Thankfully, there are many ways to combat loose skin as long as you’re diligent and work towards fixing it as soon as possible. In this article, we’re going to take a look at a couple of practical solutions to combat sagging skin.
Avoiding sagging while losing weight
One of the biggest issues with rapid weight loss is that it encourages skin sagging. If you use quick weight loss methods such as very-low-calorie diets, ketogenic diets and work out every single day, then you’re going to be burning a huge amount of fat very quickly and this can cause your skin to sag. This is generally caused by the elastin and collagen that become stressed when you lose extreme amounts of weight, meaning that your skin can’t simply bounce back to provide extra firmness that you would normally expect.
Because losing weight fast is a detriment to your skin, we recommend that you take it easy when achieving your body goals. This means cutting back no more than 3 pounds per week to give your elastin and collagen time to adapt to the changes in your body and ensuring that it has time to bounce back. This still may cause significant sagging if you lose an extreme amount of weight such as 50 or more pounds, but it won’t be as severe and you can combine this with other methods in this article to help you deal with the sagging.
In addition, if you bounce between losing and gaining weight on a regular basis then it can also promote skin sagging. Try to avoid crash diets when possible and instead, adopt a healthier weight loss plan and stick to it. Remember that your diet isn’t just a one-off thing that you do for a short period of time. Instead, it’s something you should stick to for the rest of your life so that you can continue losing weight and staying healthy.
Focusing on weight training to build muscle mass
If most of your sagging skin has come from weight loss then you may be able to avoid sagging skin to some degree by simply focusing on weight training exercises instead of just cardio. Cardio doesn’t always lead to muscle gain and it depends on the type of exercises you do. In contrast, weight training can get your heart pumping into the “fat-burning zone” while also helping you work out your muscles so that they come back stronger and more defined.
This can also help with skin sagging because the areas where your skin sags can typically be hidden by muscle definition. While it can’t completely remove sagging skin, it can definitely help with the appearance of loose skin especially if the cause is from rapid weight loss. Again, this isn’t a way to “remove” the excess skin, but simply a method to lessen its appearance.
If the sagging skin is around your facial area, then facial exercises will likely not help. This is because facial exercises have not been proven to actually help reduce sagging skin. While facial workouts are popular and some people report positive changes such as reducing swelling, there are likely other factors affecting it and there has yet to be a scientific study that shows indisputable benefits.
Firming creams and supplements
Firming creams are incredibly subtle in what they do and most of them act as moisturizers that only give temporary relief in terms of appearance–they don’t actually help with reducing the effects of sagging skin. These effects can be seen immediately but they don’t last long and effective moisturizing can also give the same effect at a lower price. However, there are firming creams that contain a product known as retinoid which prevents free radical damage in the skin. This free radical damage can affect the collagen production in our skin which results in sagging and wrinkled skin. It also helps our skin maintain elasticity which actively combats loose skin, but again, the effects are subtle and not as strong as the adverts claim it to be.
In terms of supplements, there’s nothing magical that can help you fix sagging skin. However, there are supplements you can take could have some positive effects in terms of helping to reduce the appearance of sagging skin. This includes vitamin C for the synthesis of collagen, a protein that can help your body build more collagen and also collagen hydrolysate which assists with healthy and youthful-appearing skin that can also help reduce the negative effects of ageing. There are also lots of supplements that advertise healthier skin and even some which claim to help you get rid of sagging skin. Unfortunately, they can only help to reduce skin sagging and will not magically remove your excess skin.
The bottom line
So to conclude; sagging skin is excess skin. It doesn’t just magically disappear but it can retain its elasticity so that it can “bounce” back when you lose weight after a pregnancy or through rigorous exercise. However, do keep in mind that depending on your age and genetics, your skin might not bounce back at all and it will require an invasive procedure in order to get rid of it, but this can leave you with scarring that will take a long time to heal.
In short, focus on exercising to maintain your muscle mass and use supplements and creams to help reduce the effects of sagging and promote collagen production.