Question

[checkitout]

Hi everybody,

I have a quick question about loose skin/sub fat and anything along those lines. This is sorta a quick summary to give you background of the current situation I'm in. Sorry for the long read but it may be relevant in the end.

Thanks.


Background

Before I entered Highschool i was weighing at around 165-170 lbs. As an outgoing athletic person i joined the football team my freshman year. During the span of my 4 year high school career i gained 50 pounds (weighing out around 210-215 lbs). Most of this weight was gained within the first 2 years of high school due to constant weight lifting and football related activities. Basically i just became 1.5x bigger version of myself. I didn't have a gut or anything, i just became a bigger proportioned "me."

However, after high school and football ended I started college and basically stopped doing any sort of exercise (every now and then i would go out to run but never weight lifting). During my 2nd year of college I begin running a lot and was able to drop down to around 190lbs. After i reached 190, I stopped running and working out, for no particular reasaon. However, this past year from virtually doing nothing and actually eating quite unhealthy i dropped down to 165 lbs (4th year of college).

Question

Now, 22 years of age, I have white stretch marks over my stomach (I'm thinking i got these during massive bulking during football) and my underarms seem to jiggle a lot when unflexed. Also if i bend over or lay on my side, my stomach "skin/fat" tends to slop or hang.

I'm assuming I still have a bunch of fat to lose because I just sorta stopped working out and all that muscle from football had to go somewhere. But the concern is that i'm 72" tall weighing in at 165 lbs and i don't know if anymore weight loss would be healthy for me.

1) Is my assumption right that most of the jiggle is just fat from not working out?
2) Do having stretch marks basically mean it's basically impossible to tigthen skin without surgery?
3) Any suggestion on what I should do to get "tight" again?

 

[KaraCooks]

1) Is my assumption right that most of the jiggle is just fat from not working out?

Probably. Loose skin has a much different appearance and texture than fat and flab.

2) Do having stretch marks basically mean it's basically impossible to tigthen skin without surgery?

Nope. Lots of people get stretch marks and their skin tightens right back up. Think of pregnant women - many of them wind up with stretch marks but they still are able to return to a pre-baby weight. Stretch marks just mean that your skin has stretched too fast for it's growth and there's some damage. Stretch marks won't ever go away completely, but they will fade over time. Applying vitamin E oil can help them fade faster.

3) Any suggestion on what I should do to get "tight" again?

There are 3 things: One is working out, especially weight lifting to build the muscle under the skin. Two is losing the excess fat through a proper healthy diet and exercise. Three is NUTRITION. And I daresay that #3 is as important as the first 2 combined: Your skin needs to be properly nourished in order to tighten up. You need to make sure that the food you're eating is healthy - healthy fats, lots of water, proteins, and so forth. Skin is an organ just like every other organ in your body and will react much better if you nourish it.