How to Keep From Getting Flabby Skin From Weight Loss

If you are revamping your exercise and diet plan to lose weight, flabby skin is a natural concern. Loose skin occurs when the fat behind it shrinks at a rapid rate. Thankfully, combating flabby skin does not have to be done by slowing your weight loss efforts, nor do you have to buy expensive creams and products. Some modification in diet and exercise can prevent loose skin from forming.

Instructions

• 1

  Eat skin-healthy foods. To keep the skin nice and firm, the skin layer must be hydrated and elastic. Some foods help with this goal, while other harmful chemicals can contribute to saggy skin.

  Eat fruits and vegetables, which are high in antioxidants and water. These two properties greatly help skin elasticity. Water hydrates cells, allowing them to reproduce and flush out toxins. Antioxidants prevent free radicals from denaturing your cells. The darker the fruit, the more antioxidants it contains. Therefore, choose foods such as dark berries and pomegranates to improve your skin.

  Foods high in omega fatty acids are also great for skin health. Walnuts, Brazil nuts, flax seeds, coconut butter or oil, and avocados all contain large amounts of fatty acids. These fats cannot be produced by the body, so you must get them through your diet. In "Naturally Healthy Skin," Stephanie Tourles elaborates that a lack of fatty acids contributes to skin problems like eczema and psoriasis.

• 2

  Tone trouble areas. Skin expands during weight gain to accommodate fat cells. As you shrink fat cells, your skin contracts in response, which causes loose skin. Although shrinking fat cells is a good thing, your skin layer is best served by replacing fat with muscle.

  Hit the gym to tone the areas of concern. If you are concerned about loose skin forming in the stomach, do crunches and weights that target the abs. In "The Abs Diet," David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker explain that ab exercises can help formerly pregnant women tighten loose skin into its former shape. Keeping your abs toned during weight loss can help you to avoid loose skin.

• 3

  Get moving with cardiovascular exercise. The book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Weight Loss" explains that loose skin is wholly avoidable by including cardiovascular exercise in the weight loss process. The book points to additional advantages of cardiovascular exercise, including increased mood and energy.

  Ensure your heart rate is elevated for best results during your workout. If running a mile is not possible, jog as long as you can, then walk, and then jog again. Such intervals of high-intensity workouts with walking will yield positive results. If you prefer not to run or jog, consider skating, playing sports, or martial arts as good alternatives.