Hi, first post here but Ive been skimming the forums. Havent really found what Im looking for though, so decided to post.

Last June (of 08) I decided I was tired of being overweight and went and got a nutritionist. At that time i was 23% body fat (about 199lbs, 5' 8"). Over the course of several months I dropped my body fat gradually down to 14%, then 11% and then all the way to 8% (ended up at 8% sometime in November). I'm currently ~164lbs and still hovering around 8% BF (these measurements are taken with both a scale and a pinch by my nutritionist, and they are usually both the same).
From what I have read, 8% should be low enough to see some serious ab definition. I have definition, but nothing like what I thought I would, and nothing that compares to the various pictures Ive been seeing. I have read that it will take time for my skin to tighten up, but I wonder exactly how much it will tighten? I carried extra weight through most of my adult life, Id say from when I was about 13/14 all the way up til June. Ive always played sports (hockey since I was 7, and generally another sport from each season on top of that), but always had a bit more fat than I should have. Im now 24, not playing sports, but working out 3-6 days week. I am back to a "sustaining" diet of roughly 2300 calories/day, and Im very strict with it.

What I am asking is what are the odds my skin may never tighten up completely? And... am I just being impatient at this point?

Thanks for any input. The only threads I can seem to find regarding weight loss and "loose skin" come from people that were extremely heavy and/or people that have lost weight entirely too fast. My situation doesnt seem to be discussed much.

Well first off cogratulations the weigh loss.

Your`re only 24 ...thats in your favour.



Please post up your routine.

You will get more informative replies

At 5ft8 weighing 64kg and 8%bf(if you have any muscle you should look half decent)

Or maybe try the photo gallery.

Good luck and welcome to the forum

My muscle build, according to my nutritionist, is ~20lbs more than average for my height (LBM is ~150lbs). Personally I feel I have an way above average lower body, and an average to slightly above average upper body, strength-wise. I feel this is mostly due to me having a torn labrum at 15 and didnt have the corrective surgery until I was 21, so my upper body has suffered (painfully i might add).

My routine has changed a number of times, but I'll post what I used for most of the weight loss (also had a month of ~3,000 calories for weight (muscle) gain--im fickle what can i say).
My job requires me to walk in order to do it, and thus I put in about an 8 hour day walking on average 8-10 miles per day, 5 days a week Mon-Fri. My gym days are Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat, Sun.


5 day weight training (most consist of 3 sets of declining reps and increasing weight 12-10-8-6 rep range):
Legs:
Squats, Leg Press, Calf Press, Lunges, Leg Curl, Leg Extension, Single leg squats

Back: 10 pullups, T-bar row, dumbbell lawnmower pull, back raises, 10 pull ups, pull down, seated row, straight arm pull down, 10 pullups, overhead shrugs (for scapular winging problem)

Arms: Standing Bicep curl, dumbbell hammer curl, preacher curls, chinups, forearm curls, tricep extention (machine), tricep cable extension, dips

Chest:
Dumbbell flat press, dumbbell incline press ,dumbbell decline press (or switch out for dips), dumbbell fly, pushups, pushup plus (for scapular problem)

shoulders:
dumbbell overhead press, dumbbell front raise, dumbbell side raise, cuban press, shrugs

Cardio/HIIT consisted of erging (rowing machine), biking, and treadmill. Varied times, intensities. For a while I was doing 30 minutes of HIIT 5x week, with weigth training sessions on Sat and Sun afternoons (after HIIT in the morning).


Currently I am cutting back on expenses and therefore canceling my gym membership. Am building an at home routine. So far I have pushups, pullups, chinups, single leg squats, planks, and leg raises (from chinup bar w/out "ab straps").

Nutrition wise I am eating almost entirely whole grains, fruits, lots of veggies, good amount of protein, 4 servings milk, and a protein shake (ON Pro Complex). Its the standard "healthy" diet any dietician would prescribe.

I'm sure this is hard to follow, but I think I got everything in there.

No buddy it`s not hard to follow at all. You seem to have every exercise covered in the "manual".

your problem is that you find it hard to lose excess skin ...right???


I believe without doubt that at your age it will tighten up (after all you were not obese).

So you have the workout downt to a T.

Have you tried reading the stickies on nutrition??? if not give it ago

If it makes you feel any better, I am 39, lost a bunch of weight over the summer, and mine is going away. Slowly, but surely, it is going. You, being much younger than me, should have no problem. It just takes time. I'm going on 4 months at my current weight, and it is slooowwlly going away.

No, 10 pounds would not make enough difference to leave you with loose skin. Keep in mind that you will lose that 10 lbs throughout your entire body, not just one area (like the arms, a common "loose skin" area).

Marko, yes I have browsed the nutrition stickies. Will keep at it. I am emailing with my nutritionist daily about tweaking my diet. Going to change things, lower my carb intake a bit.

batstiva, thanks it does help. I have noticed even with a fair amount of cheating on my diet these past weeks (eating anywhere from 200-300 calories above maintenance on and off) Im still looking slimmer and more defined more and more each day.

Outlawz, I am not sure where you are getting a figure of 10lbs weight loss from. I posted that I started at ~199 and am currently ~164. Thats over 30 lbs. I do not have hanging folds of skin or anything, I have a fairly defined ab region, I am just wondering if it just isnt as tight as it should be, ie "loose".

After I settle into my "new" diet and make sure its working properly for me Im going to hop on a pretty drastic diet ("Get Shredded Diet") and push down to 5-6% body fat range. By 5% body fat it will be 100% obvious whether or not I have any "loose" skin.