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1st March 2009
Will I Have Loose Skin
If I Start a Weight-Loss Program?
Cliff Baker
You've no doubt heard the "horror
stories." Those people who triumphantly lose large amounts of weight only to
find that they're now saddled with excess, baggy loose skin. Perhaps the
thought of that happening to you has even intimidated you about the possibility
of reaching your ideal weight.
If that's the only reason you haven't
embarked on your weight loss sojourn yet, then I suggest you start making plans
for your journey to a new you -- and start today. While loose skin is an issue
for some people, it's an issue that can easily be overcome . . . and it's
certainly no reason to use it as an "excuse" from becoming the healthiest person
you can possibly be.
Let me reassure you, though, that not everyone who loses
weight experiences this "loose-skin syndrome" as I like to call it. Are you
going to be one of those individuals who ends up with loose skin? It's nearly
impossible to tell. But here are some determining factors to give you a general
idea.
If you know you have several of these factors, you may be
about to put some healthy weight loss habits into practice to avoid the problem.
Determining factors of "loose-skin syndrome"
1. Amount of weight you lose.
This seems obvious. The more weight you need to lose, the
greater your chances of developing "loose-skin syndrome." This is because the
more your skin had been stretched to accommodate your excess weight. A person
who has lost 100 pounds has a far greater chance of discovering they have excess
skin at the end of their weight loss program than an individual who only has 10
pounds to lose.
2. How fast you lose your weight.
The rate at which you lose your weight also plays a factor in
determining the amount -- if any -- of loose skin is left dangling from your
body. The slower you lose your weight, the less likely you are that you'll have
to deal with the problem. The ideal weight lose rate? About one to two pounds
a week.
Losing weight more slowly actually allows you to keep your
muscle mass during this period. It also means that your skin has more time to
adjust -- and "snap back" -- to the new shape of your body.
3. Your age.
Yes, it's probably not something you want to hear, but your
age does play a vital role in the elasticity of your skin during weight loss.
Skin just seems to lose its suppleness the older a person gets. Not only that,
but according to Jason Spector, M.D., assistant professor of plastic surgery at
the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, your tissue expands as you gain
weight. Not only that, but he also says that your body literally creates more
skin through the production of more skin cells.
4. How long you've been overweight.
The longer you've carried your excess weight, the more
difficult it may be for it to return to its original position. It's far harder
for an individual who has been overweight for a decade or so to have her skin
"snap back" than say a woman who has been pregnant for nine months.
All Hope Is Not Lost!
This may sound as if loose skin is an inevitable part of
weight loss, but it really isn't. By taking small steps during your weight-loss
program, you can help reduce the chances of experiencing that irritating
hanging, loose skin.
One of the steps you can take is to make sure you drink
plenty of fluids while you're transforming your eating habits from not so
great to good. You already know how valuable drinking plenty of water is. But
if you exercise vigorously as part of your new health routine, considering
replacing some of the electrolytes -- most commonly sodium and potassium -- you
lose as you sweat.
This is the advice of Harry Pino, Ph.D., and director of
exercise physiology at the Obesity Consult Center of Tufts-New England Medical
Center. You may want to consider taking some of your fluids in the form of
sports drinks.
Your eating habits also play a crucial role the elasticity of
your skin. If part of your new lifestyle included eating less fat and more
lean proteins, you shouldn't have much trouble with loose skin, Pino
suggests.
Consuming an abundance of fruits and vegetables
is another way to help ensure that your skin maintains its elasticity. Why?
Because these foods have a high water content to them. "A well-hydrated body,"
Pino explains, "helps your muscles to respond better to strength training."
And then there's that word that no one really likes to hear
-- but does your body so much good: exercise. Yes! You've no doubt already
have started some form of endurance exercise: running, walking, bicycling. And
this is great, because it helps to burn the fat.
The second part of exercise is to specifically to include
some time in your program to work with weights as well as resistance-training
machines.
Your first thought is probably that these types of exercises
actually "tone the skin." At least that was my initial reaction. But that
isn't necessarily so, according to Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., and chief science
officer for the American Council on Exercise. "But by adding muscle, you can
form a tight layer muscle under the skin."
The point of exercising is to preserve the muscles you
currently have while losing your fat, Pino adds. If you don't do this, then you
risk the chance of actually losing your muscle while you're losing your fat.
And that contributes to your chances of developing that excess skin.
So, what's the bottom line? You can probably guess it
already. Don't let the worry of loose skin keep you from losing weight. Baggy
skin may be annoying. But losing that weight is one of the best steps you can
take to improve your overall health and happiness, by a long shot!
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