Congratulations! You have successfully dropped a few sizes by pushing yourself both physically and mentally. But when you look in the mirror, you see that your skin has lost its elasticity and tends to sag. This means that you have lost weight too quickly, and your skin did not get the time to shrink back to its normal size. Post your weight loss, what you now have is loose skin, which screams for immediate attention.
Why Skin Gets Loose After Weight Loss?
Underneath the skin, there is a layer of fat, and below it, a layer of muscles is present. The loosening of the skin actually starts when you gain weight. To accommodate the new fat cells, your skin has to stretch. And when you lose a good amount of fat, the skin remains stretched, but there is empty space underneath the skin. This is the reason your skin becomes saggy.
Tightening your sagging skin post weight loss is achievable, but it will take time depending on your previous weight, current weight, age, and the period for which your skin remained stretched.
Follow these tips to tighten your skin and look as attractive as ever.
Tips To Tighten Skin Post Weight Loss
- Stay Hydrated
- Slow Down Your Weight Loss
- Eat Good
- Strength Training
- Tone Your Belly
- Sea Salt Bath
- Get A Body Massage
- Seaweed Wrap
- Moisturize
- Say No To Sun
- No Chlorine
- Supplements
- Sleep
- Radiofrequency (RF) Technology
- Surgery
- No Smoking
1. Stay Hydrated
Drink 2 liters of water per day. It will help tighten and smoothen your skin and flush out toxins. This natural detoxifier is an elixir for those who want to lose weight, tighten their skin post weight loss, and have a healthy body overall.
2. Slow Down Your Weight Loss
When you are following a restricted diet and working out to lose a few pounds, make sure that you lose weight slowly over a period. People often fall for unrealistic fad diet plans that may work intially, but definitely harm them in the long run. Eating nutrition-dense foods and doing proper and regular workouts are the key factors to lose fat and gain muscle. If you lose weight slowly, your skin gets time to shrink. Rapid weight loss doesn’t allow that, making you look older than you are.
3. Eat Good
While losing weight, make sure to include negative calorie foods in your diet. Eat foods such as kale, celery, broccoli, lean meat, fish, spinach, etc. It is necessary that you maintain a healthy diet even after you have shed a few pounds. Drink freshly pressed fruit juice without sugar. You should also have good carbs like veggies and whole grains and healthy fats like avocado, avocado oil, olive oil, and ghee. Make sure to practice portion control.
- Fruits
Local fruits are the best for your body. Every fruit has some amount of natural sugars, along with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which support your overall health and help in tightening your skin post weight loss. You can eat berries, grapes, banana, papaya, kiwi, watermelon, musk melon, mango, orange, apple, etc. The best time to eat fruits is in the morning or right after working out. You can also juice the fruits or make mocktails and drink whenever you feel the urge to snack.
- Vegetables
Veggies are loaded with nutrients. Allow yourself to eat as many leafy green vegetables as you like! You can make a vegetable-wholegrain sandwich, salad, or juice. You can also throw in some turkey bacon, chicken breast, or fish along with the veggies to make your vegetable intake delightful. Heat makes the vitamins present in the vegetables inactive. Therefore, eating raw vegetables is the best. This ensures that your body gets all the nutrients in the pure form. Make sure you wash the vegetables properly before eating them raw.
However, if eating raw vegetables is difficult for you, consume a combination of cooked and raw meals. Cooking helps with the release and absorption of some nutrients.
- Protein
If you are a vegetarian, the main source of your dietary protein should be pulses, beans, soy, and nuts. If you are a non-vegetarian, along with vegetarian protein sources, you should opt for lean protein options such as fish, chicken breast, and turkey.
- Carbs And Fats
If you think completely cutting off carbs and fats is good for you, you are wrong. Your body is made up of water, proteins, carbohydrates, and fats (along with other chemicals). The cells are composed of fats and proteins. The better the health of your skin, the firmer it will be. Therefore, a measured fat intake will ensure good skin health. You should eat good carbs (such as multigrain or unpolished rice) and fats (clarified butter or cashew nuts) in measured proportions.
- Dairy
Dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, and buttermilk are a rich source of calcium, inorganic phosphate, and protein. These nourish and maintains the muscles and bones. You can either eat yogurt or apply it as a body wrap or mask.
Eggs are rich in proteins and vitamins. Eat one whole egg every alternate day. You can also apply raw egg white on your skin to make your wrinkles and loose skin disappear.
4. Strength Training
If you have never tried strength training earlier, do it now. It will help rebuild the muscles that lie just below the skin and make your skin firm. Practice strength training or Calisthenics thrice a week, and you will start noticing a difference by the end of the second week. It is also important that you should increase your intake of calories if you are doing strength training. It will keep you energized, you will not feel weak, and it will help build lean muscle.
5. Tone Your Belly
When you lose a lot of weight suddenly from your belly area, the belly sags down. To make sure you don’t have a belly flap, tone your belly. Simple exercises such as leg rise, sit-ups, crunches, air biking, and side bridges will help you get a flat and toned belly. Try these exercises for about 15-20 minutes daily.
6. Sea Salt Bath
Sea salts work wonders when it comes to tightening and rejuvenating your skin. They help in blood circulation, which will make your skin firm and also make it glow. Sea salt baths are easily available in the market. You can use them with lukewarm water. Alternatively, you can also make your own scrub by mixing two tablespoons of sea salt, two tablespoons of white clay, two to three drops of mint oil, and a tablespoon of yogurt.
7. Get A Body Massage
Many people have reported that indulging in a body massage twice a week is the best way to tighten skin after weight loss. You can get it done at a spa or do it at home. You can use an essential oil (mix it with a carrier oil) or simply mix coconut oil, dried and crushed rose petals, and a little camphor. Massage the problem area slowly and in circular motions. You can rub it off with a soft cloth. Alternatively, you can also take a hot water bath. Try this, it actually works!
8. Seaweed Wrap
This is one of the best and promising therapies to tighten your skin. Seaweeds contain compounds that help in detoxification, moisturizing, skin regeneration, and cellulite reduction. You can get a seaweed wrap at a spa or at home. Mix clay, essential oils, honey (if you have dry skin), seaweed, and hot water. Apply the paste all over your body and cover with a hot towel. Let your body take up all the goodness for about 20 minutes. Take a soft and moist cloth and gently rub off the paste. Then, take a hot water bath.
9. Moisturize
Moisturizing will rehydrate, soften, smoothen, and tighten your skin. Use a good moisturizer available in the market or you can also use herbal ingredients. You can use almond oil, coconut oil, or olive oil. Add clove oil or mint oil to get a cooling and calming effect. After applying the oil all over the problem area, soak for 10-15 minutes. Rub it off with a small dough of flour in a circular motion. You will experience a brightening and tightening effect immediately.
10. Say No To The Sun
Your skin’s elasticity can deteriorate if you do not protect yourself from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Wear sunglasses and trendy hats or carry an umbrella. Always dab a sunscreen with high SPF on all the exposed areas 30 minutes prior to stepping out in the sun.
It is recommended to get around 20-30 minutes of direct sunlight daily to ensure optimal functioning of multiple body functions and hormonal cascades, including the production of serotonin and melatonin. If these are low, you are not going to be sleeping well feeling good or wanting to exercise. Additionally, the use of chemical sunscreen stresses the liver. When the liver cannot function optimally, weight is very difficult to lose. Hence, consider finding a physical zinc based sunscreen .
11. No Chlorine
Chlorine makes your skin dry, and with time, your skin loses its elasticity. Elasticity is the determining factor whether or not you will be able to tighten your skin without surgery. Limit your swim time in the pool. You can swim in a nearby lake or sea. Also, always shower after swimming in a pool.
12. Supplements
The skin’s elasticity depends on collagen, a protein that strengthens the tendons and makes the skin smooth and firm. With age, the collagen production decreases. This can also happen due to alcohol intake, smoking, not eating right, less sleep, and exposure to sun and pollution. The only way to make up for the loss is by incorporating healthy whole food eating practices. If that’s not an option, consider taking vitamin supplements. Vitamins A, C, E, K, and B-complex will nourish the skin, and the antioxidant properties will scavenge the reactive oxygen radicals. This will result in tighter, smoother, and brighter skin.
Note: Some of these supplements can be easily overdosed on e.g. Vitamin A. Hence, it is important to consult with your Registered Nutritionist or healthcare provider prior to any supplement protocol.
13. Sleep
Sleep plays a vital role when it comes maintaining skin health. When you feel good, you look good. If you do not sleep, your cells are constantly at work. Since you are in a weight loss mode, you would probably eat less as well. This is a deadly combination and can make your body cells deprived of nutrition and energy. Getting at least seven hours of sleep helps rejuvenate your cells to perform various functions properly, also contributing to great skin health.
14. Radiofrequency Technology
Still at an infant stage, using radiofrequency (RF) technology for skin tightening has gained much attention in the past few years. This technology allows contraction of collagen and formation of new collagen. This is another option to tighten your skin if you do not want to go for surgery. However, there are side effects associated with this technology. Consult your doctor to get expert advice.
15. Surger
Our skin’s elasticity declines as we age. Once stretched out to a point for many years, your skin cannot snap back to its original form. It is easier to tighten your loose skin after pregnancy or a little weight loss, but not if you have carried hundreds of pounds for many years and lost those pounds in a short time (liposuction). Therefore, the ideal candidate for plastic surgery to tighten loose skin is the one who has undergone liposuction to lose weight or has taken drastic measures to lose too much weight too quickly. Do keep in mind that even after plastic surgery, you can gain the weight back, and your skin will become loose again. Follow a proper diet and maintain a regular workout regimen to prevent that from happening.
16. No Smoking
Direct or passive smoking can dry your skin out, which ultimately impacts the elasticity of your skin negatively. As mentioned earlier, when your skin loses its elasticity, it is nearly impossible to restore it to its normal form. No matter how cool or how important it is, you just have to ditch this habit if you want to tighten your skin.
Hope these tips will help you get a better and well-toned body. If you have any other solution for tightening your skin post weight loss or have any questions, do let us know by commenting below.