Extra Skin After Weight Loss
More and more people are getting in shape and losing weight – sometimes, a lot of weight. Dealing with extra skin after weight loss is a cosmetic problem that affects some of them.
This article will discuss the phenomenon of extra skin after weight loss, which usually occurs after drastic weight reduction, whether from dieting, exercise or surgery.
Not everyone that reduces their weight develops extra skin after weight loss. However, it does happen to some patients, and is often distressing. While not life threatening, loose skin after losing weight can be unsightly; most patients report a desire to remedy it. Those who most often experience extra skin after weight loss are formerly obese or very overweight individuals, who had such quantities of fat that, without it, the structure of their skin is no longer supported. (For example, those who lose 100 – or more – pounds of weight, especially around their abdomen.)
Other factors include:
- How quickly the weight is lost. For example, losing an large quantity of weight very quickly, through “crash dieting” or surgery may bring quick results (though in the former case, they are unlikely to be long lasting); yet, the rapidity of weight loss may leave abdominal skin hanging below the belt-line. Most healthy ways to lose weight (for patients not requiring a drastic weight loss due to medical reasons) reduce overall weight gradually, and are best achieved through sensible diet and exercise.
- The age of a patient also plays a role; as we age, the skin loses its elasticity – it’s ability to “bounce back” to its original shape. Many anecdotal reports suggest the use of collagen supplements to improve the skin’s natural elasticity.
- How long have you been obese or overweight? The longer a patient’s skin has been stretched out of shape by excess fat, the more time it needs to return to a taut formation.
Speak with a plastic surgeon about a “body lift”. This is a cosmetic surgical procedure that tightens the skin and lifts it on specific parts of the body; a similar, more localized procedure is called an Abdominoplasty, which tightens and raises the skin around the stomach. Please be sure to discuss the pros, cons and risks of any such procedure carefully with your health care provider.
Finally, give the loose skin you may be experiencing after weight loss time; skin can recover. A most helpful activity for patients to incorporate into their lives is regular exercise – both aerobic, to speed the metabolism and maintain weight loss – and load bearing exercise, which builds muscles. Muscle growth will support the skin from the inside, resulting in firmer skin than before.
For those patients dealing with extra skin after weight loss, take heart – there are solutions.