Will i get loose skin after weight loss?
One of questions I get asked most often is whether or not you will get loose skin after losing weight.
You will have loose skin if you lose a big amount of weight in a short amount of time. The amount of loose skin depends on how you lost the weight, your age, your skin type, your diet and whether you are exercising and building muscle.
Even though I believe loose skin isn’t really a big problem compared to all the health issues obesity brings on, I do understand why people are so hung up on not wanting any loose skin on their bodies. There are many things you can do to prevent and diminish the amount of loose skin you might get from losing weight.
Why does weight loss cause loose skin?
Your skin is the largest organ of the body. It consists of several elastic layers that stretch and contract when you gain weight and when you lose weight.
For skin to be at it’s most elastic, it needs to be healthy. Most people that are very obese have had many years of unhealthy conditions, and therefore unhealthy skin.
Fasting can help your skin heal by promoting autophagy. In order to get into the therapeutic zone of autophagy you will need to fast for a minimum of 24h and up to 3-5 days at a time. This where optimal autophagy peaks.
You will also need to adapt other healthy lifestyle habits in order to maximize skin health.
Exercising for Skin Health
When you exercise you are increasing blood flow. This helps to carry oxygen and nutrients to skin cells, keeping them healthy. Exercise also helps to build muscle, promoting autophagy and fat loss. Resistance training helps your body to maintain and increases muscle mass while also stimulating the body’s natural waste removal processes.
Exercise also relieves stress which has been shown to help with some skin conditions. Acne and eczema have been shown to be reduced when stress levels are lowered. There might also be a link between stress and sebaceous glands which produce oil in the skin are affected by stress hormones.
Resistance training is superior for weight loss compared to cardio because you are burning fat and also building lean muscle mass that also helps to keep skin tighter and looking better overall. As your body becomes more muscular, this will help improve the appearance of loose skin.
Should loose skin prevent you from losing unhealthy extra weight?
One of the things that people fear when it comes to weight loss is having loose skin after losing a lot of weight. Some people might not even start a weight loss program from not wanting to be faced with the fact that after losing a bunch of weight you will have some loose skin. The question to ask yourself is: Is having some loose skin better than being obese?
The key here is to look at weight loss from the point of view of health. Losing weight can help you with a myriad of health problems. If you are 50-100 lbs+ overweight then you need to think about what this extra weight is doing to your body and how damaging it is for your health. Worrying about loose skin is not something that should prevent you from starting your weight loss journey.
In short you should consider loose skin to be just part of you. It is a reminder of the tremendous achievement you have made. Be proud of your weight loss, and be proud of taking a step in becoming a better version of yourself.
Diet for Skin Health
In order to maximize skin health, promote skin elasticity and prevent or minimize loose skin when losing weight you also need to pay attention to your diet.
- Drink plenty of water – Make sure you are hydrated because when you are dehydrated your skin begins to damage.
- Replenish electrolytes
- Eat more protein
- Do extended fasts (3-5 days)
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Vitamin C
Fasting Induced Autophagy and Loose Skin
There have been studies conducted on the effects of autophagy on skin health. It turns out that when you enter autophagy your skin becomes more elastic and is able to tighten up faster. So losing weight by fasting is actually the best weight loss method if you want to minimize and avoid getting loose skin.
In cases of extreme weight loss it will be inevitable that you will have some loose skin, but if you lost the weight by fasting methods then you will have experienced a lot of autophagy and therefore your skin will be able to adapt to your new weight must quicker.
How to activate autophagy in your body
Dr. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh talks about his research into autophagy and how he likes to induce autophagy in his own body for optimal health.