Losing Weight While Keeping Your Skin Firm
Considering you don't have an excessive amount of loose skin already it is possible to lose weight and keep your skin firm in the process. The idea is to keep your body well hydrated day in and day out. NEVER EVER let yourself become dehydrated!
Drink plenty of water throughout the day and NEVER EVER totally eliminate your carbohydrate intake. From our experience most people who have lost weight too fast by eliminating their carbohydrates ended up with a lot of excess skin afterwards. The point is to lose the weight to get healthier and of course to look better with your clothes ON and OFF.
Here are some of our tips:
1. Follow a high fiber, well rounded diet that includes a carbohydrate, protein and vegetables with every meal. Cutting out refined flours/breads, sugars, sodas, trans saturated fats and junk food will yield the best results. The reason why so many people end up with loose skin after losing weight is because they go on low carbohydrate diets that will in turn dehydrate the body.
2. As we stated above one key to increasing the elasticity of your skin is to keep your body well hydrated. Yes, drinking water will do this. The average person weighing 70kg needs at least 2,5 liters of water per day. Possibly more depending on the type of exercise you do on a daily basis.
3. Follow a full body exercise routine such as brisk walking at least 3-4 times a week for a minimum of 40 minutes, and doing high intensity interval training (HITT) 3-4 times weekly for at least 30 minutes.
4. Take 1-2 Omega 3 capsules per day. Omega 3 has been shown to reduce tissue inflammation and we know that obesity increases inflammation of the tissues.
5. Anything you can do to increase circulation will also help. Skin brushing techniques are very good. Do a search on the internet for skin brushing to get all the info you need. Deep massages are also good.
6. Most importantly DO NOT try to lose weight too fast. The more you weigh the easier it will be to lose weight from these tips so ease into it slowly so you only lose about 0,5 to 1kg per week. Doing this will prevent the sagging skin. If you lose weight too fast you will end up with loose skin 90% of the time.
7. Some of our clients have done weekly body wraps with great success but it can get messy. You can do this as an option but it's really not necessary.
8. As an option you can also take a supplement called collagen containing Type 1, 2 and 3 hydrolyzed collagen. Collagen is one of the most abundant building blocks in our bodies, a vital component of bones, cartilage, hair, ligaments, muscles, nails, skin and tendons. Collagen increases the elasticity of the skin improving its snapback.
If you lose weight and are dehydrated in the process you will see the scale weight go down but unfortunately most of the weight being lost is nothing more than water weight. If you are losing 0,5 to 1kg per week you are doing great. If you are losing 2 to 4kgs you are pushing the limit. Any more than 5kgs per week and you are sure to end up with loose skin after losing the weight because chances are you are restricting too many carbohydrates from your diet.
Also, instead of getting on the scale every week to measure your progress go more by how your clothes are fitting. We always tell our patients to try on the tightest pair of pants they have and then follow these tips for 4 weeks and then try them on again. After 4 weeks those tight fitting pants will be a thing of the past.
Follow all the above and you will see satisfactory results. And please share your results in the comments below.
xx
HLA
