Lost weight, still don't look good

[Mikado]

I used to be on the heavier side and lost some weight over the last nine months and am in a healthy area now but still not satisfied. What's weird is I don't know if I find myself still too fat or too skinny now. I look a lot slimmer overall, especially my face. I look ok when dressed. I can also see my ribs now but my stomach is still kinda pudgy and soft when I don't hold it in. I probably need to start working out to get in shape but don't know where to start. Gym isn't an option atm. Help?

[FMW]

Sounds like you probably just need toning.  Just google it and you'll find lots of ideas and options you can do at home.  You can target specific areas (maybe your stomach?) or do overall toning.    

 

[Mikado]

From what I've gathered you can't lose weight in specific areas and that all those "exercises for a flat stomach" are a hoax so I don't know what the best approach or training would be. 

[FMW]

Everyone's body reacts differently.  I hate traditional crunches, but I had a Wieder home machine that I used for crunches.  I developed good muscle definition and definitely flattened and tightend my stomach.  

Again, google the options and try them out and see what works for you.  Planks are also supposed to be really good for that purpose as well.  You can usually at least feel the difference after only a week or two.   

[Andy_K]

If you have no gym access, start with HIIT and bodyweight exercises. You can't spot-reduce fat, but you can target areas for muscle growth if you so choose. However, I'd recommend trying to keep things as balanced as possible, especially as a beginner. 

What you're experiencing now touches on why many women fall into eating disorders - without sufficient muscle mass, no matter how much weight you lose, you'll always feel certain parts of you look 'too flabby'. Your body eats away everything else first, and that fat won't go until you're almost skeletal. It's necessary to stop well before that point is reached, and focus on building and retaining muscle mass instead. 

[regine_phalange]

If you can see your ribs you may have lost too much weight. It's okay to have a layer of fat on our body, I personally like the look of muscle plus a bit of fat because it gives a healthy appearance (and it's cuddly!). If you'd like to flatten you may want to focus on abs workouts. I like Bailey Brown's 5 minute workouts on youtube. You may also have to eat a bit more to build that muscle tone.

Edited July 31, 2020 by regine_phalange

[Ruby Slippers]

Try some crunches or other ab exercises. I do crunches at home on a mat most days, and it makes a big difference with abdominal/core tone.

[Fresh_Start]

5 hours ago, Andy_K said:

If you have no gym access, start with HIIT and bodyweight exercises. You can't spot-reduce fat, but you can target areas for muscle growth if you so choose. However, I'd recommend trying to keep things as balanced as possible, especially as a beginner. 

What you're experiencing now touches on why many women fall into eating disorders - without sufficient muscle mass, no matter how much weight you lose, you'll always feel certain parts of you look 'too flabby'. Your body eats away everything else first, and that fat won't go until you're almost skeletal. It's necessary to stop well before that point is reached, and focus on building and retaining muscle mass instead. 

This is all good advice and I'm going to expound on some of it.

There is an actual body type called "skinny fat", which it sounds like you might have at this point based on your description.  This particular body composition occurs when someone is at a relatively normal weight, but has low levels of lean muscle mass and too much body fat.  The primary causes of a "skinny fat" body type are severe calorie restriction, excessive cardio, and a lack of resistance training/weight lifting.  

While you can't spot reduce fat, building lean muscle mass with resistance training is going to have a positive effect on your basal (resting) metabolic rate that will help you burn the residual body fat because muscle uses a lot more energy (calories) than fat.  Doing abdominal work will help to develop the muscle in that area of the body, which is what helps make it more visible over time as you progress away from a "skinny fat" body composition to one that is toned with lean muscle mass.  For now, you can do push ups, sit ups, and even pull ups if you purchase a pull up bar.  Once you have access to the gym again, I recommend starting out with compound exercises that will simultaneously involve multiple joints and muscle groups.  These will primarily recruit large muscle groups like the pectorals and lats (latissimus dorsi) and secondarily recruit smaller muscle groups like the deltoids, triceps, and biceps for a full body workout that burns more calories (and fat) while also strengthening your core.  Standing exercises demand the most from your core musculature so one of the most important exercises you can do is an overhead press or military press, which is also a compound exercise that will target multiple muscle groups. 

Proper form is imperative, not only for strength and muscular development, but also for the prevention of injuries so I would advise you to work with a personal trainer in the beginning who can show you how to perform the various compound lifts properly.  At some point you can also incorporate isolation exercises that target a single muscle group, ie, curls for biceps, overhead triceps extensions, etc.

Lastly, in order to build muscle you have to feed muscle.  It is possible to gain some muscle while in a calorie deficit with appropriate nutrition that includes a sufficient amount of protein, but in general muscle and strength gains are far more attainable while consuming a surplus of quality calories from protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.  The dietary component is an entire post in and of itself so I'll encourage you to consult with a registered dietician rather than blindly following a fad diet off the internet and conclude this with a little bit of simplified advice to make sure you never cut your calories by too much or you'll slow down your metabolism, sabotage your muscle and strength development, and actually start to retain body fat.   

[basil67]

Back in my bellydancing days, there were a number of women who had abs of steel with a gently soft skin over the top of it, so I have my doubts about targeted stomach exercises to the layer over your stomach.

 

[snowboy91]

Everyone's made some really good points so far. Keep in mind that weight is just a number on a scale, and some lean muscle with a little fat is healthier (and dare I say looks better) than being super skinny - even if the number on the scale is larger (since muscle is dense, it will weigh a lot - but that's far from unhealthy!).

I felt that regular upper body exercise earlier in the year made me look slimmer and healthier, but the number on the scale barely changed. Of course, that's gone out the window with lockdown, but that's beside the point.

[xxcazaxx]

Posture may also be playing a role