Weight Loss About Done-Now What?

[Guest FixingTheWrongs]

I want to thank skalenfehl for his advise in another post. I've tweaked his excercise routine a bit to better fit my schedule but it is really helping.

It has been both very tough and yet easy in some respects but I'm nearing 100 pounds lost. I'm currently at 92 pounds. I started at 310 pounds the first week of June and am going to finish that last 8.

I've met many goals along the way and had to modify them as I went. I started just wanting to loose 30 pounds in three months over the summer. I met it in a month and a half, Okay, try for another 30 the next month and a half I told myself. It took an extra week but I met it. Okay, how about fitting comfortably in 36 inch waist jeans(started at size 50!)? I've now done that.

I guess what I'm wondering is what is MY ideal weight? I'm 6'1" fairly big boned and lift weights now. I've put on some muscle and will likely continue to lift. At the same time I've seen and heard of toned and muscular men who are in the 180 pound range. Should I try loosing more weight still?

At the same time I want to do what is healthy for me not someone else. I'm lost as to where to go from here.

[Jennarator]

Congrats on all the hard work!!

I would try to google "Ideal weight" There are a number of website that offer idea weights. Look at a bunch and find the average. Also look at yourself, it's best to be at a weight you are comfortable with, and where you feel healthy. Don't let anyone else judge. :)

[Dravin]

You best bet is to speak with a professional. I imagine either a doctor or a nutritionist will be able to give you an idea of where you should be. The real goal is going to be body fat rather than pure weight but the latter is easier to measure.

Keep in mind, and I've lost 100lbs+ myself, is that no matter how much you work your muscles or how much weight you lose you won't necessarily show the definition you'd otherwise have. For instance baring cosmetic surgery I'm stuck with some excess belly skin that will forever prevent me from having a six-pack regardless of my general health and how hard I work my abs. Other areas you'll have better luck though, such as arms considering the growth potential of biceps versus abs to fill out any extra skin.

Edited November 15, 2011 by Dravin

[sister_in_faith]

Congratulations!!! That is awesome!!! Sorry, don't have any advice, I just think you are awesome for doing it! Keep up the good work!

[Guest FixingTheWrongs]

You best bet is to speak with a professional. I imagine either a doctor or a nutritionist will be able to give you an idea of where you should be. The real goal is going to be body fat rather than pure weight but the latter is easier to measure.

Keep in mind, and I've lost 100lbs+ myself, is that no matter how much you work your muscles or how much weight you lose you won't necessarily show the definition you'd otherwise have. For instance baring cosmetic surgery I'm stuck with some excess belly skin that will forever prevent me from having a six-pack regardless of my general health and how hard I work my abs. Other areas you'll have better luck though, such as arms considering the growth potential of biceps versus abs to fill out any extra skin.

That is great that you lost that much congradulations! I know the feeling about the extra skin, I'll never look good in just swim trunks.

[Guest]

WHOA! Congratulations! That's an awesome accomplishment!!! You can rest on your laurels for a while or try to improve on it.

So, what's next is maintenance. 210lbs for a 6'1" guy is good if it's bulk muscle. So, if you like, you can try doing a lot more toning. My husband is 6'2" and he stays between 190-195lbs, 32-33 pants size. He's not overly muscular - he is lean... Like, he's closer to Ryan Reynolds than John Cena, ya know? So, really, what you can go for now is just to tighten everything up. Don't worry about the weight much - it's all about how your clothes fit now. Muscle is heavier than fat, so even if you notice you're heavier, as long as the waist size is shrinking you're doing great!

I'm drooling... I've been trying to lose 40 lbs for the longest time and can't seem to do it.

[Guest]

You best bet is to speak with a professional. I imagine either a doctor or a nutritionist will be able to give you an idea of where you should be. The real goal is going to be body fat rather than pure weight but the latter is easier to measure.

Keep in mind, and I've lost 100lbs+ myself, is that no matter how much you work your muscles or how much weight you lose you won't necessarily show the definition you'd otherwise have. For instance baring cosmetic surgery I'm stuck with some excess belly skin that will forever prevent me from having a six-pack regardless of my general health and how hard I work my abs. Other areas you'll have better luck though, such as arms considering the growth potential of biceps versus abs to fill out any extra skin.

Dravin, this is actually not quite accurate. My friend was 5'7", 280 lbs. He almost died of congestive heart failure so he went on a mission to turn his health around. 3 years later, he is 165 lbs. ripped. He quit his Wall Street job, moved to the Philippines and became a sports writer for Gold's Gym. This is him now:

There's a tight well-defined 6-pack underneath that shirt.

So, this is what he told me about how he got rid of the "extra skin". Extra skin is basically fat deposits rolled up under the skin that prevents it from "shrinking". Skin stretches and contracts and it always contracts to accomodate the new physique. But, rapid weight loss doesn't give the skin enough time to adjust to the change that's why it hangs. After time, it will shrink according to the new physique but a lot of times, fat deposits remain under the folds of the skin that prevents it from shrinking all the way. So, to get rid of it, interestingly, requires more fat-burning exercises and not target exercises (over-all fat burning stuff like cardio and things instead of muscle building targetting to the abnominal area). Building abs muscle is just going to push out the fat because the body will take the energy out of the "general fat pool" instead of those target areas. So, if you tone everything down - get your body fat percentage to super duper low (I know, impossible for most of us), it will eventually start using up all those fat deposits to power your body.

Edited November 15, 2011 by anatess

[pam]

Much of it depends on age as well. Age is the biggest factor in elasticity of skin. Another factor is how long you've been carrying the excess weight. As Lance Armstrong explains on his website:

Consider a rubber band that has been pulled and stretched for several years. If you stop stretching the rubber band several years later, it's unlikely to return to its previous shape.

[Guest]

Much of it depends on age as well. Age is the biggest factor in elasticity of skin. Another factor is how long you've been carrying the excess weight. As Lance Armstrong explains on his website:

Consider a rubber band that has been pulled and stretched for several years. If you stop stretching the rubber band several years later, it's unlikely to return to its previous shape.

True about the age.

My friend pictured above was 38 years old when he started his healthy lifestyle mission. He's been a heavy guy since we were in high school.

I don't agree with Lance Armstrong (maybe I just don't understand the context the quote was given). Skin is very different from a rubber band. A rubber band has a finite amount of molecules with elastic properties. Skin grows and expands, contracts and shrinks by cells dying and being replaced by new ones.

Edited November 15, 2011 by anatess

[pam]

It's only an analogy.

[Guest]

It's only an analogy.

But the analogy doesn't work. Because skin will shrink even if you have been fat all your life.

[pam]

But if you have been overweight all your life and your are older, the elasticity is not the same as when you were in your 20's. I think that's what he meant by the analogy.

Yes some of the skin will shrink..but if you are in your 50's or 60's if probably won't shrink to the extent it would in your 20's or 30's.