[Sarina D]

Hi Lovie,

I have come from being over 400 lbs this past year and a few months and was one who carried a GREAT deal of weight on the abdominal area. The key for me in addition to eating correctly has been exercising. I looked like I was carrying 4 x babies in my tummy (I kid you not) I had so much weight in that area, now I am shocked at how much of it has come down and has tightened up. In addition to the weight in this area, I had exploratory surgery in 1999 which left me with a large abdominal scare from my belly button down to the "bikini line" and even with that, my stomach is coming back nicely.

There are a few keys to my success so far (I believe they are important) and I will share them with you. Something I have not written about yet on the board.

I believe the following things have been incredibly important in dealing with my loose skin.

Drinking lots of water, exercising and moisturizing daily with cocoa butter or Biotherm (I use the Biotherm every other day because it's a bit on the pricey side...I have had so much territory to cover I would switch it off with Palmers cocoa butter to have the Biotherm go a little further). The other thing that I do...and this sounds rather funny but I have noticed quite a difference from doing it is the following:

- Grind caffeinated coffee into a fine powder. (It MUST be caffeinated....non caffeinated won't work...the caffeine is the key)

- Purchase an inexpensive body cream

- Mix the coffee and the cream together (the amount depends on one's size)

- With gloves on, stand in your shower stall and apply this mixture on the areas that have cellulite/or most fatty areas and massage it in well. Let it remain on the skin 5 to 10 minutes (some people leave it on for 15 to 30...I don't have the time for that).

- Remove gloves and discard.

- After the time is up, rinse it off and then wash your body with your favourite soap.

- After jumping out of the shower massage moisturizer over your body and apply in an "up direction"....for instance on your arms (under arms where the bat wing lives ....apply in an upwards direction to your arm pit and keep working it in that way. For the abdominal area you can apply it gently all over however, once you have applied it then massage it in going up towards your heart....something else I do is sort of knead the skin in an upwards motion working towards my heart. Since I added this to my application, I have seen a difference in the tone in my abdominal area...I don't know if it's specifically because of this but hey, at this point I'll just keep doing it incase it is! I learned about this mixture from my friend and when I researched it I discovered that they use this mixture in spas for cellulite treatments. I also discovered that the Biotherm product I purchase also contains caffeine.....interesting I thought.

I saw my doctor just this past week and we were discussing my weight loss. I found a pair of pants I was wearing just last May...he was absolutely stunned when I showed him...all he could say at the beginning when I took them out to show him was "no way, no way, no way".....I also showed him a picture of when I was over 400 lbs and he said he would have never been able to recognize me. I can now fit my entire body in one leg of those pants! They were tight as of last May. I will add….I plan on taking a picture of myself in them when I post new updated pictures on my thread here.

Anyway, I thought I would share that little bit of my dr.'s visit with you when I saw him so you could visualize how much weight I had on. While I was there, we re-visited my goal weight and he brought up the topic of loose skin. He said to me that one needs to give it at least one year AFTER one has reached their goal regarding the loose skin tightening and going back to where it should be. That was very encouraging news. I asked him if he thought my skin would bounce back and he said absolutely with the way my progress has come together even with my fast weight loss (slow weight loss is much better - I haven't tried to lose it this fast but it has just happened this way for me). I said to him I thought that the exercise has played a huge part in my skin coming back as well as it has and he agreed completely with me....he said exercise is extremely important.

So, I have to say....don't give up. I thought I was going to be in a heap of trouble with loose skin...yes I have it but not nearly the way I visualized it and the way it's coming back is a miracle and I would never in a million years think I would be experiencing the skin coming back as well as it has....who knows, it might end up being just fine for me....if not, surgery here I come and I have no problem doimg that if need be. But I will give it one year after my total weight loss as my doctor explained.....I appreciated him bringing it up and sharing how that works. My husband just yesterday told me he is shocked at how well my body has toned up especially the abdominal area. He is SUCH a fabulous guy and I appreciated what he shared with me. He said to me he thought I was going to have quite a problem with loose skin but is rather shocked at how well it has tightened up....that was awesome to hear.

Sorry for being so long winded but I can appreciate your frustration and questions and for me, I always found hope in hearing what others had gone through and what seemed to work for them. When I was at the very beginning of my weight loss journey Lyssie, Julie, Adena and a few others gave me some great advice and I appreciated it very much. Oh another techique that was shared with me was dry brushing. I did it a few times but haven't really given it the chance I think it deserves. There are a number of posts here on the board showing links to the directions...something to really consider as well.

I would strongly encourage you to EXERCISE those spots that bother you the most and keep exercising.....that is what I've done right from the beginning (to the point I can say I exercise so much ...six days a week it feels like I've been training this past year for an event coming up) despite how professionals say that we can't spot train those areas to lose the weight. Fine, I agree with them, however, you can build great muscle under the fat which aids in those areas getting stronger and more fit which does make a difference when the fat is coming off.

Hang in there!

Sarina
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Heaviest weight - 403 lbs. (2007)
April 1, 2008 - 387 lbs. (This is when I initially started to lose weight…but was not on Atkins at this point)
Atkins start weight – 347 lbs. (July 19, 2008 – began Atkins)
1st major goal met -----100 lbs. lost as of Oct 2, 2008 - Hit 300 lbs. on this day – From April 1-08 when I initially begin to lose weight.
2nd major goal met - 151 lbs. lost as of Jan 13, 2009 - Hit 249 lbs. on this day.
3rd major goal met - Wed, May 13-09 - Reached losing 200 lbs. in just over a year and a couple of months.
4th major goal met – Reached “Onederland” June 6-09 – 198 lbs.
Current weight – 190 lbs.
Goal weight - 150 – 160