss

[MyLossMyGain]

Nah man, don't know 'em. I'm from Ohio if that means anything to you.

[MyLossMyGain]

Anyhow, anyone got any good non-prohormone or steroid supplements for a lean bulk? Or any other suggestions for me?

[masswithclass20]

Lift, eat, sleep, repeat!

[brandon11130]

i had ur same problem i thought my lose skin would never go away but it did and it still is, but as long as its there work your abs and try to fill in some space. i had bad extra skin before and now i omost have a six pack.

[MyLossMyGain]

How much bulking did it take (in terms of lbs) before you saw it begin to disappear? Did you use any supps?

[muscl_savant]

i had ur same problem i thought my lose skin would never go away but it did and it still is, but as long as its there work your abs and try to fill in some space. i had bad extra skin before and now i omost have a six pack.

I saw an older dude like 28 yo that decided to get rid of some fat, and when he did his skin was really hanging. He got a tummy tuck (surgery) it was so bad. If you lost your loose skin, I am wondering how old you are, and how much weight you lost?

[brandon11130]

i didnt have quite as much as you but the best thing to do would just keep working abs i didnt bulk much and all i took was creotine(sp) and whey protein. i wouldint consider a tummy tuck it leavs a Huge scar. in my case it might of tightened up because i was still growing, you have probly stopped growing by now. just keep lifting and building muscle, most bodybuilders get strechmarks from getting bigger, so it will probly fill in with muscle if u keep to it like i did. Another thing i noticed is u have some strech marks i dont know if you have allready but maderma cream and vitimin e cream works well for them. u and i both know we are never be perfect but thats the price we pay for gettin fat in the first place.

[JohnLeitch]

I saw an older dude like 28 yo that decided to get rid of some fat, and when he did his skin was really hanging. He got a tummy tuck (surgery) it was so bad. If you lost your loose skin, I am wondering how old you are, and how much weight you lost?

you get that saggy skin from just like massvee weight loss I know a guy he lost like 100 pounds I call him rubber man kinda nasty lol if you do cardio and lift weights like normal it'll tighten up in time...hopefully lol jk

[Webster Weasel]

first off, this is my first post on bb.com ever, so hello everyone.
you do have a long way to go, but you have come a long way!
i too was at one point pretty hefty, and did similar things to what you did... too much cardio, thinking that eating less of the crap i ate was the way to go.
it seems you now know what you are doing. keep it up, as you are an inspiration!

[Webster Weasel]

i didnt have quite as much as you but the best thing to do would just keep working abs i didnt bulk much and all i took was creotine(sp) and whey protein. i wouldint consider a tummy tuck it leavs a Huge scar. in my case it might of tightened up because i was still growing, you have probly stopped growing by now. just keep lifting and building muscle, most bodybuilders get strechmarks from getting bigger, so it will probly fill in with muscle if u keep to it like i did. Another thing i noticed is u have some strech marks i dont know if you have allready but maderma cream and vitimin e cream works well for them. u and i both know we are never be perfect but thats the price we pay for gettin fat in the first place.

just cover yer whole body in tattoos. presto, no noticable stretch marks!

[epote]

damn:P we have very similar physiques, even the same crappy postures (no offence mate) i was 265+ and now 169-170 when i was 175 i had the same amount of loose skin, now its considerably less although not completely gonne.

As far as i have researched, there are two solutions, bulk like a madman, fill that damn skin with muscle, or cut like crazy go 5-6% bf it will have no option but to tighten.

Imho pay NO atention to your skin, drop to the desirable Bf% (9% is VERY good) then bulk, then cut again.

What is hard is going from a fat man dieting mindset to a bidybuilder bulking one. Im currently bulking and its EXTREMELY difficult for me to eat beyond 2500 kcals. Although i train very hard (200m sprint trainings, and lifting and martial arts) and its OBVIOUS i need like 3800 to bulk i just cant do it:P

it takes time and patience mate and a hell of a willpower

btw, when you eat *good* you dont really crave cheat meals any more

(ok that a lie:P)

[uhockey]

I personally find that to be a horribly ignorant statement. While NONE of us will ever be "perfect," I don't believe you can fault everyone for "gettin fat in the first place." Some of us, myself included, and likely others posting here, were raised by obese parents who didn't know the first thing about nutrition. At age 9,10,11,12...hell, all the way up to 17 or 18 no one told me about protein vs carbs vs fats, let alone HFCS, Trans fats, etc. How is a child to know McDonalds is bad for him/her? The advertisements make it look fun, cheerful, and they never show a 300+lb fat guy eating their product. It's always young happy people. My parents took me there, I ate it, I got fat. On top of that, look at cultural norms regarding "big healthy boys" and such......tough to blame a kid for sins of the father IMO.
To the Original poster I say stick with it, what you have accomplished is something to be very proud of......the same goes to all the others who lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off. While we may never be "perfect," striving to better oneself is never something to be ashamed of.

i didnt have quite as much as you but the best thing to do would just keep working abs i didnt bulk much and all i took was creotine(sp) and whey protein. i wouldint consider a tummy tuck it leavs a Huge scar. in my case it might of tightened up because i was still growing, you have probly stopped growing by now. just keep lifting and building muscle, most bodybuilders get strechmarks from getting bigger, so it will probly fill in with muscle if u keep to it like i did. Another thing i noticed is u have some strech marks i dont know if you have allready but maderma cream and vitimin e cream works well for them. u and i both know we are never be perfect but thats the price we pay for gettin fat in the first place.

[RussG]

It looks like you've come a very long way, and I'm sure you're much happier with your body now than before, and the more you bulk and put on muscle, the more and more you'll like the results. I've got a few questions for you.

How many months did you lose that weight in? Were you originally doing any weight training? How much cardio were you doing? How much water were you drinking? What was your calorie intake while losing fat, and what kind of foods were you eating? Sorry for all the questions! It's not everyday you can ask them to someone that's lost as much as you, though.

I think you've got a lot of people here that have gone through the same situation and can probably give some good advice. I'm trying to lose weight right now and hope to avoid too much loose skin (which I've already got and still need to lose a good deal of weight), though it seems that I'm going to be stuck with it. I'm 19, 20 in a month, so youth is leaving fast and I'm doing everything I can to prevent it. I've heard building up your obliques is what keeps the stomach firmer and closer to the body. I've got pretty weak obliques (didn't even work them out specifically until a month or so ago) and maybe that's the cause of saggy/loose skin in a lot of us. So definitely work on abs/obliques and get bigger, and your loose skin should fill out. Keep us update too!

[MyLossMyGain]

I would say that the vast majority of the weight loss came within the first year.....probably 75-85% of it at least. I didn't really keep track of weight, but I went from a size 44 waist to a 36 over the course of 12 months. Basically I just looked myself in the mirror one day, decided things had to change, and stopped eating junk food. Everything I bought was "low fat" or "light" and I started drinking diet soda and water more often.

As you can probably tell, this wasn't very smart or controlled. My guess now that I look back on it was that I was likely consuming 1500 calories a day spread out amongst 3 meals and a couple snacks. Being in college I guess I kind of did a little weight training, but that was basically just going to the gym, being stupid and trying to lift heavy without any real proper form or measure of progress.

In terms of cardio I rollerbladed, jogged, biked, and walked every single day for about an hour. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I learned a little bit about nutrition and lifting and began keeping track of my calories (less than 2000 a day still) and workout routine. It was then that I dropped the rest of the weight and got down to my lowest (and quite unhealthy) weight.

It looks like you've come a very long way, and I'm sure you're much happier with your body now than before, and the more you bulk and put on muscle, the more and more you'll like the results. I've got a few questions for you.

How many months did you lose that weight in? Were you originally doing any weight training? How much cardio were you doing? How much water were you drinking? What was your calorie intake while losing fat, and what kind of foods were you eating? Sorry for all the questions! It's not everyday you can ask them to someone that's lost as much as you, though.

I think you've got a lot of people here that have gone through the same situation and can probably give some good advice. I'm trying to lose weight right now and hope to avoid too much loose skin (which I've already got and still need to lose a good deal of weight), though it seems that I'm going to be stuck with it. I'm 19, 20 in a month, so youth is leaving fast and I'm doing everything I can to prevent it. I've heard building up your obliques is what keeps the stomach firmer and closer to the body. I've got pretty weak obliques (didn't even work them out specifically until a month or so ago) and maybe that's the cause of saggy/loose skin in a lot of us. So definitely work on abs/obliques and get bigger, and your loose skin should fill out. Keep us update too!