Abs of steel-cut oatmeal
October 28, 2015 7:10 AM Subscribe
I lost the weight I needed to lose. I was not obese, and though I was definitely overweight according to my own small frame (and my doctor) I was just at the top end of the standard BMI "normal" category. So this is not losing 100 pounds. But literally in one day, my entire abdomen dropped into a complete mass of wrinkled hanging flesh.
I recently lost about 35 pounds, 10 of it really gradually over the spring, 25 of it at a decent pace from June and continuing until now (anywhere from 1-3 pounds a week). I had gained most of the weight over a 5 year period of bad stress-related habits. To lose it, I began eating the mostly plant-based diet of "Eat to Live" plan and feel great on it. Not a lot of protein. This is a way of eating I wanted to live with long term, not just a diet.
I'm now at a good weight, on the slimmer side but certainly not too skinny (and wanted to lose 3 more, which would still keep me inside healthy BMI). But last week, one day my tummy was normal (if still a small bit poochy, it looked good when I sucked it in) and the next day it had just ... fallen down. Below the belly button is the worst -- a small pouch of fat that looks like an elephant ear. Above the navel it is bad as well, it just looks like wrinkly skin. If I suck in my stomach the entire abdomen is a shocking mass of wrinkles. If I let it pooch out, it's still wrinkly around the navel and just looks like it's fallen.
If I pull the upper abdomen even a very tiny bit upwards, or even just stand with the slight tension of my hands on my waist, the whole thing above the belly button looks normal again. It makes me think the muscles in the upper abdomen atrophied or dropped through weight loss. Not that I was so obese that I have the typical hanging folds of skin from that condition, more than somehow the muscle tone just vanished entirely in one day.
I am 55 years old. I know age has everything to do with this, but I'm not ready for the body of a 90 year old (which is what this looks like.) I don't want a chiseled 6 pack I just want to hold in my gut without it looking like a sharpei. People in your 20s please believe me absolutely none of my friends of my own age looks like this.
My question:
1. Has this happened to you or someone you know after a moderate weight loss (not from obesity's extra skin)
2. At my age can exercising my abs make this tighten up?
3. *What are the best exercises to tighten the upper abs especially, exercises that might put muscle under this skin to smooth it out?"
4. Are there any weight bearing exercises I should do?
Presently I just walk and jog, it will not make this go away.
Note: I am NOT considering getting a tummy tuck. I looked into it. It's too expensive and is major surgery which I have risk factors for complication and will not have major surgery for cosmetic reasons.
Please give me some hope that i don't have to live with this abdomen as severely wrinkled and hanging as this... at least not yet.
I recently lost about 35 pounds, 10 of it really gradually over the spring, 25 of it at a decent pace from June and continuing until now (anywhere from 1-3 pounds a week). I had gained most of the weight over a 5 year period of bad stress-related habits. To lose it, I began eating the mostly plant-based diet of "Eat to Live" plan and feel great on it. Not a lot of protein. This is a way of eating I wanted to live with long term, not just a diet.
I'm now at a good weight, on the slimmer side but certainly not too skinny (and wanted to lose 3 more, which would still keep me inside healthy BMI). But last week, one day my tummy was normal (if still a small bit poochy, it looked good when I sucked it in) and the next day it had just ... fallen down. Below the belly button is the worst -- a small pouch of fat that looks like an elephant ear. Above the navel it is bad as well, it just looks like wrinkly skin. If I suck in my stomach the entire abdomen is a shocking mass of wrinkles. If I let it pooch out, it's still wrinkly around the navel and just looks like it's fallen.
If I pull the upper abdomen even a very tiny bit upwards, or even just stand with the slight tension of my hands on my waist, the whole thing above the belly button looks normal again. It makes me think the muscles in the upper abdomen atrophied or dropped through weight loss. Not that I was so obese that I have the typical hanging folds of skin from that condition, more than somehow the muscle tone just vanished entirely in one day.
I am 55 years old. I know age has everything to do with this, but I'm not ready for the body of a 90 year old (which is what this looks like.) I don't want a chiseled 6 pack I just want to hold in my gut without it looking like a sharpei. People in your 20s please believe me absolutely none of my friends of my own age looks like this.
My question:
1. Has this happened to you or someone you know after a moderate weight loss (not from obesity's extra skin)
2. At my age can exercising my abs make this tighten up?
3. *What are the best exercises to tighten the upper abs especially, exercises that might put muscle under this skin to smooth it out?"
4. Are there any weight bearing exercises I should do?
Presently I just walk and jog, it will not make this go away.
Note: I am NOT considering getting a tummy tuck. I looked into it. It's too expensive and is major surgery which I have risk factors for complication and will not have major surgery for cosmetic reasons.
Please give me some hope that i don't have to live with this abdomen as severely wrinkled and hanging as this... at least not yet.
I agree with lots of hydration, lotion, and giving your skin some time to "catch up." I am also a huge fan of Pilates for core work/stability. You might try Robin Long - her website is the Balanced Life and she has tons of free YouTube videos as well as longer videos available through a subscription plan. (Full disclosure - I have no personal connection to Robin, but do subscribe to her longer videos -- and love them!) Several of her videos (both the shorter and longer ones) are specifically focused on abs, and the nice thing about Pilates is that there's a focus on core work regardless of which body part is being worked the most (i.e. even in a leg exercise, you need core strength to do it properly).
posted by rainbowbrite at 7:52 AM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by rainbowbrite at 7:52 AM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]
Pilates, yes, plus I would also see your doctor in case this is some weird presentation of an umbilical hernia or similar because "literally in a day" seems very unusual.
posted by DarlingBri at 8:37 AM on October 28, 2015 [13 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 8:37 AM on October 28, 2015 [13 favorites]
It's weird that it happened in one day (maybe you just noticed it then?), but no, it's not unusual in a mature person, even with just a 35-lb loss. It is likely a combination of loose skin and fat. An annoying tradeoff, unfortunately.
Skin might retract some, once you've stabilized at your target weight for about a year; further improvements are unlikely. Lotions etc. don't do anything permanent to your skin, because it's been affected structurally, like a rubber band that's been stretched beyond its capacity. (Also - rate of loss doesn't make a difference, the damage was done on the way up the scale.) But, lotions and creams etc. might lead to a temporary (cosmetic) improvement to skin texture, which might help you feel better about things.
There are some laser skin tightening procedures out there. They're expensive and apparently don't yield huge improvements. A tummy tuck is the only permanent solution to this problem, and I get why you don't want to go for that.
Unfortunately, tightening up the muscles underneath won't help. (If you had loose skin on your arms or thighs, you could try to build up those muscles to fill up [a marginal amount of] space, but that's not an option with abs, they can only "build up" so much.) You could try to lose more fat overall, while building up muscle everywhere else (with a progressive, full-body lifting program and high protein intake, eating at maintenance calories; there would be no change in weight on the scale - it's called "recomposition", for your Googling). This is a slow process, and it would still leave you with some hanging skin at the end of it. It would be much thinner and less obvious than what it sounds like you've got, though. (I wouldn't lose too much, though; I'm of the opinion that some fat is good, for health, but also aesthetics, in the face.) Losing more weight, without trying to preserve muscle mass, is a bad idea imo if you're already at a low BMI and maybe low on fat-free mass (which declines with time; women are especially vulnerable).
Improving core strength will probably help with posture, though, which will make a difference while you're standing up. (Crunches are bad for your back, things like planks are more helpful.) Lifting might lead to more general aesthetic improvements that might distract you from this issue, and it's great for joints and retaining bone density, so it's definitely worth doing.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:49 AM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
Skin might retract some, once you've stabilized at your target weight for about a year; further improvements are unlikely. Lotions etc. don't do anything permanent to your skin, because it's been affected structurally, like a rubber band that's been stretched beyond its capacity. (Also - rate of loss doesn't make a difference, the damage was done on the way up the scale.) But, lotions and creams etc. might lead to a temporary (cosmetic) improvement to skin texture, which might help you feel better about things.
There are some laser skin tightening procedures out there. They're expensive and apparently don't yield huge improvements. A tummy tuck is the only permanent solution to this problem, and I get why you don't want to go for that.
Unfortunately, tightening up the muscles underneath won't help. (If you had loose skin on your arms or thighs, you could try to build up those muscles to fill up [a marginal amount of] space, but that's not an option with abs, they can only "build up" so much.) You could try to lose more fat overall, while building up muscle everywhere else (with a progressive, full-body lifting program and high protein intake, eating at maintenance calories; there would be no change in weight on the scale - it's called "recomposition", for your Googling). This is a slow process, and it would still leave you with some hanging skin at the end of it. It would be much thinner and less obvious than what it sounds like you've got, though. (I wouldn't lose too much, though; I'm of the opinion that some fat is good, for health, but also aesthetics, in the face.) Losing more weight, without trying to preserve muscle mass, is a bad idea imo if you're already at a low BMI and maybe low on fat-free mass (which declines with time; women are especially vulnerable).
Improving core strength will probably help with posture, though, which will make a difference while you're standing up. (Crunches are bad for your back, things like planks are more helpful.) Lifting might lead to more general aesthetic improvements that might distract you from this issue, and it's great for joints and retaining bone density, so it's definitely worth doing.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:49 AM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
(agree with checking for a hernia). *above: wouldn't lose too much *fat*
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:49 AM on October 28, 2015
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:49 AM on October 28, 2015
Another option might be regaining a few (like maybe 5?) pounds, so that you look more like you did a few weeks ago. (And maybe still trying the resistance training, for firmer lines underneath overall [and to hang on to bone density].)
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:18 PM on October 28, 2015
posted by cotton dress sock at 2:18 PM on October 28, 2015
If something like that happened to me (again, literally in one day?) I would be concerned that something internally had prolapsed. PLEASE see a doctor!
posted by peep at 3:32 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by peep at 3:32 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]
You might want to look into a body-toning wrap... they are quite therapeutic, even if there are those who don't believe that they actually tighten, tone, and shrink your skin. If you have the option where you live, I would try it - at least once!
posted by itsflyable at 4:36 PM on October 28, 2015
posted by itsflyable at 4:36 PM on October 28, 2015
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Staying hydrated helps.
If you aren't averse to lotions, get a firming lotion and massage into the skin of your abdomen. Even plain lotion and massage can help skin regain some suppleness.
Bulking and developing the muscles of your abdomen will definitely help. For specific exercises, google and find some that work upper and lower abs and the lateral muscles.
Also, make sure your posture is good. Any bit of slumping bunches that area up. Stand up straight.
posted by moonlily at 7:39 AM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]