's motd Wed April 6, 2011 - Sagging skin

[Guest guest]

SAG

Wednesday, 06 April 2011

After trying to lose weight

umpteen times, Jane decided to join a local hospital's

weight-loss program that focused on healthy eating and

exercise. Before getting started, each participant

had to get a complete physical and meet one-on-one

with the hospital dietician.

When she had her physical, Jane

was shocked to learn her BMI number...it literally

scared her! Now for those of you who don't know, your

BMI number stands for Body Mass Index. It's

a chart put together by the U.S. Department of Health

& Human Services to show the percentage of body

fat in adult men and women. (You'll find the BMI

chart in your FoodMover Instructions booklet on pages

37 & 38.)

When Jane looked at her BMI number, to her dismay,

that number was 40...when it should have

been closer to 25. So, to get the numbers more in

line with where they should be, Jane began eating

healthy and working out regularly.

Jane was doing a great job, too. After losing her

first 50 pounds, her family threw a party for

her...and there were no fattening foods there,

either! (Good for them.) And after losing 100

pounds, Jane was even asked to speak at one of the

hospital's weight-loss meetings. Oh, she was such an

inspiration to everyone.

Then, after reaching her final

goal, losing 107 pounds, Jane couldn't believe what

her body looked like. And...she was angry!

(Wait, the explanation is coming.) Jan made an

appointment to see her doctor and wanted her dietician

there, too. She showed them what was so disturbing

about her body. There was sagging skin everywhere!

It was on her upper arms, her chest, her neck...her

inner thighs. In fact, after losing all of the

weight, even though she felt great physically, Jane

felt she actually looked older because

of her sagging skin.

Jane's doctor explained to her that any time a

person loses a large amount of weight, as she had,

there was going to be some lose skin left on their

bodies. When Jane lost weight she lost it from every

part of her body. But even with her toning workouts,

all of the hanging skin was still not going away.

Personally, I know what Jane feels like. And if

you've lost 100 pounds or more, then you probably know

what she feels like, too. I have some hanging skin on

my body from my weight-loss years ago but, you know

what? A little hanging skin is not gonna

stop me from taking good care of myself. And I'll

never gain back any of the weight I worked so hard to

lose.

So if you've lost a lot of weight

and gotten your BMI number down to where it should be,

please...don't drive yourself nuts over any sagging

skin left on your body. Like I told Jane, many people

who lose large amounts of weight opt for plastic

surgery to have excess skin removed. I can understand

that. But I also want you to understand this...

Under that lose skin is a healthier heart, a stronger

pair of lungs, stronger muscles, stronger bones and a

body that's going to keep you on this earth for many

more years to come. And there's nothing "saggy" about

results like that!

Love,