Lost weight ... and looking awful.....

[lph]

I agree that weight training should help, as it defines the body from under the skin. But there's just so much you can do, and at some point I guess you just have to decide how you feel about it. I think it's quite common for people who have lost a lot of weight to "need" plastic surgery to remove excess skin. I don't consider that vain at all, even though I'm all for accepting natural aging.

I hope you have a blast training for your first sprint triathlon! I did my first and so far only sprint ltri ast year, and it was SO much fun :-D (And there will be lots of wrinkly people around, I promise you.) Masse lykke til, kjør på :-)

[OakLeaf]

Boo for the negative messages from your family. First and foremost, I hope you can get comfortable with the body you're in. It sounds like you've done a great job with the fitness and fat loss. I hope that you can continue to feel GREAT about yourself and the way you feel ... and the way you LOOK, too, even if it isn't exactly what you see in airbrushed pictures of supermodels in the magazines.

We all lose skin elasticity as we get older. That's what causes wrinkles, and when you've lost a lot of weight, your skin is still the same size as it was when there was more fat underneath. Your skin is a living organ, so whatever you can do to keep it healthy will help maintain and possibly even restore some of its elasticity. Nutrition is #1 - plenty of raw vegetables and, once you've gotten enough fiber for the day, raw vegetable juices. Don't neglect protein, if most of your calories are coming from vegetables. An alkaline-forming diet. Hydration. Taking care of the connective tissue that connects with the skin by foam rolling and other self-myofascial release techniques. None of these will turn any of us into lingerie models, but they'll help your skin health, PLUS they'll make you feel better from the inside, which will help make you feel better about yourself.

(((((LunaB))))) Without seeing you, I can just about guarantee you don't look "awful." Shame on people who tell you that you do.