What much belly fat can you really loose anyway?

So that's the magic question for the day.  It's probably a question that's geared towards vets who have been through it and are living with results.

Afterall, the sleeve can have a considerable impact on the waistline, no question about that, but it can't tone you up, that takes exercise.  Of course exercise can have a considerable impact also, but can't undo damage done over years and can't completely address skin elasticity.

So I'm just sitting here wondering, as I'm sure many do, how far can it really go?  I'm sure the stock answer is that it all depends on individual cir****tances.  So I am interested in hearing from a few vets, that did or didn't go the exercise route, on how the belly situation ended up for them.  How much can be achieved and under what cir****tances did it take?

thx

I have been thinking about this as well.  From my experiance talking to others I have notice one common thing so far.  When you were at your heaviest was your skin tight then?  I have always had tight skin even when I was at my heaviest.  My gut had no "rolls" to it, you could say I had a nice 1 pack or maby closer to a keg.  I lost almost 100 pounds and my skin for the most part is still tight.  I do notice a bit of sag in the evenings, gravity taking its toll.  I exercise, mostly tredmill and core exercises.  I have joined a gym recently and I have been doing workouts 6 days a week for about 1.5 hrs at each visit.  I am still focusing on my core and starting to see the 4 pack peeking through.  I think I may have a hard time getting to the 6 pack without some plastic work.

My skin was loose at my heaviest and looser now at 45 pounds lighter (still preop). I've gained and lost a lot a few times. I've been quite abusive to it with that and pregnancies-so I'm not going to expect miracles from it!!

When I was 36 I lost 75 lbs and  the elasticity was great. Then I gained 50 back.  Now at 43 yo I had wls and in about 10 months I have lost 95 lbs.  The elasticity is terrible!!!!! I saw a plastic surgeon and he said I have about ten lbs of excess skin.  I look great with clothes on so I'll take the skin over the fat any day!!

When I lost 60 pounds in my teens great, when I lost 70 in the 20's great, 80 in the 30's still great!  When I lost 90 in the 40's, still good on the tummy but not the thighs.  When I lost over 100 in my 50's after the change, not good at all.  But, I also never carried weight in the tummy too much untill after 50 either.

Age and genetics play a big parts.  

Carried all my weight in the stomach area and relatively minimal in the arms and legs...  I exercised regularly during weight loss, but it included very little ab crunches and such.  I hit goal, but still looked like I had a lot of flab around the belly button area and also a pannis issue that I could not diet away.  It really, really bothered me although in clothes I looked good.  I ended up getting a tummy tuck- amazing the difference and totally transformational.  I now have the stomach of my youth around 20 years old or so.  There was no amount of dieting or exercise I could have done to rid myself of the skin issue- it was surgery or spanx.