Loose skin vs. abdominal fat

[lizonaplane 1,613]

How do you tell whether the pudginess you have left is loose skin or if it's still mostly/all belly fat? I am wearing a size 10/medium depending on the brand. I have a 32.5 in waist, and I'm at a BMI of 29. My weight loss has slowed down tremendously this month (today is exactly 9 months out). I thought it was all belly fat, but it's starting to feel a lot "squishier" and "looser" in the skin in my abdomen.

I really don't plan to have plastics (although the FUPA is redonkulous!) but I am trying to gage how much more of my belly fat I can expect to lose.

[catwoman7 11,277]

I had a DEXAscan - it's one of the more accurate ways of finding out how much fat you have. Not the kind you get at a doctor's office - those just measure bone density. But the kind they have at university sports labs or those commercial places like DEXAFit. They'll run you around $100-150. But it'll tell you what your fat percentage is, among other things.

I had mine when I weighed 146 lbs. I wanted to see how much more I needed to lose. I was surprised when the technician said - "you're done. You have 22% body fat - you don't need to lose any more!". (I've since gained weight though, unfortunately....). I'm glad I did it, though - otherwise I would have kept going.

[Arabesque 7,581]

The dexa scan is a great idea & is more accurate than the punch & squish test which is what I did/do. 😁. My loose skin is squishy, softer & sort of feels more thin than the fatty bits. The fatty bits still have some body & density. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[SleeverSk 635]

My belly is the same but I think mine is a combination of fat and loose skin

[lizonaplane 1,613]

Thanks @catwoman7. I have had two DEXA scans, but I hadn't thought of that as a way to check the fat in my stomach. I'll schedule another soon.

[catwoman7 11,277]

5 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

Thanks @catwoman7. I have had two DEXA scans, but I hadn't thought of that as a way to check the fat in my stomach. I'll schedule another soon.

I had to check my results because I wasn't sure if it broke the results down that much (i.e., whether they tell you how much fat is in your stomach). Mine does break it down into left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, and....trunk. So yes - it does. Or at least mine does (although trunk also includes chest - it didn't break it down further than that)

Edited June 14, 2022 by catwoman7

[lizonaplane 1,613]

Just now, catwoman7 said:

I had to check my results because I wasn't sure if it broke the results down that much (i.e., whether they tell you how much fat is in your stomach). Mine does break it down into left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg, and....trunk. So yes - it does. Or at least mine does.

Yes, they do. I scheduled one for next week. I just looked at my last results from Feb 2022, and I've only lost about 20 lbs since then so it might not be too different. I am feeling a bit too obsessed with my weight/stats at this point, but oh well...

[Summermoose 195]

On 06/13/2022 at 22:29, lizonaplane said:

How do you tell whether the pudginess you have left is loose skin or if it's still mostly/all belly fat? I am wearing a size 10/medium depending on the brand. I have a 32.5 in waist, and I'm at a BMI of 29. My weight loss has slowed down tremendously this month (today is exactly 9 months out). I thought it was all belly fat, but it's starting to feel a lot "squishier" and "looser" in the skin in my abdomen.

I really don't plan to have plastics (although the FUPA is redonkulous!) but I am trying to gage how much more of my belly fat I can expect to lose.

I feel like you read my mind!!
I am totally wondering this stuff too. These last 20 pounds have felt like I am becoming a deflated balloon in all sorts of places and I wonder if (hope?) I can lose at least some of the flabbiness.
I am curious to hear what you make of your new dexa scan soon!

[DaisyAndSunshine 303]

On 6/13/2022 at 4:29 PM, lizonaplane said:

How do you tell whether the pudginess you have left is loose skin or if it's still mostly/all belly fat? I am wearing a size 10/medium depending on the brand. I have a 32.5 in waist, and I'm at a BMI of 29. My weight loss has slowed down tremendously this month (today is exactly 9 months out). I thought it was all belly fat, but it's starting to feel a lot "squishier" and "looser" in the skin in my abdomen.

I really don't plan to have plastics (although the FUPA is redonkulous!) but I am trying to gage how much more of my belly fat I can expect to lose.

32.5 sounds so much better than 37 😭😭

I am about 29 BMI too. But my waist is still big, about 37 inches. I stored majority of my fat abdominally, so I reckon it'll take forever for fat to dissolve down there for me, which majorly sucks 😤

Abdominal exercises and all sound great for toning but they won't get rid of the fat. I guess I'll have to wait and see how it looks once and if I reach under the BMI of 25.

Edited June 21, 2022 by DaisyAndSunshine

[lizonaplane 1,613]

On 6/20/2022 at 8:42 PM, DaisyAndSunshine said:

32.5 sounds so much better than 37 😭😭

I am about 29 BMI too. But my waist is still big, about 37 inches. I stored majority of my fat abdominally, so I reckon it'll take forever for fat to dissolve down there for me, which majorly sucks 😤

Abdominal exercises and all sound great for toning but they won't get rid of the fat. I guess I'll have to wait and see how it looks once and if I reach under the BMI of 25.

Weirdly, my waist has now gone up to 34 inches. I can't figure out if I was measuring wrong before or if I'm measuring wrong now... or if there's something else going on that is a problem. I am not pregnant, and I haven't lost/gained any weight since.

[Arabesque 7,581]

11 hours ago, lizonaplane said:

Weirdly, my waist has now gone up to 34 inches. I can't figure out if I was measuring wrong before or if I'm measuring wrong now... or if there's something else going on that is a problem. I am not pregnant, and I haven't lost/gained any weight since.

It’s like your body & remaining fat resettles after you have been stable for a little while. When I stabilised, I was very straight up & down & was disappointed I had lost my hour glass shape. But a few months later my waist was back - no weight change either. Still have no butt (ha!) but there is a distinct in & out of hips, waist & boobs again - yay!