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Dealing With Excess Skin After Weight Loss

Congratulations, that diet finally turned out to be a success. Unless your goal was to lose only 5 lbs, chances are you’re going to have looser skin than your grandma. Although there are no ways to actually reduce the skin to its previous area besides an abdominoplasty, there are a few ways you can help it, at least aesthetically.

woman happy after loosing weight

1. Vitamins
The first is to make sure you’re taking enough vitamins. Vitamin A promotes cellular regeneration and sebum production, which will increase the elasticity of your skin. Although this may seem counter-intuitive to having a more taught appearance, elastic skin is more responsive to changes in tension, allowing it to contract, giving it a tighter appearance.

2. Exfoliation
Exfoliating your skin with a cleanser or a sponge will not only give it a vibrant appearance, but will promote new cellular growth. By expediting the process of skin loss and regeneration, you’re simply speeding up the gradual process that your skin goes through to readjust to its new level of tension.

3. Exercise
The most effective way of giving your skin a tighter appearance (besides a tummy tuck) is to build more muscle to fill the void from the fat. Fat tends to collect around the belly and neck, so focusing on exercises that promote muscle stimulation in these areas is essential. Doing neck exercises such as holding the back of your head (as if you were relaxing) and tilting your head back with about 50% resistance will stimulate the levator and scalene muscles in the back of your neck. Doing about 10-15 reps of these a couple times a day (combined with 10-15 reps from the sides and the front as well) will tone up that saggy chicken neck. Just make sure to not go over board, because we’re trying to get a toned appearance, not a solid 15” neck line. As for the belly fat, doing more than one ab workout will help curb the plateau effect which will eventually hinder muscle growth. Mixing up crunches that target your upper abdominals with sit-ups that work your lower abs or obliques (if done sideways) will tighten up your mid-section, giving your stomach an all around more toned appearance.

(Guest Post by Angelina)

Comments

  1. I have just recently lost 4 stone in a very short space of time. I have become extremley self-concious about the way I look. I have tried doing tons of ab exercises, and I am happy to say it does help to hold in some of the loose skin. However, even though I am only 16 so my skin is very elasticated, I am still going to a surgeon to see if i need a tummy tuck. do you have any pictures of your loose skin? If you could send them to me I could look at them and I could get back to you and tell you how bad it is and what I think you need to do to get rid of it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katrina3:04 PM

    Well using lotion alot helps ur skin get more cologne and makes it tighter

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous3:05 PM

    f you lost the weight quickly then it will take the skin a while to catch up.

    exercise doesn't really help loose skin.

    you keep doing your exercises to keep your muscles toned but it's more important that you stay properly hydrated.

    your skin, once it's been stretched out can only retract so far, so if after a year or two of maintaining your new weight your skin still hasn't retracted then surgery will be your only option to get rid of it.
    remember, this is skin--not muscle, not fat. exercise won't affect its elasticity. But hydration will.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joseph3:06 PM

    u know you can finance surgery now adays, thats the only way i have heard, my friend is kind of in the same boat, he lost his weight a couple years ago but he still has some loose skin, he wont do it cuz i says he aint that vain but if i worked that hard on losing weight i would def. have simple nip and tuck, should cost much at all

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous3:09 PM

    you can prevent this by taking specific supplements and making your workout and diet routine skin-friendly. It isn't easy, but you may be able to prevent the drooping and sagging skin that so often plagues those who have lost a dramatic amount of weight in a short period of time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. just please be contented with yourself. or do exactly what Micheal Jackson do..

    ReplyDelete

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