Losing weight takes an enormous amount of willpower, work, and effort. Finally reaching such a big goal should be a time for pure celebration. Last thing you want is for something so unpleasant as loose skin to cast a shadow onto your joy. So how to fix your loose skin after weight loss?
The more weight you lose, the more changes you'll have to face afterwards. Being left with flabby skin around your stomach or thighs is one of the less inspiring ones.
Don't worry, it is very much possible to tighten loose skin after weight loss without surgery. Although, if you're still on the road towards your dream figure, there are things you can do to prevent it in the first place.
How to Promote Skin Shrinkage After Weight Loss
1. Take it Slow
It's true that not everyone who's loosing a lot of pounds is going to experience the sagging of the skin. It does depend on many factors, such as age, genetics, the original ratio of fat and muscle in the body, and many more. But the more weight you want to lose, the bigger the risk.
As hard as it can be to slow yourself down when you finally seem to be succeeding, you just have to do it. If you start losing more than 2 pounds per week, you're risking of losing muscles and not your fat.
One pound (or ~454 g) of fat contains 3,500 calories. So if you want to lose this much per week, it's wise to reduce your daily calorie intake by 500 calories.
2. It's Not Only About Calories
Cutting out junk food, sugar, processed foods, and reducing your alcohol intake is just one, albeit a very important, step. To keep yourself healthy and your skin – elastic, enrich your diet with lots of fiber and protein.
Aim for foods containing Vitamin C, zinc, and selenium, that promote the production of elastin and collagen. Start shopping for cruciferous vegetable group, green leafy veggies, citrus fruits, bell peppers.
Get your healthy fats from nuts, seeds, and avocados (though don't go crazy on them, as you are trying to lose weight, after all). Don't forget your antioxidants from green tea, a variety of berries, and an occasional piece of very dark chocolate.
3. Exercise
This is probably the most obvious point, but so often neglected. And it's such a pity! Because exercise will not only help you lose fat, build beautiful lean muscles, and tighten loose skin. Regular physical activity will boost your immune system, your blood circulation, your internal organ functioning, and – my favorite one – your mood.
Aim for cardiovascular exercises to lose fat. These include fast walking, bicycling, running, playing tennis, or any other of your favorite activities that make your heart pump faster. To build muscle incorporate strength training into your workout routine. Weightlifting, using resistance bands, and bodyweight exercises such as yoga work best.
How to Tighten Loose Skin After Weight Loss:
Go through your diet and see how you can improve it. Same with exercise: if you're not physically active, start being active; if you're not doing enough strength-building training to build muscle, focus on that.
In addition to this...
Drink Enough Water
While it is true that we get a lot of water out of the food we eat, such as fruit and veggies, it is recommended to actually drink your water too. If you're trying to lose or maintain your weight, water consumption keeps your hunger and cravings at bay.
Make your water more enjoyable with pieces or natural juices of citrus fruits and herbs. You can also drink carbonated water to make it more exciting.
Consult your doctor or use an app to figure out the actual amount of water you need per day. Take your physical activity, your BMI, your diet, and your health into consideration. I would also suggest downloading an app to your phone to make the monitoring of your intake easier.
Moisturize and Massage Your Skin
Hydrating your body from the inside is just as important for your skin as moisturizing it from the outside. Rub the dead skin layer off with an exfoliation glove or sponge daily. There's no use in applying anything nourishing to something that is not alive any more.
To hydrate and nurture your skin, use organic oils, such as olive, sesame, or argan oil. You can enhance their value by adding a few drops of essential oils, such as rosemary, lavender, frankincense, myrrh, patchouli, rosehip seed, jasmine, and sandalwood oils. It's great if you can get your hand on vitamin C and E serums too.
A fantastic way to treat your skin and to bond with your whole body is to indulge in this ayurvedic practice. As soon as you wake up, heat up your oil mixture so it's runny and warm. Then rub and massage thoroughly your whole body, from head to toe.
Then get into something comfy and wait for at least 20-30 minutes. It's a great time to do your yoga or other morning exercise. Then go and have a shower and wash the oil off. The best thing is that you won't have to apply anything else after you're done.
They say that the oil does not only hydrate and nourish your skin, but sticks to the toxins that your skin releases during your sleep. When you wash or rub the oil off of your skin, you get rid of those toxins too.
Try to apply all of these methods. Look at your problem from a holistic perspective and be patient. Most importantly, be proud of what you've already achieved because it is a big deal!