Battling loose skin after major weight loss and/or dieting? Dealing with skin care concerns after major weight loss?
Well, anyone who has lost a significant amount of weight knows that the weight loss itself is only half the battle. The war begins after the weight has fell off and the areas of loose skin begin to boldly appear.
Don’t fret – we’ve got your covered with some optimum skin care tips to attack that problematic post-weight-loss skin the natural way; before you venture out to seek out surgical or cosmetic alternatives.
Tips To Tighten Skin – Post Weight Loss
Lose Weight Gradually.
Most experts recommend aiming for 1 to 5 pounds per week, depending on your starting point.
Exercise To Build Muscle.
Replace the fat that once filled out your skin with lean mass by focusing your fitness routine on strength training, says Lori Shemek, PhD, author of How to Fight FATflammation! “You want the muscle to essentially replace the fat that is being lost to prevent loose or sagging skin,”
Practice Good Sun Protection.
If you spend time outdoors, take steps to reduce your exposure to the sun’s collagen-destroying UV rays. If you’re exercising, plan your walk or run for the early morning or late in the day, when the sun is less scorching. Always wear a UV protection sunscreen as the fall and winter months have high levels of UV rays.
Eat Plenty of Colors.
Pile your plate with a rainbow of colorful fruits and vegetables, which contain nutrients vital to skin health, Chipps says. Specifically, load up on vitamin A or lycopene—a recent research review in Experimental Dermatology reports this antioxidant offsets damage from UV rays. (Try these 25 best foods for healthy skin.) You’ll find it in tomatoes, red peppers, and other rosy-hued veggies. Meanwhile, leafy greens and citrus fruits boast plenty of vitamin C, which helps build collagen, Chipps says
Stay Smoke-Free.
Toss your cigarettes and take an extra step away from any cloud of fumes you pass. Lighting up makes your skin less resilient. exposure to secondhand smoke raises levels of inflammatory proteins in your skin, reducing collagen levels and contributing to thin skin and wrinkles.
See an MD Dermatologist.
You may want to hold off for a face-lift or other surgical procedure until you’ve reached your ideal goal weight—skin responds best to these operations from a “steady state.” Those minor in-office procedures can address troublesome areas once you’ve stopped losing the weight, Lawrence Jaeger says. Speak with a dermatologist about radio-frequency devices, which warm and expand collagen fibers to immediately improve your appearance while also stimulating new collagen production for longer-lasting results
