Fat, loose skin or bloat? Your advice

pocketboy · Feb 25, 2016

Dear all,

I always had hard time putting the finger on something.

I think I am rather low fat (not "contest kind of low fat" but very low). I know I have some fat and I could improve it. However there is something else, that makes me look a bit less "cut" I always feel i have a lack of "elasticity" in my skin, especially if i sit down (stomach).
Or for example, if I flex my pecs, there is sometimes some "wrinkles below, like I have some extra skin that doesn't "stick" to the muscle.

I have hard time understanding if that is fat, bloat, or if my skin is a bit loose.

Some people (natty) usually can look "harder" than I do. but if I use some stuff like Superdrol, even very low dose, I look a lot ripper (even if my weight wouldn't change).

If I tan, for example, my skin seems "thicker" (which also is a lot harder to pin through the skin for subq) and seems to "hinder" the cut a bit.

Does anyone knows what are the rule of thumbs, or supplements I could try to see if I can find out what cause this, and how to make my skin a bit "tighter" to the muscle.

I know it is a weird question, but I appreciate your advice.

Nike22 · Feb 25, 2016

Honestly it sounds like you just need to loose more body fat.

2 questions: Have you had your BF checked by a professional? How old are you?

Nabz · Feb 25, 2016

:yeahthat:

You still have a few pounds to loose, when I compete the pecs are the last place to tighten up and I can be sitting around with feathered glutes, just how the body works.

You can try one of those topical creams like vasoburn or evicirate, that usually helps me a little ( finishing touch as you still need to loose the fat)

pocketboy · Feb 25, 2016

Yes, I know could loose a bit more fat, I am not so strict with diet or training.

Never got my bodyfat check by a professional, and not sure if its something that is done here in China.

Got some body fat caliper, I use to test, results were very low (too low to be true).

If it's just fat, then it's okay (at least I know how to loose it). But I do know for sure that when I get a bit tanner, my skin is very thick (pinning SubQ is take a lot more force). And sometimes I wonder if I don't have some extra water subQ either.

Also, some steroid really can make a night and day difference withing few days (which seems a bit too short for just purely fat loss), would that be some actions of some steroids on the skin tightness?

So It was just a candid question as to you guys who are

Nabz · Feb 25, 2016

pocketboy said:
Yes, I know could loose a bit more fat, I am not so strict with diet or training.

Never got my bodyfat check by a professional, and not sure if its something that is done here in China.

Got some body fat caliper, I use to test, results were very low (too low to be true).

If it's just fat, then it's okay (at least I know how to loose it). But I do know for sure that when I get a bit tanner, my skin is very thick (pinning SubQ is take a lot more force). And sometimes I wonder if I don't have some extra water subQ either.

Also, some steroid really can make a night and day difference withing few days (which seems a bit too short for just purely fat loss), would that be some actions of some steroids on the skin tightness?

So It was just a candid question as to you guys who are

Yes thats correct some AAS do help with tightness, specifically DHTs (Mast.tren, var, winny etc...).

This is how I look at it, if I can pinch it, it's fat. Loose skin, possible, were you fat before ?
As far as water I can be bloated and my problem areas dont look different (better or worse)

pocketboy · Feb 26, 2016

Weirdly, I've started very lean (skinny), and studied all the "science" behind supplements, macros etc etc as soon as I've started working out.

I never got fat in my life (I mean, I had some fat, but I wasn't fat per se), but had a lot of "jump" in weight (like 5-10 kg difference within 3 months, from cycle, bulking, creatine etc).

Those DHT steroids really make me look a lot better, perhaps in a degree higher than most people (in the way that "using" versus "normal"). As mentioned, also get a very thick skin when I get tan (which is almost all year long) - example: the time I am pale, I can see my veins in lower abs very easily, I go to the sunbath 2-3 times and within a week they look almost gone (but I look good when I get tan overall), and pinning subQ is a lot harder, it's like I got a layer of leather.

I know this is a stupid question, and I understand that most of you (shouldn't) care too much. But it does impact my "aesthetic" in some degree and just wanted to ask whether there are stuffs that would help (not sure if running DHT all year is a good idea), notably on skin thickness.

For references, if I flex, i can only pinch roughly 2-3 mm of skin/fat.

Anyhow, it was just to ask around, but I know it is probably just something I will have to deal with

little slice · Feb 26, 2016

pocketboy said:
But I do know for sure that when I get a bit tanner, my skin is very thick

that is the dumbest fucking thing I've heard all day

raw33man · Feb 26, 2016

Thick skin is a sign of Godziliaziom.... Your ancestors had sex with Godzilas

pocketboy · Feb 26, 2016

based on what?

"UVB stimulates the production of melanin which then surrounds the core of cells to protect DNA. Melanin absorbs and/or scatters radiation. In addition, UVB thickens the epidermis (the top layer of skin), there by limiting the amount of UV light, which could penetrate the lower skin layers. If a base tan is not developed, sunburn can occur and the DNA of the skin cells may become damaged."

I mean, I don't see why would I be lying, perhaps it is something else than skin thickness and I am just confusing wordings; but for experience, as soon as I tan, my skin do get thicker. Vascularity fades, abs looks a bit less "deep" and my skin is a lot more resistant to pinning.

It may be something else than called "skin thickness", but it pretty much look like this to me.

Some source:

High-frequency ultrasound images were used to measure the thickness of the dermis and epidermis of four human subjects. These measurements were performed before and after a single exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV). Doses ranging from 0.5 to 3 minimal erythema doses (MED) were delivered to the skin of the back of four human subjects, and thickness measurements were made over a period of 16 days. We found: (1) exposures > or = 2 MED caused a 10-30% increase in the thickness of the dermis-epidermis layer; (2) the thickening response was not always in direct proportion to the UV dose; (3) maximum thickening response time was 48 h for the 2.8-3.0 MED exposure levels; (4) "diffusion" or spreading of the thickening response to neighboring areas occurred in some cases, as far as 4 cm from the exposed region (center-to-center), with changes ranging from 12% to 17%; (5) decreased thickness of the dermis-epidermis layer of up to 12% was observed for 3 out of 4 of the subjects.

Photoprotection due to pigmentation and epidermal thickness after repeated exposure to ultraviolet light and psoralen plus ultraviolet A therapy.
Bech-Thomsen N1, Wulf HC.
Author information
Abstract
Tanning and thickening of the epidermis are cardinal defensive responses of human skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation that lead to increased photoprotection. Earlier studies have shown that skin pigmentation can be used to predict minimal erythema dose and minimal phototoxic dose. In this study it was calculated how much of the increase in photoprotection after 4 weeks of repeated exposure to suberythemogenic doses of either UVA or UVB radiation sources or psoralen plus UVA (PUVA) therapy that was attributable to melanogenesis. The backs of 12 volunteers were exposed to 6 different UVA and UVB radiation sources 9 times during 4 weeks. Skin pigmentation was assessed by skin reflectance measuring. Photoprotection was determined from the minimal erythema dose. Melanogenesis accounted for 63-95% of the increase in photoprotection after 4 weeks of exposure to UVA radiation. Exposure to two UVB sources induced a significant increase in photoprotection but not in pigmentation. Melanogenesis accounted only for 6-11% of the increase in photoprotection after 4 weeks of UVB exposure. The pigmentary and photoprotective responses to PUVA therapy were followed in 14 patients. After 2 weeks of exposure, the increase in photoprotection was significantly higher than predicted from the increase in skin pigmentation. After 4 weeks, melanogenesis accounted for only 36% of the increase in photoprotection. This study shows that melanogenesis accounts for the increased photoprotection after 2 weeks of exposure to UVA radiation, but after 4 weeks other protective mechanisms occur. During suberythemal UVB exposure and during PUVA therapy the importance of skin pigmentation in the overall photoprotection gradually decreases during a 4-week irradiation period.