How Can I Get Firmer Skin After Weight Loss?

Losing weight feels great, but it does have a downside. If you have lost a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, your new, svelte figure might be obscured by loose skin. Skin that doesn't snap back into space after weight loss, but instead hangs off the body is a common problem after a major weight loss, but you don't have to accept it. You do have options--even non-surgical options--to deal with loose skin.

Loose Skin after Weight Loss

• Not everyone who loses weight, even a significant amount of weight, will deal with loose skin. The problem arises when you lose a large amount of weight fast. When you are overweight, your skin stretches to accommodate your extra baggage. If you lose weight quickly, your skin may not be able to keep up. Though the weight is gone, the stretched out skin remains. Without the extra fat filling it out, the skin sags.

  There is no magic ratio of pounds to time spent losing them you can use to avoid loose skin. Everyone's body reacts differently. However, fad diets that involve losing several pounds per week and weight loss surgery are most associated with saggy skin, while plans that involve weight loss of about 1 to 2 pounds per week are considered healthy.

Non-Surgical Treatment

• Building lean muscle is the best way to address saggy skin. Replacing the bulky fat that was under your skin with lean muscle should help firm it up. To build lean muscle, concentrate on weight training exercises and a diet rich in low-fat protein sources like chicken and fish.

  Your overall skin health impacts your skin elasticity, or how easily your skin "snaps" back into shape with your body. Smoking, overexposure to the sun and poor nutrition can all make your skin less elastic and reduce the ability of your skin to recover from a major weight loss.

  Time may also make a difference. Eventually, your skin may recover on its own after your weight loss. Again, however, everyone reacts differently and there is no way to predict whether or not your own skin will recover over time.

Body Contouring Surgery

• If other options don't work, body contouring surgery can help. Tummy tucks, lifts, liposuction and other surgical skin removal and shaping are all options. A plastic surgeon can advise you about the body contouring options that would work for you.

Avoiding Sagging Skin

• The best way to cope with sagging skin is to not get it in the first place. Slow and steady weight loss lets your skin shrink with the rest of your body. Doing weight training exercises and getting enough lean protein will help you replace fat with lean muscle, which will also help your skin stay firm as the weight comes off.