After a long and difficult journey, you have finally reached your goal body weight! But some people may find that the end result is less appealing than they might have hoped. Is your skin not bouncing back even though you have lost weight. There might be saggy or loose skin in certain areas; especially the thighs, arms, and stomach.
So, what can you do to prevent sagging skin after losing weight? And why doesn't our skin spring back?
What Causes Loose Skin After Weight Loss?
Our skin is susceptible to so many disorders, diseases, and changes, and sagging skin is just one among many such changes. Aging, sun exposure, smoking, lack of hydration, and losing a lot of weight (100 pounds or more) all cause skin to sag.
Sagging skin means there has been a loss of collagen, which gives skin its elasticity. For those who experience it as a result of weight loss, various tissues in the skin become less able to maintain their form. Some might carry saggy skin around as a reminder of the person they used to be, and they might be surprised at how they are still unhappy with their bodies.
For many people they wonder how to take care of the loose skin left over after they have lost the fat.
How To Prevent Sagging Skin After Losing Weight
There are few things you can do to prevent your skin sagging after you lose weight.
1. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
Beyond what it does for your energy and overall weight loss, staying hydrated is one of the biggest contributors to skin elasticity. So important, in fact, that The American College of Sports Medicine reported that individuals who stay hydrated during their weight loss journey are less likely to have severe sagging skin.
2. Eat a balanced diet
Free radicals can destroy the skin’s basic components: collagen and elastin, which is important for your skin to spring back. To combat this, your diet should include lots of Vitamins A, E, and C, as these have been proven to combat free radicals.
3. Fill any gaps with the right supplements
Nutrients can work wonders in building skin elasticity, but it’s harder to get them through a normal diet. One such example is gelatin, which has been shown in some studies to increase elasticity in skin. Another example is fish oil, as one of its multiple benefits includes improving the skin elasticity in women.
Collagen is a key protein for the elasticity of your skin. Taking a collagen supplement can help to strengthen its' elasticity and ability to hold its' firmness and form even after significant weight loss.
4. Incorporate lean muscle building workouts
As you’re losing the layer of fat, you need to replace it with lean muscle to help fill up the space that results in excess skin. Including workouts like resistance training into your weekly routine helps build muscle mass and improve the appearance of sagging skin, according to The American Council on Exercise. Simple and effective workouts can help people lose fat and build toned muscle, even if for just 30 minutes a day!
5. Lose weight slowly
The absolute best way to prevent loose skin is to lose weight in a gradual and consistent fashion. When you lose around 1-2 pounds per week, you give your skin time to adjust gradually to its ever-shrinking size. Furthermore, when you rapidly drop pounds, you’re not losing as much fat as you would with a more modest rate of weight loss. Instead, you’ll most likely lose water weight or even lean tissue. Your body just can’t burn up that many fat calories in a short period of time.
How To Prevent Loose Skin After Weight Loss
Weight loss can be incredibly frustrating, and already takes discipline and hard work. Now add on top of your weight loss the issue of loose, extra skin and it can just totally deflate your new self-confidence! That's why it's important to take care of your skin from the inside out, and help strengthen its' elasticity and suppleness.
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