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- Newsgroups: misc.fitness
- Path: sparky!uunet!spool.mu.edu!umn.edu!noc.msc.net!uc.msc.edu!jwabik
- From: jwabik@uc.msc.edu (Jeff Wabik)
- Subject: Re: Low Body Fat Percentage but Spare Tire
- Message-ID: <1993Jan2.005001.22824@uc.msc.edu>
- Organization: Minnesota Supercomputer Center
- References: <2B30F864.2840@news.service.uci.edu> <1i2hf4INNbk@uwm.edu>
- Date: Sat, 2 Jan 1993 00:50:01 GMT
- Lines: 38
-
- In article <1i2hf4INNbk@uwm.edu>, markh@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Mark) writes:
- > In article <1992Dec18.170508.16516@leland.Stanford.EDU> disraeli@leland.Stanford.EDU (Jamie Lara Bronstein) writes:
- > >Two years ago I lost 70 pounds, and have successfully kept it off since then.
- > >By doing a lot of Stairmaster, step aerobics, walking and swimming, I
- > >have gotten down to a body fat percentage of 18 (I am female), but I still
- > >have flabby upper arms and stomach (where I used to carry a lot of the
- > >extra weight). Is there anything I can do to tighten up these areas short
- > >of losing extra pounds?
-
- > Just firm up the muscles. You're down to 18% already, but nothing you
- > mentioned indicates that you're exercising those body regions. So the
- > flabbiness is probably lack of muscle tone, not too much fat.
-
- I dont absolutely agree with that response.. I think there are a
- number of factors at play..
-
- First, 70lbs is a lot of weight.. While skin is very elastic, when
- stretched "severely" it may not quickly or ever rebound to its
- "original" state. I've trained with bodybuilders who tried to cut
- 50lbs of fat from their bodies in just a few months.. they were able to
- lose the fat, but, weren't ripped since the skin just didn't have the
- time to cope with the dramatic change in size. I do not know how long
- rebounding from a 70lb weight loss >should< take, but, I suspect the
- answer is more along the lines of "years" or "months" rather than
- "weeks".
-
- Second, when "excessive" fat stores exist, some fats may become
- "disassociated" from those fat stores which can later be assimilated as
- fuel.. [There is a term for this which esecapes me right now..] That
- is, in the presence of high bodyfat, the body can store fat [usually in
- those favorite places: Stomachs for men, hips/thighs for women] and
- then "forget" about it, making that fat unusable at a later time as
- energy.. So, no amount of dieting or exercises will ever hit that
- fat store. In those cases, I believe liposuction is the only "cure".
-
- There may be other factors at play, as well..
-
- -Jeff
-