a few questions

wildbeanerz · 06-09-2011, 10:25 AM

I have a few questions...

Do you ever get past the point of looking in the mirror and seeing what you have yet to do instead of seeing what you have accomplished? It is so hard some days to know that I have lost almost 35 lbs and most people don't even realize it (or acknowledge it if they do). I am still a fat person. I still look in the mirror and it's hard to pick out improvements some days. Others I am all about how I am beginning to have a jawline and I have collar bones and my fingers reach around my wrist now. But days like today I just see my double chin and two rolls of belly.

It also makes it very hard to pick out what to wear for work on the days you feel so fat too.

Are there any exercises that will help with the belly weight loss? My legs, arms & shoulders are actually coming along nicely when I can give myself that credit. And I have to admit the belly is going away too. But I was just wondering if there is a way to speed up the belly loss? My son, who is 14 and very fit, told me to do crunches so I have been doing them (50/day for now) and I do feel stronger muscles in my stomach but am not sure if they are helping the fat to go away too or just strengthening what I already have.

I watched this week's extreme makeover weight loss and am now even more scared about the amount of skin that I will have left when I am done losing. Is there anything that can be done to tighten the skin as we go along? I do know that I am in no way ever going to lose 200lbs in a year as he did. And I do think that losing over a period of time allows the body to adjust along the way but also think that there is only so much adjusting the body can do. If I get to the healthy range for my height I will have lost around 155-160lbs. Now at 35lbs my breasts have already become fairly deflated and while my belly is getting smaller it also seems looser. So when is it that you decide that you are actually going to need surgery to take away what is left over and that you need a boob job because your nipples are to your belly button? LOL

Sorry for all the questions in one post but I know you guys will offer advice whenever you can. Thanks!

Kathy13118 · 06-09-2011, 04:40 PM

I can only offer my solution which is not to look in the mirror. I too have lost 30 pounds (Weight Watchers, with several bouts of 'falling off the wagon' and doing Atkins, and gaining weight). It's taken a long time to get back on track. No one EVER notices that I've lost 30 pounds. Actually, I didn't even realize it myself until WW online website gave me a report that went back 4 years!

That's one thing: it took 4 years for me. So, had I lost 30 pound in, say, 4 months, yeah, people probably would have noticed! But it's been gradual - and that's a good thing in its own way. I learned a lot along the way. I'm also hanging on to that weight loss with a new appreciation!

Just keep doing what you are doing and watching the scale. You will get there. One thing I learned in WW is that all weight loss is maintenance. After the first pound lost, you just want to keep that first pound off. And then the next pound. One pound at a time, and the struggle is not to 'backtrack.'

When you get to your goal, a lot of that fat you are noticing will be gone. There's no tightening up unless it's with exercise (Pilates is great for trunk and belly, and everything, really...).

wildbeanerz · 06-09-2011, 04:59 PM

Thanks Kathy. In my house it is pretty near impossible not to look in a mirror. We have full length mirrors that are about 12" wide (10-12 of them) down the whole wall in the kitchen eating area, a huge mirror above my fish tank, mirrored medicine cabinets in all three bathrooms and the best to see yourself nude in...the full lenth double sliding door closet in my bedroom. I love the mirrors and don't mind seeing myself in them. I guess just sometimes like this morning you wonder what other people see when they look at you. Do they see the person who is losing weight? Or do they see the person who is still fat? LOL....guess we'll never know.

I do exercise and plan to continue to do so. I know things don't tighten just because you lost weight. It is definitely hard work. I mostly wondered if anyone knew of any specific exercise to target the belly. that is where most of my fat lays.

Oh and just because this is in the women's discussion area....don't hesitate to answer guys. I just didn't know where else to put it.

RENOAK · 06-10-2011, 06:32 PM

Those shows, although inspiring, are scary with all the loose skin! I am surprised they even did the surgery before they were even done with their weight loss as I have heard most doctors want you to wait a good while afterwards to see how the body will adjust. I would try not to worry about it just yet!

For your exercise, do you weight train or cardio or both? If you are not already weight training, it would be good to start.

As for the belly fat, well, unfortunately there is no targeting it. You can do crunches and strengthen your abdominal muscles (and they’ll look great when the fat is gone) but the crunches are not doing anything for the fat over the abs. Diet and cardio is the best advice I can give (mostly diet). For some people, that is the last fat to go!

You have done great with your 35 lbs- that is awesome! Keep going and the belly fat will go away eventually.

Oh, and as to what other people see, I have come to realize we are our worst critics and see ourselves in a much worse light than others see us (except for a few egomaniacs!).