How to Prevent Hanging Skin on the Stomach After Weight Loss

When you lose a lot of weight in a rapid manner, you are likely to end up with an "apron" of excess skin hanging in your stomach area. This excess skin causes cosmetic problems, problems with wearing certain clothing styles, rashes, infections, and problems with personal hygiene. It is certainly applaudable that you have lost the weight. But the hanging skin can be a sore reminder of the battle that you are still fighting. Despite the battle, be encouraged. With a lot of hard work and determination, you can get rid of the excess skin.

Instructions

• 1

  Do abdominal exercises three days per week to build the muscles of your abdominal cavity. The more muscles you build in the stomach area equals the more fat you will burn in that area, since it takes muscles to burn fat. For an example of abdominal exercises that you can do visit the link in the resources section at the end of this article.

• 2

  Cut your caloric intake. Get involved in cardiovascular activities, such as walking, aerobics and swimming to burn those calories. The cardio activities won't build muscle in the stomach but it will burn the fat, which is what you are desiring to do.

  Keep in mind that it takes 3,500 calories to equal 1 pound of fat. That means if you consume 3,500 calories per day, but you burn 4,000 calories per day, you are doing well and can lose 1 pound of body fat per week. The key is to burn more calories than you consume.

• 3

  Eat healthy. Focus on eating more fruits, vegetables, nuts, high-protein and high-fiber foods. Stop eating the fast foods because they are loaded in fats. Fast food is an enemy to your stomach, especially a stomach that is trying to get free of hanging skin.

• 4

  Soak up loads of H2O. It is important for your skin to stay hydrated to increase the elasticity. Drink plenty of water and try over-the-counter creams to moisturize and tighten the loose skin.

• 5

  Consider getting a "tummy tuck" (abdominoplasty) if you have tried all of the steps above and still unable to get rid of the hanging skin on your stomach. The tummy tuck will consist of a cosmetic surgeon surgically removing the excess fat from your stomach.

  The average cost of a tummy tuck ranges between $6,000 to $10,000, depending on geographical location. If you decide to do the tummy tuck you should be prepared to take about six weeks of "time off" for recovery after the surgery.