If you’ve managed to lose a lot of weight, then congratulations are in order! But like many others who’ve experienced significant weight loss, are you feeling weighed down by sagging skin? That extra stretched-out skin where there once was a lot of fat can take away from the joy of lost weight. Here are some ways to clear this final hurdle to your new streamlined look.
1. Build Muscle With Strength Training
Strength training is a good addition to your regimen. It helps build muscle below that layer of skin, giving it a much tighter appearance. The other advantage with this approach to weight loss is that you swap the fat stored beneath your skin to muscle. So the sagging will be less, and you will have higher muscle to fat ratio than before, helping you burn more calories and lose more weight. While you may not fully replace the fat with muscle, it will help make the task of dealing with sagging skin less of an uphill battle.1
2. Eat Citrus Fruits And Leafy Greens For Vitamin C
Certain nutrients can help keep your skin taut and restore its vitality. Natural antioxidants like vitamin E and vitamin C can nourish your skin. The latter is an especially important nutrient for anyone looking to restore their skin to its earlier level of tightness. This is because vitamin C is needed to produce collagen. Luckily, this water-soluble vitamin is available in easily available fruits and vegetables like oranges, lemons, bell peppers, broccoli, kiwi fruit, tomatoes, and berries.2
3. Eat More Lean Protein
To keep your skin young and healthy, getting adequate protein is important. It prevents skin atrophy and gives it the vitality it needs to bounce back to a taut, more supple version of itself. Eat more lean protein, dairy, eggs, nuts, whole grain, and seeds. Besides aiding the muscle development, it will also help with your skin. This is because collagen and keratin, the key building blocks of the skin that make up the bulk of the skin’s dermis (inner) layer along with elastic fibers, are proteins.3
4. Use Gotu Kula And Fish Oil To Increase Elasticity
Natural collagen boosting remedies like gotu kula or Centella asiatica, a herbal remedy from Ayurveda, can enhance collagen synthesis. Collagen is a building block of your skin, making its role vital to regaining elasticity.4
Consuming fish oil can help improve skin elasticity. A study of a product containing natural stable fish oil determined that the formulation caused a 10 percent increase in the elasticity of the skin of women who used it for about 3 months.5
5. Drink Plenty Of Water
Increase your water intake to ensure you get your daily recommended quantity appropriate to your height, weight, and activity levels. Keeping your skin adequately plied with the water it needs will prevent it from getting dry and wrinkly. This will make it more supple and elastic and help with tightening.6
6. Moisturize Your Skin
In addition to the hydration from within, you should also keep the skin well moisturized from the outside. Use an intensive hydrating moisturizer (ideally one that contains vitamin E/collagen) just after your shower/bath when the pores are still open and can absorb all the goodness.7
Opt For A Slower Weight Loss Regime
Allow your body to fit into its new form before you try and any more major weight loss. This will allow your skin to slowly return to your new size before you subject it to a greater change. Major weight loss in a hurry is also linked to increased stretch marks and loose skin. The National Health Services, UK, suggests slow weight loss accompanied by a balanced diet and exercise. Ideally, lose no more than 1 pound a week.8
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