When you have lost weight, you will be very excited at your new body. However, when there is good, there seems to always be a bad side. Now that you have lost weight, you have that excess skin that does not want to go away.
The skin is very elastic, just take a look at what a pregnant woman’s skin goes through. For those of you that have come here in order to learn how to tighten up that skin, I am going to give you 15 tips to tighten loose skin after weight loss, so pay close attention.
1. First of all, you should not lose weight quickly …
One of the main reasons as to why people end up with that badly sagging skin is because they shed those pounds too quickly. When you lose more than three pounds each week, it is not healthy at all. It will cause your skin to lose that elasticity faster and make it difficult for it to spring back into shape. Whenever you plan to lose weight, you should plan on losing around two pounds each week. This is not only healthier for your skin, but it is likely for it to stay off longer.
2. Use moisturizer each day …
Moisturizer will add up to seventy percent of moisturizer to your skin. When you are losing weight, it is great to use a moisturizer as it will help to maintain that elasticity as your body is shrinking. Cover your body in heavy moisturizer each night before you go to bed.
3. Moisturize your body each night …
When you apply the moisturizer to your body at night, you may want to wear long sleeves and long pajamas in order to make sure it does not rub off on your sheets. This will also help to hold that moisture in as you sleep at night.
4. Use Loofah or a body scrub that really works …
When you use a body scrub or loofah at least twice a day, you will be helping to tighten up that lose skin that is caused by weight loss.
5. Scrub your skin 3 times a week …
When you scrub away that surface, you will be causing that skin underneath to generate faster.
There’s good news and bad news I’m afraid… If you have lost a large amount of weight and have loose skin it generally means that you lost the weight too quickly AND at the same time sacrificed lean muscle mass in the process. There is also a theory out that there is actually left over fat *in* the sagging tissue which is preventing it from returning to a normal state but I’ve still got to find more evidence to back it up completely.
So what can you do about it? Well the first bit of good new is that skin is a lot more resilliant than you think. Elasticity of skin starts to diminish in your 50’s and there is nothing to prove that it can’t or won’t snap back a little on its own if you’re younger than that.
Also undertaking an exercise program would be advantageous. I previously mentioned that there could be the possibility that the loose skin was caused by wasted or diminished lean muscle mass during dieting which in turn causes the loose skin and “hollow” appearance post weightloss. If you regain the muscle mass lost during dieting you’ll “fill up” the empty space with lean tissue which will improve the appearance of the skin, making it less saggy. I’m not suggesting to go body-builder crazy doing this but think fit, healthy and realistic goals.
Whilst exercising more you may experience further weight loss, which should in theory test the notion that it’s the excess, “hidden” fat in the skin weighing it down more… obviously if you lose more weight then the skin should snap back more right? However I am not suggesting you go beneath a safe BMI [Body Mass Index] for your height just to test this theory. You know your body, so listen to it – gaunt is gross, fit is fierce! ;o)
So that’s the good news… try gentle body sculpting/building, exercise more and give it time. Hopefully that will sort it out.
The bad news? Ok so you’ve tried the exercise route and it’s not improved… the only other option left is surgery I’m afraid. It’s got it’s own risks involved and I’d suggest you talk it over lots and get 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinions on everything before taking the plunge. This should be a last resort AFTER you’ve tried the exercise route… it’s all too readily pushed onto people as being the ONLY thing they can do where in some people’s cases they could have fixed the “problem” with no-frills exercise and healthy eating. I guess this is another symptom of the “I Want It NOW!” society we live in.
i had a baby about nine months ago and i went back to my regular body shape or so it looks with cloths on. but underneath it all i have loose skin. i mean it looks fine when i am standing up but when i bend over or sit down my skin just wirinkles up into folds. and i just have a liitle bit of skin hanging over the sides of my pants. its very annoying. whenever i eat something no matter how small the meal is my stomach expands like a balloon and people come up to me asking me if i am pregnant. During my pregnancy i gained about 65 pounds all that weight was spread all over my body but my stomach was stretched out to the max and now i have this belly button that wont go back in. my stomach was huge when i was pregnant so i don’t have that gap called diestis recti anymore but underneath where my belly button is supposed to be is this shallow hole. what can i do to make my ( belly button) outie become an innie again. and what can i do about that shallow dip underneath my belly button and all this excess sagging skin? is there a way to firm it all?
I have a lot of loose skin too after losing weight. My body fat index is 15%. Is that high and reason why I still have loose skin?
i havebeen doing weight training in gym for past 5 months and couldn’t find any result.
i consulted my trainer he said that my skin is EXTRAORDINARY LOOSE compared to other guys my muscle size is not increasing and my chest is sagging too.i have also tried a suppliment too in the form of whey protein but no result.
a doctor said me to take vitamin C.
Please suggest me something so i can build a tone body and have muscular body i am very hrted with my body.
I was pregnant for two years in a row like a crazy person. I had my son in December and my daughter the following January. Weight loss was slow and steady at one time until, they both started walking. The weight started to come off a little quicker. I have stayed hydrated, used all the creams, tried to tone up my flabby muscles from being streched out for 2 years. Nothing is working. The more I lose the more floppy and wrinkled my tummy is!! So fustrating!! Is a mommy makeover on the table with the clipping and lifting my only option??? HELP
I became a vegetarian (I do eat fish seldom)19 months ago. I noticed no weight loss until 6 months ago. I had dropped 30 pounds from a size 22 pants to a size 15 pants. I had a big butt and big stomache. My butt is smaller now and firm while my stomache is flatter but flabby. I wasn’t trying to lose weight but I am happy with it. What can I do?
I am 18 years old. I just gave birth to my son Brayden on the 15th of December. I have the major problem of loose skin in the stomach area. I have to be an inny, but is now an outtie. then there is a huge dip under my belly button. When I was pregnant I was absolutely all baby. You couldnt tell I was pregnant from the back of me. Is there any way to tighten up this skin? I just want to be the woman I used to be.
Dear Kadi,
From what I've heard, the loose skin usually disappears in a couple of months, all by itself. But if you really want to speed up the process, try doing some crunches, if your doctor allows you.
Hope you get your body back fast!
OLga,
working on your abs has nothing to do with your skins elasticity!
your skin lost elasticity. Start taking biosil. It helps with the connective tissues
im 21 years old.. my daughter is almost 9months.. i can feel my stomach toning back up.. and when i stand up i love it.. but when i sit down its like that skin just flapps over.. and when i bend over i can see it as well.. its so fustrating. its not as bad as it was b4.. but its still annoying.. i also read online that most of your elasticity after pregnancy should b back by a year.. but idk.. anyone have any advice?
my oldes son is almost 4 and my youngest is 11 months one was 9 lbs and the other was 10 lbs 9 oz, so they were big and therefore my stomach was stretched pretty far, so now i have lost the weight fom them and now my stomach is flabby and hangs over my pants and i dont know how to get rid of it. any suggestions?
I guess mine is a combination of both. I am 56 years old and have lost about 40 – 45 lbs. I don’t think I have lost it too fast it has taken about 2.5 years. I do walk about 3 miles 5 days a week in about 40 minutes. I guess I need to dust off the bowflex ya think??LOL I do have some back and neck issues tho so any advice? Thankx, Cat
my son was 2 weeks over due before they did a C-Section on me.My son came out weighting 10 lbs.9 oz.,my stomache was HUGE!i am down below my starting weight,but my stomach still has all of this extra skin.i have been doing crunches and trying to exercise,but it’s not working.I can feel my abs hard under the skin,but the skin wont tighten!i’m very self concious of it,and i don’t know what to do to tighten it!someone please help me!
I have the roll over belly lol (extra skin). Ive had 6 kids and try to exercise but my back is weak from a car wreck two yrs ago. I just wish someone could tell me what will help
Hi my name is joanna im 21 and had a little girl on july 21 2007 my stomache still has loose skin iv almost cleared the stretchmarks and it just seems like i cant tighten my skin i can grab a hand full it is so loose. Please help thanks
Hi, this might help: http://www.best-abs-exercises.com/loose-stomach-skin.html
Surgery is always an option, though. Best of luck!
After exercise i have lost some weight but problem is that my skin has become saggy i have folds of flabby skin around my tummy and whole body is very soft. Guide me with some foods and other remedies.
Hi, I have had the up and down sendrome for many years from 138 lbs and more, back to 110 lbs, I’m 5-3 and short waisted never has been real thight. I’m fair and always had soft skin. I’ve always had pretty much exercise in my life. This time I lost 26 lbs and exercise doing it in one year but the skin is really stretched out I can pull the skin and it kind of sticks out for a sec. Yuk! been training at Golds gym the guys don’t know much about skin. What creams can I use? I eat pretty great, fruits, not much red meat, hardly any bread, and cook with olive oil. I drink at least 6 glasses of water a day but I wonder if splenda is the culprit too and got rid of most of my bad habits. Help I’, 51 and frustrated.
At the top of this page it talks about oxygen and then there is no way to get to the rest of the article. I want to know more about oxygen and weigh loss and skin tightening.
And…who answers these questions if anyone in particular?