The sagging belly conundrum

From what I've read, women shouldn't go below 12% bodyfat. Less than that over a long period can cause loss of periods and other problems, including increased risk of osteoporosis.(Some bodybuilders are lower than that during competition, but they are not role models for healthy lifestyles, and they usually are above that off-season).
 
>And there is NO WAY that Mariah Carey's body fat % is 5.39 -
>sorry - don't buy it!
>
>

ROFLMAO! I agree: NO WAY!
 
I had two children, and although my lower belly looked like a road may afterwards, I didn't have a problem with how it looked sagging-skin wise.

THEN! my weight ballooned up to over 200 lbs (I was 5' 4" then...5' 3" now). I lost 90 lbs. And did I have trouble with extra, sagging skin? You betcha! On my stomach, on my hips, my boobsies. I had surgery to get rid of the excess skin. 6" alone was taken off each hip. I was in the low 120's when I had the surgery. I don't think my body fat could have easily been reduced anymore. Would it have helped? Probably not. I would have lost from my thights or some other fat stores..not the very thin layer of fat that hung on to some (not all of the skin) that was removed. Had I gone down to a very low and unhealthy bodyfat...it would still have been there, laying over itself in wrinkly folds. (Atractive, huh?).

It's ridiculous that he recommends that dangerously low bodyfat percentage. That's insane. Beyond insane, really!
 
I waa 9-10% body fat in college when I ran Cross Country. I was always injured (I could never recover), I had bruises all over my body, I was always tired, etc. It was 2 years of crap and I finally retired from the team. I was literally exhausted and injured for two years. Ihave since gained weight and body fat and have never felt more healthy or happy. I look different and I don't care - I FEEL so much better, which is much more important to me than anything.
 
Hi LadyUnix,

Thanks for posting your story. Your stats are so similar to mine (see above). I am 5'3.5" and although I have been losing weight slowly and making sure I am increasing my muscle mass, the more I lose, the looser my belly skin seems. I thought maybe I was doing something wrong.

I also see extra skin on the inside of my thighs, especially since I have been getting really good muscle definition in my quads.

I am going to wait and see how I look when I get down to about 125. I actually like how I am looking now at 143 and I am concerned about how thin I will look at 125! There is also the lifestyle factor - I love to exercise and I love how I feel when I eat clean, but I do want to have a beer on a hot summer day. :)

Thanks again,
Corrie


We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore,
is not an act but a habit.
--Aristotle

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?uid=8313401
 
WOW LizN, . . you look fabulous! And Cheryl 10 kids, . .kudos to you just for that. I think what I've learned from all this is that the stretch marks and sagging skin just come with the pregnancy, .. our battle wounds from 9 months of change. I do believe that you can lessen the dreaded sag with a lower percentage of body fat, . . which is ultimately my goal. Right now my overal body is what I would describe as healthy and fit. I work out 6 days a week, . .because I enjoy it. Love my Cathe workouts, I love to hike, trail run, and mountain bike. California is such a great state to live in for such activities. I have 2 children 6 and 4 years old and weigh 125-128lbs I'm only 5 feet tall. My big ol sagging belly drives me nuts!!! At one point after my daughter was born (second child) I weighed 100 lbs and I still had my big old sagging belly, . . I would joke with my hubbie that it was my Kangaroo pocket, . . because if I folded it over I could actually store stuff in it, . . and when I'm doing planks or push ups, . . boy let me tell you it looks like it's own seperate entity it just sort of spills over and flows like the river, . .it sorta looks like and octopus head. At any rate, . .thank you ladies for all of your thoughts. I will probably continue to do what I've been doing, . .eating right and exercise and just see what happens.
Thanks all.
 
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