There is nothing as exciting as watching your efforts to lose weight pay off. When the weight starts to decrease and you can happily stand on the scale and feel good about the number you are seeing. However, weight loss comes with its side effects which make looking in the mirror a little unpleasant. When you lose weight there is a chance you will end up with some loose skin. This is because when you put on weight, your skin had to stretch to accommodate the surface area needed by the fat, but once the fat is gone the skin remains and it has no fat to support it anymore. This can be disconcerting but there are ways of minimizing it without needing surgery.
1- Muscle tissue
When you are working on your weight loss regime you need to keep in mind your muscle tissue. Maintaining muscle or building muscle is the key to tackling loose skin. Muscle can replace the fat you are burning off and fill in under the surface of the skin. When muscle takes the place of fat it leaves the skin nice and firm.
2- Pace your weight loss
The faster one loses weight, the faster they will feel better about themselves. But losing weight quickly is not always good for you. If you rush the process you can end up with more loose skin than you had bargained for. When you are losing weight by cutting out calories it is best to do it gradually so that you are focused on losing fat gradually, but if you are aggressive with cutting out your calories, it does not only target the fat but it targets the muscle too and once you lose muscle too you bring forth loose skin. When you pace yourself and include exercise with cutting out calories then you will retain your tight skin and make it firmer.
3- Include Strength Training
When working on losing weight do not just work on your diet. In your exercise, you should include strength training. This will help you to maintain your muscle mass as well as build muscle which will help tighten your skin. You can choose the strength training you are comfortable with as long as you get to work on all your muscles.
4- High protein intake
When you are cutting out calories you run the risk of creating a caloric deficit which can lead to muscle catabolization which means you also lose muscle mass. Introducing a high protein intake means it will assist in muscle building as you work out and you do not run the risk of compromising your muscle mass.
5- Sometimes loose skin is excess fat
Sometimes when you have what looks like loose skin it could be excess fat that is under the skin. If it feels flabby there could still be fat that was stored in some other areas of the body that is contributing to this loose looking flabby skin. In these cases then surgery is more likely to help out because it could be a lot harder to lose this fat.
Weight loss is different for everyone. Usually, our bodies do not always respond the same way to different techniques of weight loss. Not everyone ends up with loose skin but it can happen to others. This should not discourage you from your journey to a healthy and fit lifestyle. There are ways to avoid loose skin and if it does appear don’t despair because it can be taken care of.
