I think I’ve lost too much weight.

[Claudette7934]

Now I realise that this is not a real problem and certainly not the position I ever thought I’d be in after 10 months.

I have lost almost 6 stone and I’m now 8 stone 3 with a BMI of 19.7. I was always around this weight from puberty until my mid 30s (albeit through shit loads of exercise and being careful with my diet) but then spent 15 years gradually getting fatter. So I thought this is where I should be again. I’m currently titrating down from 12.5, have done a 10 pen and am about to move to 7.5.

However, I tried on a load of clothes from years ago when I was last this weight and they’re quite loose and look a bit rubbish and I think I’ve lost muscle this time and might actually be narrower than I was before. I do loads of exercise (running and strength/lifting) so I’m a bit gutted that my bum/legs have lost muscle. Weirdly my arms are good and nicely toned and luckily my face looks ok. I have some loose skin on my stomach which looks awful from the front but you can’t really tell from the side. Also a bit of loose skin on my legs but they’re very muscley underneath (just a much narrower version than before).

So, what do I do? Do I try and put some weight on? Will this help or will I still have loose skin? Do I do even more weights/strength stuff?

I can’t believe I have this problem as I have essentially been trying to not put weight on or on some kind of diet since the age of 11.

Do you track your macros and eat high amounts of protein?

Are you progressing your weights? My instructors are always telling us we need to keep increasing weights to see improvements/gains in muscle. Progressive overload etc.

How recently have you reached that weight and did it come off quickly? If it's recent and you lost weight quickly, this will explain the muscle loss and excess skin. It will also improve with time as long as your weight maintains or goes up.

Is your weight programme covering all the muscle groups as well? Are you doing weighted squats/lunges? Do you run on the flat or do hills/fells/ mountains on varied terrain. All of these variable will effect things

Just stop losing weight now and move to maintenance, I am 20 bmi, my weight has been stable now for about 6 months, I’m on 5mg maintenance dose, I exercise 5 or 6 days a week and eat 1.5g of protein per kg of body weight.

my weight has maintained but I can see, and my smart scales tell me, I’m now losing fat and building muscle, which is what I am working on, body recomp and it’s working well.

in addition the lose skin I had is now completely tightening up and disappearing, I tried on a swim suit yesterday, bit worried about the loose skin I had developed under my backside, and it’s nearly gone.

so just enter this new phase of your journey, folks on body recomp. The scales are one part of this,

Oooh, I might get some fancy scales then. Which ones do you have?

I do a variety of running (hills, intervals, tempo, easy) but my strength stuff is probably a bit random and has no rhyme or reason to it, just hope for DOMS to know I’m doing it right.

I have the eufy ones, work with an app and I think are very good. I know others also like witherings.

just consider this phase two of your journey, if you continue to put the effort in and ensure you eat your protein, you can make a huge difference.

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I think you need to increase your muscle building activity (I say that as a runner). You should be doing 3 weights sessions a week and try to follow some sort of programme (there are lots of you tube). This will help build muscle.

Maintain and prioritise protein.

Also reverse diet, inc tour cals my about a hundred or so a week if you’ve not already, till you hit maintenance, make sure you eat your protein, it’s critical for building muscle, and moisturise your body all over each day, so your skin remains supple.

I would definitely focus on getting a weights programme. Its not for everyone but I do body pump, with specific instructors that focus on gaining muscle and progression. Some of the other instructors are a bit more cardio, even though they are all supposed to be the same. I do Pilates, again, I go with the instructor that gives a good all over workout, and plenty of core work as this is missing from my pump classes. I have just started reformer as well, to add more resistance work in. Overall, I have every muscle groups covered and it really makes a difference. I do 2x body pump, 1x Pilates and 1x reformer a week at the moment, on top of swimming and high levels of daily walks and frequent hiking/mountain trips.

I find classes really help with having a programme to follow and someone who knows what they are doing, who will correct you if your form is wrong and can advise you about personal goals. There is also a Boditrax machine in the gym so I can track body comp data. Classes also help with having a routine, so it just becomes habit that I do whatever class on whatever day. You also meet people on a similar journey, and it can be really suportive

I would say that a proper weights programme is probably a good idea as it will allow you to work on specific areas and track your progress.

I would also say that loose skin is kind of a given with large weight loss and there really isn’t that much you can do about it. Everything I have read says that time is a big part of improvement and have to say that my arms are looking considerably better than they did when I first hit goal about 4 months ago. I’m a lot older than you too! 😂

Well done on the loss! I think that while a BMI of 19/20 can look fabulous, it’s a fairly rare 50 year old that can pull it off without looking gaunt. I’d focus on a good diet with lots of protein, keep going with exercise and weights without going over the top, and not worry about gaining a bit as you titrate down. Some of the loose skin will improve with time, moisturiser and massage and it may be just that you need more time to get used to your new weight and appearance.

I found this too, my arms and under my arse, were quite wrinkly, and I worked out throughout, retained an athletic/muscular frame where you can see muscle and tone, but I had loose skin under my backside and on my upper arms, and also my stomach but only if I twisted my waist if you know what I mean. But it was signficant enough I decided on hols I’d only wear a one piece, not a bikini.

it’s all hugely improving, my backside has very little loose skin under it now, it’s very hard to see it, and my upper arms, where as still some wrinkly/loose skin there, it is signficantly improved, and my stomach is totally fine.

6 months ago if you looked at me naked or in my underwear or swimsuit, you would know immediately I’d lost a lot of weight, now I’m genuinely unsure you could tell, the skin seems to be shrinking back and tightening up.

I had also read skin tightens back with time, and I think that’s true now, but I am heavily focused on my workout regimes, eating enough protein to build muscle and I moisturise all over every morning, as I am sure it all helps. To be honest, now I’d quite happily wear a bikini on holiday, which indicates up much the issue has resolved.

Gently, OP, you have aged fifteen years since you were last this weight. Even if you had stayed the same weight that whole time, your body would look different to then because everyone’s muscle and fat distribution changes with age. Nevertheless it’s a very good idea to look again at your strength training activity and re-evaluate this, as you’ll only see improvement beyond beginners’ gains if you are training strategically and with progressive loads.

I think it would be worth trying to regain some of the muscle. The running will NOT help (ie will hinder). Eat enough protein, lift heavy, try and eat at maintenance calories.

FWIW I’m approaching my maintainance phase. I have a BMI now of 22, my stomach is flat with good definition, arms looked sculpted / muscular. Still have some fat on thighs / bum but that’s ok. I don’t want it to go lower than 21.

I do bodypump 3x a week (27.5kg squats and 22.5kg bench, ie heavier than anyone else in the class!!), and reformer, but these aren’t going to help much with gaining the muscle back; you really need progressive overload on heavy weights (ie heavy that you can only manage 8-10 reps). Machines are good.

If these are clothes you bought a while ago then it just as well be that the cut looks / feels a bit off to your eye today. I've given up hoarding clothes as even when something does come back into fashion the older version never looks quite right. Also weight redistributes as you get older so you can weigh what you did but your body shape will be always be different.