Discussion Board

I was wondering how your body fat ratios have worked out following this woe. Where you able to keep your muscle mass while losing weight? I'm also interested in rather at some point your body went through a flabby and lose skin stage, but then after losing more weight it started to tone.

Thanks
Auntie

Anyone who loses a LOT of weight will have some loose skin. The longer you were overweight, the more overweight you were, and how old you are will all affect how much loose skin you have and how much it resolves over time.

I have no idea what my "muscle to fat" ratio is and honestly, I don't much care. I'm very strong--I do farm chores daily and my second job is a barefoot hoof trimmer (horses) so I'm not too worried about my muscles. As long as you engage in a moderate amount of exercise, you'll be fine. A LOT of exercise is not necessarily better and may be detrimental.

I honestly don't think I had any muscle mass before this! Seriously, though, I think your questions will all have to be answered with, "your mileage may vary!" Age, skin tone, original fitness, what exercise you are getting, and many more things will contribute to whether your loose skin will firm up, and whether you will have muscle again! I am still waiting for my flab to tone up , but I'm not a very enthusiastic exerciser--I do my 20 - 40 minutes a day of aerobics, but rarely breathe hard--so I am not holding my breath!

I don't know what my fat ratio is now or was in the past. (I started my subset of the McDougall Program before 2004.) I do know I am very lean. I am six feet tall, age 68. Four months ago my weight was about 135. Two weeks ago it was 124, probably because I had to cut out avocados (1/2 per meal, to gain weight) because of the "hypoglycemic" (low blood sugar) effect they had on me, between meals.

I never measured it, but -- judging from my ability to perform my daily tasks (lifting groceries, walking on steep slopes, and doing light exercises), I didn't lose any muscle.

No, I never noticed any loose skin, but then again my weight swing was only from about 155 to 125. At 155, I did not want to lose weight, but lost it anyway. My purpose was not weight loss, but ending inflammation problems.