Is there any hope for extreme flabbiness?

**Thankful-Wife** · 08-18-2010, 09:23 AM

Help! I am 35 years old and lost 140 pounds 5 years ago, after having 5 children. The weight has stayed off, except for the occasional 5-10 pound fluctuations (which I am currently on the high side of

).
The only exercise I did to lose weight was walking between 2-6 miles 4-6 days a week. I am very glad to be rid of the excess weight, but I am SO flabby! And have SO much loose skin! I think I am a long torso body type, so my stomach does get very flat, and I do have little folds of skin at the bottom of my tummy (5 kids!) and that doesn't bother me so much- but it's my legs and behind!! Seriously, it looks like I have no muscle whatsoever in my butt, and while I can see some definition in my quads, the back of my legs and inner thighs (all the way to my knees) still have SO much squishy fat and hanging skin.
Lol my girls and I all have bigger behinds in comparison to our upper bodies, and we laughingly call them bubble butts- but mine is now deflated: a popped bubble! :P
Am I just a hopeless case because of letting myself gain so much weight and then losing it?

I have been doing BWO /TTN /Balance /and a hard leg exercise I found for free ( I think it is part of the Diva Derriere ) every day for a week and have noticed no changes in measurements or weight. I know a week isn't very long, so I am not giving up- but I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a more specific plan for targeting my hamstrings/inner outer thighs/buttock area??
Has anyone else had a similar situation and seen positive results?

Oh, and I also take 9 Alfalfa a day and I started skin brushing...
Any pointers and suggestions would be welcome. I really do love exercising- I was on dance/drill team and cheerleading in high school and college and so I really LOVE the way we have to think about our form with TTAP; it reminds me of those dance moves!

**Donnella** · 08-18-2010, 10:13 AM

Continue with your brushing and Alfalfa. You may not achieve the same results had you done the brushing and Alfalfa while losing but you will see improvement as you bring nourishment to the skin.

**john5** · 08-18-2010, 10:25 AM

Congratulations on the wonderful weight loss! Do you have the skin brushing tape with DD, AL, HD and JR and also OIP would be excellent for toning and lifting. Sea salt baths are supposed to be great to. I still have sagging skin on my stomach after losing 40 lbs, and 5 kids. I think it just takes a long time, I tell myself it took 10 years to gain and lose this weight and I know it will take time to get my body toned and tightened. Look at all the Tappers on the forums that have lost lost of weight and have a lot of kids. (Examples are Charlotte and Blessed Mama) I'm sure there are many more but these are two I know of they look fabulous. Best of luck and I hope a trainer will help you out.

**OldieButGoodie** · 08-18-2010, 11:06 AM

Thankful-Wife, wonderful job in losing so much weight! It is inspiring to see people who have made such a weight loss change.

I can't give too much insight into ridding yourself of the dreadful flab monster. I can only add my own (very short) experience with skin brushing. Due to several weeks of lung infections and elevated bp with high fever, I have put off doing my MORE workout until I get a clean bill of health. I am seeing my doctor today (he wants to do an echo and a doppler...sigh). In the meantime, I was brushing my skin; following along with Teresa's DVD. It has been my ritual for the past 10 days. I didn't take the alfalfa or fibertox because I was not tapping.

Well, I saw my Mom last night and she wanted to know what I had been doing! She raved about the glow in my skin, she swore that my arms were thinner and she insisted that my waist was smaller. She even reached over to touch my face to see if I was wearing make-up (which I wasn't).
I happened to have my CRT kit with me and she tried to swipe it. So later today, I'm ordering another kit for my mom.

I can only imagine what changes will take place once I begin doing MORE plus the CRT. So stick with the brushing, it does work.

**BlessedMama** · 08-18-2010, 12:04 PM

OldieButGoodie--what a WONDERFUL testimony!!!

Thankful-Wife---you're on the right track. Skin brushing, alfalfa, and dead sea salt baths and masks will help! To make a "mask", grind the dead sea salt finer either in a coffee grinder or mini-chopper, take about 1 TB and add some aloe vera gel to dissolve and slather on problem areas. Leave on 5-20 minutes then shower off. Follow with a good skin lotion and/or shea butter.

And remember, your body heals from the inside out. You have lost weight which is GREAT--but it's still a stress on the body. Your body may need to regroup and "get with the program", but you need to give it time.

We all want to be the "Cinderella" story, but most of us are the "tortoise" story! LOL! I've lost a lot of inches and sizes, but honestly, until I got down to the last size not too many people noticed, because my belly was the last stubborn holdout! It's still not flat, by any means

but it's getting there!

Hang in there! We all want you to succeed, and we'll be here to cheer you on!

HUGS!

**midlothian connection** · 08-18-2010, 05:01 PM

Thankful-Wife---great job on the weight loss! My only advice is not to give up on T-Tapp, and I'm sure you'll get more insightful responses to this post.

Victoria

**fruitvine** · 08-18-2010, 09:06 PM

Thankful-Wife, congratulations on all that you have already accomplished!

Did you start with Instructional #1? I hope so. If not, back up and do that at least 5 times before moving on to BWO+. It will help you learn the form and help your body make the mind-to-muscle connections that are the cornerstone of T-Tapp.

Alfalfa and skin brushing are the best things you can do for your skin, and T-Tapp with alignment and muscle activation will help your shape. Make sure you're drinking plenty of water and getting enough rest, too.

YES, there IS hope for flabbiness!

**Gr8fulMommy** · 08-18-2010, 09:31 PM

"We all want to be the 'Cinderella' story, but most of us are the 'tortoise' story! LOL!"

So true, BlessedMama! So true!

**Thankful-Wife** · 08-19-2010, 06:14 AM

Thanks so much for all your advice and encouragement everyone! It's amazing how much it helps just to hear responses and others' stories! During my "weight loss journey" I have found that I can go through the same motions and eat the same foods, but if I am discouraged my metabolism seems to shut down and I don't lose any weight or inches! But if I am ENcouraged and motivated about life, then I can even eat a little more and still do OK- so thanks everyone!!

OldieButGoodie- Wow that is an inspirational testimony you shared! I will keep on with it... I do hope your lung infection/ blood pressure/ fever is doing better and that the doctor gave you your clean bill of health.

Blessed Mama- thank you for the explanation on the salt masks! I had been wondering how to do those but didn't see any directions anywhere!

fruitvine- Yes, I did use the instruction #1 for 7 days- sorry, I just call it the BWO cause it's easier to type!

But yesterday was actually the first day I did BWO without instructions. I am pretty sure I've got the form down- it feels really good in those muscles and I can feel the outer/inner thighs and lats all activated! I actually enjoy exercises that make me think about holding certain positions and such!

But thanks for the reminder about rest and water- I was just married recently (after being widowed for nearly 10 years) and am having to get use to 4:30-5:30am rising to make breakfast and lunch for my hard working hubby!
I plan on continuing with TTAP, and hubby said I can order the TW (yay!) but I look at my thighs and back side and wonder what are the best exercises for those areas specifically?? That's where I need the most "sculpting"! I have seen these other WO like tempo lower body...? Are one of those better than using the Total Workout? Or would Total have enough lower body exercises for me??

**just7** · 08-19-2010, 06:30 AM

Some of my thoughts are just keep doing what you are doing. Definitely add in TWO as that is the Foundation of T-Tapp. And it will work your lower half!!!

Think of it this way....not doing anything will leave you with loose flabbiness. Doing T-Tapp consistently will slowly bring changes. I know I have read about Senior Trainer Lani who has been T-Tapping for 10 years (or more) and how her body changed and kept changing. You may never tighten everything up completely but it will certainly be better if you don't do anything.

Once you have TWO down then you can move into HTF. (Hmmm so many choices!!!

)

Congratulations on all that you have achieved and your new marriage!