5 Ways to Get Rid of Loose Skin (After Weight Loss or Pregnancy)
1. Slow & Steady Wins the Race
It took you time to put the weight on (and stretch the skin along with it), so it’s going to take time to take it off. The quicker you lose weight, the more loose skin you’ll have. You need to give your skin time to catch up and build back up its elasticity. It’s crucial to build muscle while losing weight. Not only will it increase your metabolism, but it will help with skin elasticity.
2. Increase Your Skin’s Elasticity
We can do this a few different ways. Elasticity has everything to do with collagen. Collagen is responsible for skin turgor, helps repair damaged/wounded skin, and keeps skin and muscle tissue together.
Vitamin C’s vital role in the body is producing collagen and elastin. The more we have of these two, the tighter our skin will be. Incorporate more citrus fruits and red/orange/yellow-pigmented fruits and vegetables into your diet.
Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant inside of the skin. It increases collagen and elastin quality. Add shelled sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ to your diet to up your vitamin E intake. You can also use lotions with vitamin E to apply directly to the skin.
Vitamin D works to grow new skin cells. It also works as an anti-inflammatory. Add in wild-caught salmon, avocados and nuts/seeds to your diet to increase vitamin D intake. And don’t forget about 5-10 minutes per day in the sun on bare skin for added vitamin D synthesis.
3. Bump up Your Protein Intake
In order to gain muscle, we need adequate protein for growth and repair. Protein is also a key factor in skin turgor and integrity, specifically collagen. Protein recommendations are based on your level of physical activity, however, 0.8 to 1g of protein per pound of body weight is a general rule of thumb.
4. Strength Training
Strength training helps improve muscle tone, builds lean, functional muscle, speeds up metabolism, and improve body composition, which means less fat. Your skin will start to tighten up and wrap around those nice, dense muscles.
5. Hydration, Hydration, Hydration
Nothing keeps skin looking and feeling younger than moisture and hydration. Just look at the names of some of the best lotions and creams out there that boast hydration-rich nutrients. So why not start from the inside out? You’ll also reduce water retention by upping your water intake and it’ll help skin bounce back and fight off wrinkling in those especially loose areas.
by Samantha Coogan, MS, RDN, LD
1 reply on “5 Ways to Get Rid of Loose Skin”
I was just thinking about this a few days ago, great information as always. Thanks for always sharing the good stuff.