Excess/loose skin...?

Over the period of about 4 months i have lost roughly 35 - 50 lbs ... now i plan on losing a bit more... but if i continue at this rate will i have loose/excess skin? im about 5'10 ... started losing weight at around 210 - 220 ... and im down to about 178. I certainly still have fat to lose, but should i try to lose weight a bit slower, to allow the skin to readjust, or...?

Excess/loose skin...?
i am 5'3, and at my highest weight I was 200 lbs - and for those who think that loose skin issues only result when a person loses in excess of 100 lbs - think again - I currently weigh 148 lbs, and I have loose skin in my abdomen, hips, and inner thighs ... Loose skin generally appears as a result of crash dieting - So, you can prevent this from happening to you if you start losing weight at a more reasonable/sensible rate of 1 - 2 lbs a week AT MOST ... because when you lose more than 2 lbs of weight per week, you are not just losing fat, you are losing LEAN MUSCLE ! Most diets cause a person to lose 20% lean muscle !!! when you lose lean muscle, your skin becomes loose because you lose your lean muscle support - also, when losing at such a fast rate, it is hard for your skin to adjust. I really beleived that loose skin only resulted when a person lost over 100 lbs - that only someone that was considered obese would be left with loose skin, so it was never one of my concerns ... so I hopped on the fad diet band wagon .. and only now that I am dealing with this issue, I have done lots of research about loose skin, and spoke to personal trainers and fitness experts as well as some dieticians .. So here is my advice to you, and it is advice well worth taking -


1, If you do not already have a gym membership, I reccomend that you acquire one, it is VITAL that you do weight training (resistance training) while losing weight, this will help you maintain/gain lean muscle. I lost most of my weight without even stepping foot in a gym, BIG MISTAKE ! I relied solely on diet .... it is more important to be on a healthy diet, and to implement low intensity aerobics - Do an hour on a cardio machine each time you are at the gym - try an elliptical or step master, I find I am able to bring my heart rate up on these machines - you need to watch your heart rate ... I don't know your age, so I can't tell you what your ideal heart rate should be on one of these machines - because you need to be in a certain heart rate "zone" as my trainer calls it to burn fat. I am 20 years old, and my heart rate on one of these machines needs to be 130 - 164


2, How I lost most of my weight was following the Herbal Magic diet plan - It is essentially the same as LA weightloss .. Alot of people that follow diets such as Atkins, Herbal Magic and LA weightloss end up with loose skin because these diets are unhealthy, as i said, most diets cause you to lose roughly 20% lean muscle ... I now eat a much more balanced diet .. I eat 4 servings of protein daily, generally I eat my protein in the form of chicken, and eggs .. 2 eggs = 1 protein .. Protein is important for mantaining muscle.


I eat 3 servings of vegetables a day - this is hard for me since I hate vegetables !


I eat two servings of fruit, sometimes I'll have an extra apple if I'm hungry ..


I have 2 servings of dairy a day - I usually put 1 oz. of cheese on something ... and drink 8 oz. of milk ...


And I have 2 servings of fat a day (margerine)


I have 2 servings of starch a day ..





If you begin doing lots of cardio and weight training, and lose weight SLOWLY and eat healthily as I suggested I doubt you will be left with loose skin ... and if you do end up with loose skin, alot of times loose skin will tighten on its own as your body fat gets lower, because loose skin is generally just fat left hanging in your skin, it happens when you lose lean muscle which was once supporting it.


GOOD LUCK