I have some loose skin in the abdomen, especially in the lower part. I am wanting to tighten that up a bit. I seem to be flabbier (sp) than people with my bodyfat. Even when I am lower bodyfat, which I have been, I seem to be lagging in thightness in the abs. I am wondering if I drop to a really low bodyfat and stay there for a few months (5%), will it tighten up? Is there any supplements, nutrition, creams, lotions, etc. that can help? Is cosmetic surgery the only option?
Here is my background: I am 27. When I was 23 I was a shot putter and much larger. I weighed 315 and was probably about 35%bf. Within about a year after that I was at 220, but I am sure I lost muscle cause I lost a fair amount of strength. I have recently been lifting hard and gained my muscle back and then some. I am currently 241 at 16 % (caliper tested). I am going to spend a couple more months concentrating on muscle size and strength, then I am going to start cutting. Ideally, with my build (6’2.5" large frame) I would like to be about 220 at 5%, which is attainable due to my genetics, work ethic, knowledge, and lifestyle (trainer). Basically, I am wondering if I hit this ideal bodyweight and body comp, can I count on my skin gradually getting tighter over time or am I stuck with loose skin. Any info, references, ideas are appreciated. Thanks.
Sorry for the bad news but it will only tighten so far short of surgery. It is just something that we get from our FFB past.
Use it as a reminder to NEVER be ther again I guess. If you have the means and it bother you that much go for the surgery. Another great optio0n is to Build up as much LBM as possible and it will pull your skin a bit tighter.
Good luck, this probably didnt help but there are plenty of us out there with the same prob.
i dunno, if you can really get down to 5% bf, i think the skin will just naturally retract;;and even if it doesn’t, you’ll probably still look good (i mean its 5%bf , thats lean!) … women have babies and the skin goes back fine (then again, the skin only stretches out for a few months in that case)
[quote]hiroprotagonist wrote:
i dunno, if you can really get down to 5% bf, i think the skin will just naturally retract;;and even if it doesn’t, you’ll probably still look good (i mean its 5%bf , thats lean!) … women have babies and the skin goes back fine (then again, the skin only stretches out for a few months in that case)[/quote]
Actually, there is a big difference between a mature female child-bearing and a young over-weight male. If the female is beyond puberty/growth stage her skin won’t grow much more but will stretch during pregnancy, albeit stretch mark scars, but usually it will retract to near pre-pregnancy tightness. In the case of the shot-putter is that he gained excess fat weight during puberty/growth stage and therefore the skin actually grew, rather than just stretching, all though some stretching was likely done as well. Therefore, his skin will not retract at a low BF - I tried that myself (forming thrower as well) by getting down to near 8%.
As was correctly posted, surgery is one of the only true options. But, make sure you understand the procedure of an abdominoplasty. They usually remove fat/tighten the abdomen wall, lypo, and remove/tighten skin. If you got your BF down to below 10 or so, you would probably specify that you just wanted the skin removed with no lypo nor ab work.
There is also body building cream called Thiamocase (SP?) that might firm you up a bit, but not if you lost 1/3 of your body weight.