Guy at my gym has lost 90 lbs. in 4 months

[xboxist]

I started going to my gym about 3 months ago now (-20 lbs., wooo!). I would go 5-6 days a week and I started to notice a 40-year old or so guy that would be there damn near everytime I was. We sorta become "gym friends" -- just saying hey in passing and stopping to talk once a week or so.

Friday night as I was finishing a set of something he walked up to me to tell me that he could tell that I've lost weight and to keep it up. "You're doing it the right way and I want you to know that. I totally screwed up..." I knew the guy had lost a high % of body fat but I had no idea it was that bad. He's gone from 290 to 202 in four months, after being about 280-290 for the past 20 years. He lifted his shirt up a little so that I'd understand, and I could barely believe what I was seeing. He had buckets and buckets of loose skin hanging off of his sides. Like he could pick up an armful and collect it in two arms.

I was not prepared for that one bit and it probably showed in my reaction, but holy shit that is crazy. I felt really bad for the dude because he has worked his ass off in here. But obviously that is not something he was looking forward to having to deal with. I think his problem (aside from obviously losing weight too fast) is that he is doing about 95% cardio and the other 5% of the time he gives a half-hearted, 10-minute effort on a random resistance training machine. He said he showed his doctor and doc said there's nothing that can really be done to "fix" his loose skin other than a tummy tuck. Or he can gain it all back, and then sloooooowly lose the weight once more. I'm not sure if there's any truth in that last one.

The guy is pretty bummed about everything and I wasn't really sure what to say.

 

[S Freud]

Yeah I've seen that with people that undergo surgery to lose weight. It can be worse than actually being heavy in terms of cosmetics.

Sad for him though since he is obviously working at it.

 

[silverpig]

You'd think that once he started to notice the extra skin he'd have laid off a bit...

 

[RKS]

Even losing 20 lbs in 3 months is pretty good but 90 lbs. seems excessive. I wonder if the guy can donate his skin for grafts and get the extra flab removed at no charge?

I never had to use a gym since I played soccer 3 or 4 times a week. Now with a family and a more-than-full-time job, my wife signed us up for the local Y. I have been going for about 2.5 months and have lost about 7.5 lbs. I have a lot more energy and fat doesn't bounce everywhere when I run but I do have to get most of my suit pants resized however. :laugh:

 

[xboxist]

That idea actually sounds plausible. I don't know if there's any sort of need for skin donations but I'll look into for him.

 

[brikis98]

Ugh, that sucks. Yet another item to add to the long list of reasons that weight loss should be done gradually.

 

[RaiderJ]

I was wondering that... if you are obese and lose weight slowly your skin will shrink as well?

 

[PingSpike]

This doesn't really make sense to me...wouldn't his skin eventually shrink down? I mean, we're to assume he outran his skin's ability to shrink...shouldn't it eventually catch up? That get fat again and then lose it slowly plan just does not seem like it would work.

 

[xboxist]

Ok, imagine a fit woman. Then she becomes pregnant and is about 25-40 lbs. overweight for about 9 months. One of the things women struggle with in their lives is tightening that skin back up after those few months of pregnancy and regaining their form.

Now imagine a man, about 100 lbs overweight, for the better part of 20 years. And then losing all of it in less than half of a woman's pregnancy term.

 

[allies]

Originally posted by: xboxist
Ok, imagine a fit woman. Then she becomes pregnant and is about 25-40 lbs. overweight for about 9 months. One of the things women struggle with in their lives is tightening that skin back up after those few months of pregnancy and regaining their form.

Now imagine a man, about 100 lbs overweight, for the better part of 20 years. And then losing all of it in less than half of a woman's pregnancy term.

A female loses the majority of the gained weight in a couple of days (minutes?).

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: RaiderJ
I was wondering that... if you are obese and lose weight slowly your skin will shrink as well?

I believe what happens to your skin depends on several factors:

* Genetics: everyone's skin is capable of stretching and shrinking at different rates.
* Age: skin elasticity decreases as you get older.
* Amount of weight gained/lost: obviously, the more weight you lose/gain the more likely your skin will be unable to cope with it nicely.
* Speed of weight gain/loss: if you're adding or losing weight very quickly, the skin will struggle to keep up. Add 60lbs in two months and you'll have stretch marks. Add 60lbs in two years and you probably won't. Same works in reverse with loose skin.

 

[xboxist]

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: xboxist
Ok, imagine a fit woman. Then she becomes pregnant and is about 25-40 lbs. overweight for about 9 months. One of the things women struggle with in their lives is tightening that skin back up after those few months of pregnancy and regaining their form.

Now imagine a man, about 100 lbs overweight, for the better part of 20 years. And then losing all of it in less than half of a woman's pregnancy term.

A female loses the majority of the gained weight in a couple of days (minutes?).

My point being that this guy dropped 90 lbs. in 4 months, after having his skin stretched to that level for 20 years, rather than for a few months like a pregnant woman. How fast a woman loses their pregnancy weight has no part in this equation. It's the stretched skin that is left behind that is the factor here.

In other words... if some/most pregnant woman have unsightly stretched skin after a pregnancy, imagine what this dude has going on. He was "stretched" out for 1) way longer, was 2) far more overweight, and yet 3) lost it all in a couple of months.

 

[KingGheedora]

Originally posted by: PingSpike
This doesn't really make sense to me...wouldn't his skin eventually shrink down? I mean, we're to assume he outran his skin's ability to shrink...shouldn't it eventually catch up? That get fat again and then lose it slowly plan just does not seem like it would work.

I was wondering the same thing. Why wouldn't the skin shrink after rapid weight loss?

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: KingGheedora

Originally posted by: PingSpike
This doesn't really make sense to me...wouldn't his skin eventually shrink down? I mean, we're to assume he outran his skin's ability to shrink...shouldn't it eventually catch up? That get fat again and then lose it slowly plan just does not seem like it would work.

I was wondering the same thing. Why wouldn't the skin shrink after rapid weight loss?

If the skin has been stretched in that manner for any significant period of time, it takes time to regain elasticity and to shrink. The sudden shock of a loss of 90 pounds does not give the body enough time to cope and it therefore cannot shrink. If he took his time and lost the weight slowly, the adipocytes would shrink, the skin would most likely remain taught on the smaller frame, and he would have had a much more aesthetically pleasing body. 1-2 pounds of pounds/week is the rate you're looking for to avoid that. Would it have taken longer? Sure. Would he have felt way better about his body? You bet.

 

[allies]

Originally posted by: xboxist

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: xboxist
Ok, imagine a fit woman. Then she becomes pregnant and is about 25-40 lbs. overweight for about 9 months. One of the things women struggle with in their lives is tightening that skin back up after those few months of pregnancy and regaining their form.

Now imagine a man, about 100 lbs overweight, for the better part of 20 years. And then losing all of it in less than half of a woman's pregnancy term.

A female loses the majority of the gained weight in a couple of days (minutes?).

My point being that this guy dropped 90 lbs. in 4 months, after having his skin stretched to that level for 20 years, rather than for a few months like a pregnant woman. How fast a woman loses their pregnancy weight has no part in this equation. It's the stretched skin that is left behind that is the factor here.

In other words... if some/most pregnant woman have unsightly stretched skin after a pregnancy, imagine what this dude has going on. He was "stretched" out for 1) way longer, was 2) far more overweight, and yet 3) lost it all in a couple of months.

Ah. I thought you were focusing on the duration of LOSING the weight. Not of keeping the weight. Still think that the preggo analogy needs some rectifying

There's no doubt that losing 5+ pounds a week for 4 months straight is gonna leave you with excess skin.

 

[Falloutboy]

well hoping that this doesn't happen to me, been losing about 2-3 pounds a week for the past few months, and down to 260 from around 300. but if it does it happens, i'll see where i'm at when I get to my target and if I need to get surgery to take care of the loose skin from years of neglect so be it. from the research i've done you end up with the skin regardless. granted if you lose 5 pounds a week for 90 pounds you might out run the rate your skin shrinks, but that skin will prolly tighten up a bit over the next year.

 

[mchammer187]

I guess he could do some strength training to increase size in his chest/shoulders/arms/legs.

Definitely not gonna take care of the problem but it will help offset it.

 

[MrMatt]

Originally posted by: xboxist

Originally posted by: allies

Originally posted by: xboxist
Ok, imagine a fit woman. Then she becomes pregnant and is about 25-40 lbs. overweight for about 9 months. One of the things women struggle with in their lives is tightening that skin back up after those few months of pregnancy and regaining their form.

Now imagine a man, about 100 lbs overweight, for the better part of 20 years. And then losing all of it in less than half of a woman's pregnancy term.

A female loses the majority of the gained weight in a couple of days (minutes?).

My point being that this guy dropped 90 lbs. in 4 months, after having his skin stretched to that level for 20 years, rather than for a few months like a pregnant woman. How fast a woman loses their pregnancy weight has no part in this equation. It's the stretched skin that is left behind that is the factor here.

In other words... if some/most pregnant woman have unsightly stretched skin after a pregnancy, imagine what this dude has going on. He was "stretched" out for 1) way longer, was 2) far more overweight, and yet 3) lost it all in a couple of months.

how is babby formed?

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: RKS
Even losing 20 lbs in 3 months is pretty good but 90 lbs. seems excessive. I wonder if the guy can donate his skin for grafts and get the extra flab removed at no charge?

I never had to use a gym since I played soccer 3 or 4 times a week. Now with a family and a more-than-full-time job, my wife signed us up for the local Y. I have been going for about 2.5 months and have lost about 7.5 lbs. I have a lot more energy and fat doesn't bounce everywhere when I run but I do have to get most of my suit pants resized however. :laugh:

It is quite alarming, because this sort of weight loss is what happens under controlled settings (i.e. in the hospital). This guy has lost a ton of lean mass (not just from skeletal muscle) along with the fat. Even for somebody who was obese, 2lbs/wk is cutting it close. 90 lbs is something you shoot for over a year, not three months.

There are many downsides to rapid weight loss, the sustainability notwithstanding. I wouldn't suggest that anybody do this without some careful thought AND consultation.

 

[skace]

Even if he didn't have that much loose skin, he'd probably still have stretch marks. Which means at some point he'd have to address the cosmetic side of things. He should focus on gaining back strength first though, making sure he is where he wants to be.

 

[Sad Clown]

I have lost 90 lbs myself. I went from 270 lbs to 180 lbs. The majority of the weight loss occurred from September to January and from February to the present I have lost maybe all of 10 lbs but have regained quite a bit of muscle.

The only area where I have loose skin is in my gut but I can see that slowly tightening up as time goes by. The skin along my obliques has significantly tightened up and even the front of my gut has seen a vast level of improvement from just a couple of months back. That being said my gut still has a bit of fat left there so in all honesty it is not just loose skin that is making it flabby.

But I am 27 years old going onto 28 so maybe my relative youth is also playing a part in the reduction of loose skin. I also workout 7 days a week so while I have lost 90 lbs of body mass I have managed to gain a good amount of lean muscle too which has helped in regards to keeping the skin taught in all of the other areas of my body.

 

[wwswimming]

photo posted in L&R because i don't want to get banned by Dr. Pizza again.

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...d=2055674&STARTPAGE=86

hey, the guy is WORKING, that deserves a thumbs up.

his situation doesn't sound too serious. i wonder how expensive the surgery is to remove
the skin.

if you find someone who's the right blood type, can it be transplanted to them ?

 

[SlitheryDee]

Won't his body get rid of the excess skin if he gives it long enough? I mean, it does it anyway when you lose weight slowly doesn't it?

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee
Won't his body get rid of the excess skin if he gives it long enough? I mean, it does it anyway when you lose weight slowly doesn't it?

Thats my opinion. I don't see how the amount of fat he has under the loose skin makes any difference, but most people here seem to believe otherwise.

If it takes X months for skin to shrink, it takes X months for skin to shrink. I can't really think of any reason why it would improve things doing it slowly aside from the fact you wouldn't have an interim period where you were wearing baggy skin.

 

[StageLeft]

His problem is not how he lost the weight but the fact he lost it. If you're 280-290 lbs you will never be ripped at 200 lbs without surgery. Maybe I shouldn't say never, but let's get real. You hold that for 20 years you have fvcked yourself, and the only way to solve it is with a surgeon's knife. In a way, it's like smoking. If you smoke for 20 years and then stop you should never think that you will be able to undo all of the damage, as some of it is permanent.

Won't his body get rid of the excess skin if he gives it long enough? I mean, it does it anyway when you lose weight slowly doesn't it?

I don't think so; what would motivate a hanging belly to really come back in if no more weight loss is occurring?

People should understand that to abuse one's body for long term has real repercussions. Getting ripped is hard in the best of cases, but after years and years of abuse, it's going to be terrifically harder. I wish more people respected their greatest possession. I think they would enjoy life a lot more if they continually thought of their health and fitness.