Shedding excess skin is all part of the overall weight loss journey.
Weight loss can be one of the most difficult but rewarding ways of improving your lifestyle. When people lose a large amount of weight in a relatively short amount of time excess skin can remain. This skin looks unpleasant and often damages a person's self esteem. Getting rid of excess skin after weight loss involves exercise, skin treatments, dietary changes and, sometimes, even surgery.
Instructions
The Surgery Route
1. Visit your doctor to discuss the options open to you. A wide variety of surgeries offer help in getting rid of loose skin following weight loss, including tummy tucks. Do not be afraid to ask your doctor questions. Ask for a referral to see a plastic surgeon if you decide surgery is the route you wish to follow.
2. Consult with your plastic surgeon. Ask him questions you have about surgery, including the side effects and the outcomes. Furthermore, ask what else you can do, aside from surgery, to help shed excess skin. Book your surgery, if you decide to go this route. follow all of the preparatory steps your surgeon gives you. For example, it is essential that you do not eat for a certain length of time prior to your surgery as it can lead to complications.
3. Discuss your surgery with your friends and family. Ask them for their support, as you should not enter a traumatic period of your life without the care and attention of those around you. Your family and friends will help you prepare for your surgery and look after you when you get home after your skin removal procedures.
4. Undergo your surgery. Once your surgery is complete, follow all of the recuperation steps advised to you by your surgeon, and do not hesitate to contact her if you have any concerns or questions about your progress. Many patients experience extreme discomfort after undergoing tummy tuck surgery, for example, and are left with heavy bruising and discomfort. Ask your doctor if you can do anything to alleviate your discomfort.
The Non-Surgery Route
5. Continue to exercise. Focus on working out the areas affected by excess skin and subject them to a regimen of toning and tightening exercises. For example, if you have excess skin on the abdomen area, perform sets of abdominal exercises, such as crunches, to work away the excess.
6. Adjust your diet to promote healthy skin. The most basic change you can make is to take in more fluids; the best way to do this is to drink more water. Increase your intake of steamed vegetables, fresh fruits, oily fish, flax seeds, whole grain foods and olive oil to increase the elasticity and efficacy of skin.
7. Moisturize and cleanse to maintain the integrity of the skin. Apply moisturizer twice a day, focusing particular attention on the worst affected areas to promote skin elasticity. Massage coconut oil into areas with excess skin to help remove stretch marks; pregnant women use this technique for their stretch marks. Use a loofah when bathing to help remove excess skin.
