Weight loss, especially sudden loss, can result in loose skin and "saggy" muscles. Often, this is because the skin cannot shrink into place to match the rate of weight loss. Additionally, sudden weight loss often results in loss of both fat and muscle mass --- which means that there may still be fat under the skin. A saggy abdomen may be the result of excess fat over the abdominal muscles, or weak muscle structure.
Tighten the Abdominals
Step 1
Maintain a healthy diet. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, and get plenty of protein. A healthy diet will help you maintain a healthy weight and burn fat around the abdomen.
Step 2
Work your core. Yoga and Pilates both strengthen the back and abdominal muscles, which will tighten the abdominal area and improve your posture.
Step 3
Do cardiovascular exercise. As with a healthy diet, cardiovascular exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight and burn excess fat around the abdomen.
Step 4
Wear waist-trimming clothing. Body-shaping underwear can trim and firm your waistline while you're waiting for exercise and diet to take effect.
Loose Skin
Step 1
Remove dead skin cells with an exfoliating scrub or a tool, such as a loofah. Exfoliating stimulates blood and lymph flow to tighten the skin.
Step 2
Stay hydrated. Water keeps the skin moist and helps it maintain its elasticity.
Step 3
Feed your skin. Foods like avocado and salmon, according to "Reader's Digest," hydrate the skin and improve elasticity. Other foods, such as pomegranate, help the body make collagen, a protein responsible for skin structure.
Step 4
Lift weights and do cardiovascular exercise. Tightening the muscles under the skin can improve skin tone. Some loose skin may actually be excess body fat under the surface of the skin. Cardiovascular exercise burns that fat, which may firm up that area.
Tips and Warnings
- Skin needs time to shrink into place and it may take as many as two years, from the date you reach your target weight, for the skin to shrink back into place. If your skin has not returned to normal within two years, consult a physician about surgery.
Things You'll Need
- Healthy food
- Waist-trimming clothing
- Loofah
- Exfoliating scrub
- Water
References
- "Reader's Digest": Eight Essential Foods for Beautiful Skin
- Bodybuilding.com: Battling Loose Skin, Stretch Marks, Gyno and Winning
- "Personal Trainer Manual": American Council on Exercise; 2004
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