Lost 50 pounds, now what?

[Last Exodus]

Hi folks, I'm new here. I'm 19 years old, and I've been overweight for most of my life. boohoo I know
Ok so a few months ago I started seriously trying to lose weight, I was over 255 pounds and I'm about 5'10", and I felt terrible. I always spent a lot of money on fast food at work, since I work in a mall and that stuff is so close by. I started bringing a bottle of water to work everyday, and that's when I started losing weight.
This was in June. I lost about 10 pounds just by drinking water instead of pop. That's when I found DDR. I always liked the game, but I was always embarrased to play it in public. So I bought the home version for my PS2, DDR max 2. So I've been playing that for a few months and watching what I've been eating.
Now I weigh 197. Everyday at work at least one customer comments on my weight loss, or asks me if I've been working out. Heh, and I tell them I've just been playing videogames.
Ok my question is, where do I go from here? I still want to lose at least another 20-30 pounds and get rid of my belly. What's a reasonable goal weight for someone of my height? Also, I'm afraid that my skin might start hanging because I've lost this weight so fast.
As well, I wanna work out my upper body, but I'm not sure how to go about that, what kind of weights should I buy etc?
Thanks in advance.

[abrannan]

Where do I go from here?

I'd just keep on doing what seems to be working. The weight loss will slow down as your body fat % drops.

What's a reasonable goal weight for someone of my height?

Check this article at WebMD out. There a link to a height/weight chart included.
my.webmd.com/hw/weight_control/aa126305.asp?lastselectedguid={5FE84E90-BC77-4056-A91C-9531713CA348}

I wanna work out my upper body, but I'm not sure how to go about that, what kind of weights should I buy etc

If you want to go the Vidoegame route, try Eyetoy:groove, or Taiko Drum Master. They'll both give you a decent upper body workout.

The real question is what sort of results are you looking for? Do you want to build muscle and bulk up on top, or do you want a slim, toned look? Generally, if you're looking to bulk up, high weight/low rep lifting is considered the way to go. You just need to make sure you're lifting heavy enough to work your muscles properly. A rule of thumb is that if you can lift one time twice the amount of weight you're using to work out, you aren't lifting heavy enough. (did that make sense? Basically, if you're doing 10-rep 30 lb bicep curls, you shouldn't be able to do one 60lb curl). Free weights (dumbbells and barbells) are generally considered better for lifting, since they don't give you the ability to "cheat" on the lift and they work all sorts of smaller stabilizer muscles. The drawback is that you have nothing to help you maintain proper form, which can lead to injury if you're lifting incorrectly. The other drawback is that heavy lifting with free weights can get expensive fairly quickly.

[Laura Moncur]

Don't worry about extra skin. If there is any, it eventually snaps back. You're so young, I doubt you'll see any extra skin. If you do, it will slowly retract over the course of a year or so.

[iamjay]

lol i have extra skin i'm trying to lose LOVE HANDLES GO AWAY!!!!! any tips on that? lol thanks.