Loose belly

De Danann

Hi all,

Does anyone have any suggestions about tightening up a loose looking belly? I recently lost a bit of weight, which seemed to (thankfully) have come off my belly area.

However now what should be flat is a bit wobbly looking as it's like the skin is empty. Would sit-ups be the way to go for this or are there other exercises anyone can suggest?

Many thanks.

Mars Bar

I don't think you can exercise your way to tighter skin

It gets stretched and then as you age you lose even more elasticity.

De Danann

Mars Bar wrote: »

I don't think you can exercise your way to tighter skin

It gets stretched and then as you age you lose even more elasticity.

I didn't lose a tremendous amount of weight, and I wasn't overweight to begin with. Surely there'd be some exercises to give it a better appearance, presumably by building muscle up to replace the lost fat?

Mars Bar

Skin is an organ, not a muscle.

Mjolnir

De Danann wrote: »

I didn't lose a tremendous amount of weight, and I wasn't overweight to begin with. Surely there'd be some exercises to give it a better appearance, presumably by building muscle up to replace the lost fat?

It doesn't work like that, you still have fat in that area it will only tighten more with more fat loss.
The muscles in the abdomen don't have the growth potential of the rest of the muscles in the body.

Stone Deaf 4evr

De Danann wrote: »

Hi all,

Does anyone have any suggestions about tightening up a loose looking belly? I recently lost a bit of weight, which seemed to (thankfully) have come off my belly area.

However now what should be flat is a bit wobbly looking as it's like the skin is empty. Would sit-ups be the way to go for this or are there other exercises anyone can suggest?

Many thanks.

it all depends on your age and how much loose skin you have, it may naturally go back to 'normal' but generally theres no real way to deal with it.

BloodyBill

De Danann wrote: »

I didn't lose a tremendous amount of weight, and I wasn't overweight to begin with. Surely there'd be some exercises to give it a better appearance, presumably by building muscle up to replace the lost fat?

The above poster is right. Iv good friend who went under the knife to get rid of the excess skin. You probably were overweight to begin with ,otherwise you wouldnt have had a paunch.

De Danann

BloodyBill wrote: »

The above poster is right. Iv good friend who went under the knife to get rid of the excess skin. You probably were overweight to begin with ,otherwise you wouldnt have had a paunch.

I was 9 st 7lbs and lost a few lbs. Not overweight in the slightest, just happen to gain and lose fat around my middle specifically.

Maybe I didn't explain myself properly in the OP, it's not a big saggy paunch I'm trying to tighten up. It's just some wobble in the area at the front of my belly.

De Danann

Mjolnir wrote: »

The muscles in the abdomen don't have the growth potential of the rest of the muscles in the body.

OK fair enough, I'll try and lose more. I just recall having quite a flat hard belly a few years ago when I was only a few lbs lighter than what I currently am, so thought there might be training I could do to return it to that condition as I lose the last bit of weight.

ILoveYourVibes

First of all well done on your healthier lifestyle. Health is the most important thing

Don't beat yourself up over a tiny imperfection no one else will notice. I am sure its much better than you think.


Elasticity in skin is not something exercise can help you with.

If it is negligible then serious ab training could do it.

You mentioned that you only lost a few pounds. It could still be a little bit of fat combined with loose or 'soft abs'.

The flatness of a belly is due to difference in body composition and the abs. They can separate as we age a little the muscle goes lax. While you might not have full blown diastasis recti etc your abs are not as tight.

I recommend mat pilates. And a healthy approach to weight loss etc with a proper exercise program including weights etc.

Also don't focus on this area alone. Focusing overall on muscle tone( I am using this phrase to mean build muscle) and fitness is best for good body composition.

We want a fit healthy body not just a certain no on a scale.

If you are looking specifically for abs exercises as i said mat pilates. Also add some resistance ..bands etc Kettle bell is good for lower abs.

I can't vouch for how your skin will respond or look though. But i am sure you look great!

De Danann

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

First of all well done on your healthier lifestyle. Health is the most important thing

Don't beat yourself up over a tiny imperfection no one else will notice. I am sure its much better than you think.


Elasticity in skin is not something exercise can help you with.

If it is negligible then serious ab training could do it.

You mentioned that you only lost a few pounds. It could still be a little bit of fat combined with loose or 'soft abs'.

The flatness of a belly is due to difference in body composition and the abs. They can separate as we age a little the muscle goes lax. While you might not have full blown diastasis recti etc your abs are not as tight.

I recommend mat pilates. And a healthy approach to weight loss etc with a proper exercise program including weights etc.

Also don't focus on this area alone. Focusing overall on muscle tone( I am using this phrase to mean build muscle) and fitness is best for good body composition.

We want a fit healthy body not just a certain no on a scale.

If you are looking specifically for abs exercises as i said mat pilates. Also add some resistance ..bands etc Kettle bell is good for lower abs.

I can't vouch for how your skin will respond or look though. But i am sure you look great!

Thank you very much for your detailed response, that's very helpful

tedpan

Cut out processed sugar.

TheBoyConor

The looseness and wobble is just fat. Sorry.
There's no way to tighten up fat or skin.
And there's no such thing as spot reduction of fat.
It just doesn't work that way, nomatter what "one weird trick that personal trainers hate" you see on the internet.

Body composition is 90% determined by diet.

You need to reduce sugar.

Mars Bar

TheBoyConor wrote: »

The looseness and wobble is just fat. Sorry.
There's no way to tighten up fat or skin.
And there's no such thing as spot reduction of fat.
It just doesn't work that way, nomatter what "one weird trick that personal trainers hate" you see on the internet.

Body composition is 90% determined by diet.

You need to reduce sugar.

You were kind of doing ok until that last statement.

TheBoyConor

TheBoyConor wrote: »

The looseness and wobble is just fat. Sorry.
There's no way to tighten up fat or skin.
And there's no such thing as spot reduction of fat.
It just doesn't work that way, nomatter what "one weird trick that personal trainers hate" you see on the internet.

Body composition is 90% determined by diet.

You need to reduce sugar.

Diet is important,but so is strenght and cardio.
You need to eat less calories a day than you bodyweight than you daily consumption.
And strenght training will help in tighten up your body while cardio will lose the fat.

TheBoyConor

TheBoyConor wrote: »

The looseness and wobble is just fat. Sorry.
There's no way to tighten up fat or skin.
And there's no such thing as spot reduction of fat.
It just doesn't work that way, nomatter what "one weird trick that personal trainers hate" you see on the internet.

Body composition is 90% determined by diet.

You need to reduce sugar CALORIES.

FYP

Macy0161

I lost a significant amount of weight and suffered from loose belly "skin". Disappeared when I went for it again, and dropped a few more kilos...