Before, after and a big question! 250-180

redraptor

redraptor

New member
Hey guys! Im brand new here, so sorry if this is in the wrong place. But anyway, around 1 year ago I decided to drop some pounds off of myself after years of being pretty overweight. I was a 19 year old 250 pound white dude, and now im 20 and about 70 pounds lighter (around 182), went from and XL sized shirt to a Medium, and 42 sized pants to 32. Needless to say, im stoked to have lost all this weight but I still feel as though im fat and very unattractive (doesnt help that im INCREDIBLY self concious) but I believe what I have left over is just some flab.

My chest is pretty flat but my belly seems to stick over a bit more than I would like. And honestly, the only thing I would like is a flat belly and to be comfortable taking my shirt off at the beach or pool or whatever. (Im a HUGE beach dude, I love surfing, skimming and just the ocean) So Can you guys lemme know if this is REALLY flab or just some extra pounds I need to shake off, and a great way to take care of it! I have tryed sit-ups, curls, some weight lifting, running ect. and nothing really seems to help. and I REALLY want to avoid surgery. Thanks a bunch and cant wait till I hear the replys!

Oh and im about 6 foot 4 inches.

About January '08 (250ish)
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August '08 (245ish)
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November '08(232ish)
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January '09 (215ish)
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(I look like a giant! Ha)


March '09(210ish)

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April(200)

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Now
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I have no other recent pictures without a guitar in front of me unfortunatly!! :D
 
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You look fantastic to me. Doesn't look like you've got anything left to lose. I think you're absolutely gorgeous actually. ;) good work!

If you've got a bit of loose skin or feel like you're lacking tone, just give it some time and continue with cardio, ab work and weights.. you've lost a lot of weight and it will all eventually spring into place if it hasn't already. Improvements are gradual and because you see yourself every day, it can be hard to notice. Take some pics every few weeks and in a few months you'll be able to look back and see the results of your hard work. :)

The hardest thing to overcome is the issue of self image. To me you look fantastic and I would never have guessed you previously had a problem with weight. Getting that perspective and learning to love yourself will be a lifelong journey, though. Good luck man.
 
6'4" and 170 seems to be a reasonable weight. W/out seeing you w/out a shirt, I can't say for sure, but I suspect that what you've got is a little loose skin leftover from being overweight.

The nice thing about being 20 is that if you give it time and keep in shape, it'll probably go away - at least mostly. I know people who have taken a year or more for all of their loose skin to reshape itself, so don't be disappointed if it doesn't happen immediately.

Continuing to work out will help too - building muscle and giving some definition to your body will help "fill out" some areas. :)

You look great, btw. Congrats on the weight loss.
 
Thank you all for the kind words. Im starting to gain a lot of my confidence back from where it was, but it is a bit difficult being rideculed and put down time and time again in high school. But anywho, I ended up taking a photo of myself with my shirt off so I can throw it on here. Ha ha im amazing I actually did this, I mean I dont EVER take my shirt off, not even around friends, family and I even feel self concious around the house, and its just my father and I there!! Anyway, maybe you guys can give me a "once over" and see what the best solution would be. Thank you again so much for tha advice continuing encouragement

Dont mind the crazy hair, that was a quick out of the shower shot...
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See this is what Im aiming for here...(THIS IS NOT ME!! If it wasnt obvious!)
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I also updated the original post with some between photos. Wow they are big!! Sorry bout that!
 
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I don't see too much of a problem anywhere. Try running and doing some crunches? Maybe side crunches. You probably want to tighten up your abdominal region. I don't think it will disappear overnight. Ridiculed in high school? Who makes fun of the 6'4 guys? My growth spurt happened to coincide with my growth spurt in high school. Stroke of luck I guess. Good luck on the last pounds.
 
Damn all you need to do now is some weight training and put on some muscle... also what's your eating habits and exercise program?
 
You are very attractive - you should feel good about yourself. Try not be too self-conscious - that is far less attractive to most people than lacking a six-pack. And like a previous commentor suggested, I would start to focus on weight training rather than cardio and try to build some muscle.
 
What a change! You look great and that's an inspiring transformation you've made.

As hybrid suggested, get hitting the weights harder to build up some lean mass. It will help fill you out a bit more and burn that last little bit of fat off your body. Running isn't going to do a damn thing for you and neither are crunches.

Abs are made in the kitchen and if you want to start seeing some abdominal definition - you're going to have to become more structured in your nutrition plan.
 
You look fantastic, awesome job! Like everyone has said.. weights to tone the abs!

You have done an amazing thing losing all that weight, you should be very proud of yourself and in terms of confidence.. seriously, if you can lose all that weight.. you can do anything, you should feel on top of the world now! :D
 
Doomedtotheday said:
I don't see too much of a problem anywhere. Try running and doing some crunches? Maybe side crunches. You probably want to tighten up your abdominal region. I don't think it will disappear overnight. Ridiculed in high school? Who makes fun of the 6'4 guys? My growth spurt happened to coincide with my growth spurt in high school. Stroke of luck I guess. Good luck on the last pounds.
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Ha ha yeah i need to figure out something. I was actually around 5'11" in highschool and like I said 250 pounds. Plus im more of the "sensitive" guy. I was never the tough guy or anything like that. Just the guy who trys to be a good person :D
The Hybrid said:
Damn all you need to do now is some weight training and put on some muscle... also what's your eating habits and exercise program?
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Its not really a program...more like just a change. I started just eating salads and running and doing crunches and other things like that. It was really quite surprising because it didn't feel like a complete change. Believe me, im a completely different person than I was, physically, emotionaly and spiritually. But the overall "lifestyle change"(if you wanna call it that ha ha) wasnt too bad, just started eating some healthier stuff, kept rough estimations of calories and did some daily work outs for 20 minutes or more.

beesknees said:
You are very attractive - you should feel good about yourself. Try not be too self-conscious - that is far less attractive to most people than lacking a six-pack. And like a previous commentor suggested, I would start to focus on weight training rather than cardio and try to build some muscle.
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Yeah I realize that, and unfortunatly thats easier said than done. I KNOW im not that bad looking, and I KNOW that I could prolly attract a girl or two, but for some reason my head just keeps thinking they are judging me solely on my physical appearance.

core_elements said:
What a change! You look great and that's an inspiring transformation you've made.

As hybrid suggested, get hitting the weights harder to build up some lean mass. It will help fill you out a bit more and burn that last little bit of fat off your body. Running isn't going to do a damn thing for you and neither are crunches.

Abs are made in the kitchen and if you want to start seeing some abdominal definition - you're going to have to become more structured in your nutrition plan.
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Yes and I need to do that. Ive been pretty lazy the last couple months about my eating habit because of this damn job just being a pain in the ass and literally no time to actually "structure" something.
ABBAgirl said:
Wow! Lookin' good, hottie! Enjoy your new physique and your healthy new life!

ABBA
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Ha ha thank you very much, Im trying :D

permiepaws said:
You look great ;)
Well done x
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Thank you much!

Kori said:
You look fantastic, awesome job! Like everyone has said.. weights to tone the abs!

You have done an amazing thing losing all that weight, you should be very proud of yourself and in terms of confidence.. seriously, if you can lose all that weight.. you can do anything, you should feel on top of the world now! :D
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I do feel GREAT about what I have done, but I still feel like I need to do a ton more before I can truly feel happy and content. Unfortunatly, even if I get skinny as a rail, that still wont happen. But I must look on the bright side and realize that I need to stop worrying so much about my physical appearance (I spend like 30 minutes doing my hair...yeah im like a girl!:biggrinjester: ) and realize that I need to be truly happy with myself no matter how I look. Looks never last, a great personality, smart head and caring nature last forever. Ok its late and im starting to get poetic here :rolleyes:

Anywho, right now I have a set of 2 hand weights with about 20 pounds each. They are great and I do around 75-100 reps on each arm once a night if I can. I want to do more, but im really not sure where to start with the weight training. Im pretty broke, so anything like a bowflex or whatever is out of the question. And gym memberships are impossible in my current situation. Thanks again for making me feel even better about my looks and HOPEFULLY that will help me in my confidence issues :D
 
Anywho, right now I have a set of 2 hand weights with about 20 pounds each. They are great and I do around 75-100 reps on each arm once a night if I can. I want to do more, but im really not sure where to start with the weight training.
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There are GREAT stickies in the exercise area about how to get stared with weight training.

I will say that 100 reps of anything is useless. Ok, not totally useless, but when you do that many reps, you're not doing a weight workout, you're just doing more cardio and building endurance.

You'd be better off doing pushups, dips, and chinups with your bodyweight than doing 100 curls. :)

Seriously - read the stickies. You don't need a bowflex or thousands of $$ worth of gym equipment. With your 2 20lb weights, you can do lunges, dumbell squats, military presses, rows, modified skull crushers, etc. ... then add in the regular bodyweight stuff like I described above - pushups, dips, pullups/chinups, etc. and you'll be looking great in no time.
 
Congrats on the loss! :D also, NICE SG guitar. :) Although, I personally would have stuck with the strat...so deliciously bluesy! LOL

But seriously, Nice Job!
 
Jorge said:
hey thats close to my goal & i starter 255 am at 200 now woooooooooooooo
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Awesome keep working. It feels great when you are there.

Fish_Paste said:
Congrats on the loss! :D also, NICE SG guitar. :) Although, I personally would have stuck with the strat...so deliciously bluesy! LOL

But seriously, Nice Job!
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Ha ha thank you. The Strat was actually a really cheap (100 bucks) Squire Bullet Strat. It was my first guitar. It was an awesome guitar, but I'd rather take the Gibson Ha ha. I just dropped 1300 bones on her and I ALREADY looking at other guitars. A Taylor 214CE acoustic than a white Fender Jazzmaster :D

KaraCooks said:
There are GREAT stickies in the exercise area about how to get stared with weight training.

I will say that 100 reps of anything is useless. Ok, not totally useless, but when you do that many reps, you're not doing a weight workout, you're just doing more cardio and building endurance.

You'd be better off doing pushups, dips, and chinups with your bodyweight than doing 100 curls. :)

Seriously - read the stickies. You don't need a bowflex or thousands of $$ worth of gym equipment. With your 2 20lb weights, you can do lunges, dumbell squats, military presses, rows, modified skull crushers, etc. ... then add in the regular bodyweight stuff like I described above - pushups, dips, pullups/chinups, etc. and you'll be looking great in no time.
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Oh thats great!!! I need something different to do too! Ha ha Ill make sure to check them out. Thank you very much again!
 
You are really atractive!!!! : -)) you MUST try and change the way you think about yourself cause it DOES reflect on others!
As for your weight loss CONGRADSSS!!!!!!just check out the 1st pic and the last!!!And feel very proud of yourself!
I think with some weight training you will get even more into shape cause my opinion is you dont need any more weight loss!
 
hey redraptor great job on loosing so much weight. i dont think its loose skin i think it is just a little bit of belly fat

core_elements said:
What a change! You look great and that's an inspiring transformation you've made.

As hybrid suggested, get hitting the weights harder to build up some lean mass. It will help fill you out a bit more and burn that last little bit of fat off your body. Running isn't going to do a damn thing for you and neither are crunches.

Abs are made in the kitchen and if you want to start seeing some abdominal definition - you're going to have to become more structured in your nutrition plan.
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i would never stop doing cardio nor would i stop with situps you need to tone your stomach.
weight work will only effect things like pecs and biceps it wont address the main issue your stomach so my advise to you is keep eating well add more cardio and keep up the good work
 
dramuckus said:
hey redraptor great job on loosing so much weight. i dont think its loose skin i think it is just a little bit of belly fat



i would never stop doing cardio nor would i stop with situps you need to tone your stomach.
weight work will only effect things like pecs and biceps it wont address the main issue your stomach so my advise to you is keep eating well add more cardio and keep up the good work
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completely and utterly false. you can't spot reduce. so doing situps will do absolutely nothing towards making your abs more toned. weight work can very well address things like your stomach due to the insane caloric burn you get from doing the big resistance exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, etc.

that being said, great job to the OP. Add in some resistance training to reshape yourself a bit now and you're golden. :D
 
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