Weight loss can be a monumental achievement for many people, particularly those who have struggled with their weight for years and failed several times before to drop weight and keep it off. Losing weight can dramatically improve your health and reducing your risk of numerous diseases, including heart disease and diabetes. Despite all the benefits, there can be some downsides to losing weight. One of those is the changes to your skin, particularly the increased looseness of your skin. This can be uncomfortable and embarrassing, but if you develop loose skin after weight loss, there are several things you can do to treat it.
Step 1
Curb your weight loss. In many situations, loose skin occurs because the skin is unable to adapt to your changing body mass as fast as you lose weight. Even if you try to tighten skin while continuing to lose weight, you aren't likely to recover the excess sagging. By slowing or stopping your weight loss, you give the skin time to catch up. Maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle, but focus on maintaining your current weight--at least until your skin catches up with you. Otherwise, you may develop more severe loose skin, including the appearance of stretch marks.
Step 2
Drink plenty of water every day--at least 8 glasses, if not more. According to iFitAndHealthy.com, your diet and fluids intake before, during and after weight loss has a significant impact on how your skin reacts to the loss of body mass. Water helps hydrate your skin, making it more elastic when your body changes size. Even if you haven't been hydrating properly during weight loss, feed your body fluids throughout the day.
Step 3
Moisturize your skin daily. Ideally, moisturizer should be applied once in the morning and at night before going to bed. Moisturizing lotions and creams help provide moisture topically to the skin, and they also help lock in moisture to keep your skin from drying out. These creams can also provide other topical nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals that promote skin health, directly to the skin.
Step 4
Consider a cosmetic procedure to eliminate excess skin. If you develop severe sagging skin, it could be very difficult--and maybe impossible--for your skin to fully recover and tighten up around your body. These surgical procedures cut out excess skin, reducing the workload on your skin.
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