Alright. Quick lo-down on my situation. I started really paying attention to T-Nation and the stuff on here about 2 months ago. Since then I’ve gone from 125lbs and 13% BF to 136lbs and 9% bodyfat (local gym has hydro BF testing every months or so). I’m 20 years old, 5’7 3/4". I used to be very fat. When I was 13 I weighed 170lbs, 5’1". I topped out when I was 17. I weighed 190lbs, 5’4". I have the remnants of stretch marks and a lot of excess skin. I’ve been working on developing a solid six-pack - after I started reading here I realized I needed to pack on more muscle, hence the gains above. However, my ab situation hasn’t improved at all. Is there any hope for me at every attained the level of definition I want there, or should I just give up? I’m considering just going super extreme, going to Meltdown training and using the 7 day guide to leaness and see if that can give me the results I’m looking for. I’m very frustrated, almost at my wit’s end. Any advice would be much appreciated - thanks!
Zdrax,
Man I hate to tell you this but to a certain point there is simply nothing that you can do short of surgery for loose skin.
I (four years ago I think) shed over 100 lbs. I can get down to ultra low BF% and that excess skin still does a fine job of blurring the lowest abs.
I will say that the route you are taking is the best. Build some LBM mass. This will tighten the skin and help out.
Sorry to break the bad news to you.
Hope this helps,
Phill
Oh and great job on your transformation. You should be proud.
Bro, I’m no expert on your situation, I’m somewhat of a hardgainer, always been able to see my abs and am now 5’10" (and 1/2 inches, I like how short guys always throw in that extra half an inch) and 210lbs. However, I must congratulate you on the weight loss, I know that must’ve been a bitch. Anyways, it seems to me you should pack on muscle as a primary goal, the more muscle, the more definition, lower the body fat percentage and hopefully some abs. Give it sometime, and don’t do the meltdown diet. I’d suggest a solid high protein-mod carb and fat diet, calculate your maintenance calories and eat slightly above that 300-600 calories more for moderate weightgain. How long have you been lifting?
abs… abs seem to be one of those things that you either have, or you must work your ass off to get. It sounds like you might be best off by putting on some pounds, as this will help to fill up that loose skin. Also, if you decide to bulk, you may want to make sure that you do a good amount of ab work if that is one of your main goals. My personal experience is that people who can see their abs, usually started doing some sort of ab training at a young age, such as in sports, or karate, boxing, etc… So if you figure that a KID who has been doing 100 sit ups, 3 or 4 times a week, from ages 13 to 19 has pretty good abs, that means the person has done around 100,000 sit ups!!! Hence the abs. They won’t just “show up” you must build them like any other muscle.
I actually just started my high protein/hi fat/low carb today. Here’s what my diet looks like so far today.
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9:00am – 2 eggs + 1 egg white, 3 strips Canadian bacon, 1 slice whole wheat toast w/ a little PB + coffee with skim milk.
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12:00 noon - 6-7 oz ultra lean steak w/ A1 steak sauce, mixed greens w/ Honey Mustard dressing (canola oil based).
So far we’re closing in on a gallon of water. We’ll see how it goes 
Why the low carbs?
I want to see how lean I can get before I leave for the beaches of Cali in 2 weeks
Bro, your 5’7 (i won’t forget the 3/4) and a 136lbs, there ain’t much to lose. I guess you could go the carb depleted route and then carb up just before hand, is that the point?
Exactly.
I just want to clear some things up:
Are you male or female?
I ask because at 5’7" and 136 pounds, that would be a pretty good weight for a woman.
If you are a male, then I think you really, really need to reevaluate your plans. 5’7" 136 pounds for a man is SKINNY. If this is the case, you really need to start eating a lot more.
I say this because you may not be able to see your six-pack not because of too much body fat but because of a lack of muscle. If your abs are not big enough, they are simply going to be flat, so you wouldn’t have a six-pack.
I really don’t want to sound rude or condescending or anything like that. I really do want to help you and not offend you, so please don’t take it that way.
Let us all know
Jeff
LOL male. I can 1 rep max bench 195 lbs, leg press 355lbs multiple times ( can’t do squats, back issues ), and I typically curl 35lbs so I definately have muscle. I plan to do some serious bulking over the winter but for right now I’m not ready to dive into it in the middle of summer when my shirt is always off.