How to get rid of loose skin after weight loss

Firstly, well done on getting this far! If you are looking into how to get rid of loose skin after weight loss, then the chances are that you’ve made a phenomenal effort already on your weight loss journey. Getting rid of the additional pounds is a huge achievement. After significant weight loss, the next step is developing how can you get rid of loose skin after weight loss? A number of our clients work really hard to lose additional weight that has piled up over the years, and the results can be phenomenal. However, the resulting loose skin can be something that people are self-conscious of and can impact your mental wellbeing and physical comfort.

Your skin is a living organism

Skin is a living organism. That means, that it is constantly growing and adapting. Whatever your skin looks like now, it may change in a few months or years’ time. To a certain extent, your skin is able to recover from some stretching it’s been through. In many instances, if weight loss is consistent and over a period of time, the skin to some degree will recover. There are a few tips below that can help with that. In the case of significant weight loss, then the skin may need some extra help.

Your skin is formed of a number of layers. Different layers have different types of cells. Whilst the skin on the outside of your skin (the epidermis) is constantly being renewed, the skin cells underneath the epidermis are more permanent. This is why the skins sometimes need a little more help to recover after weight loss.

Why you get loose skin after weight loss

If you have lost a significant amount of weight and had maintained your previous weight for some time; the elastane and collagen fibres in the skin can become a little damaged, losing some of their elasticity. Essentially, the longer the period of time that someone has been overweight or obese; the higher the chances that there will be loose skin resulting from weight loss.

It is not only sustained weight gain over time that affects your skin’s ability to retract. The other thing that can affect the skin’s ability to retract, is age. Older skin contains less collagen and therefore has a tendency to stay slightly looser after weight loss.

How to get tighten loose skin after weight loss

Whilst it may not be possible to avoid loose skin completely, there are a few things you can do to try to reduce the amount of loose skin you have after losing weight as much as possible.

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

The first thing is to ensure that the weight loss happens steadily over a period of time. This gives your skin a chance to recover at small intervals, rather than needing to change a large amount all at once.

Protein-rich Foods Are Your Friend

Eating a balanced diet can help your skin to get the nutrients it needs to stay healthy. This can give your skin the best chance of recovery. Foods that are rich in protein such as cottage cheese, milk, legumes, beans, seeds, nuts, and fish all contain collagen and elastin forming elements.

Build Up Your Blood Flow

Massaging the area can help. By massaging the area of loose skin, the blood flow increases, and it can help to encourage an anti-ageing response.

Invest In A Water Bottle

It’s key to stay hydrated. For your skin to maintain its elasticity, it needs to maintain a good supply of water. Many healthcare professionals advise that you need to drink 2 litres of water a day.

Supplements Might Help

There are also many supplements on the market that can help your skin to tighten. For the full range of supplements, it’s best to speak to a health care provider.

Can surgery help?

In a nutshell, yes. The above suggestions all help your skin to recover naturally, which is great to some extent, However, there are many instances where the scale of weight loss can mean that surgery is the only viable option for getting rid of the loose skin left behind.

Surgery is particularly helpful where the sagging skin is very noticeable and causing self-confidence issues. Our advice would be to speak to your doctor about the range of options that may be available to you.

Here to support

At Big Health and Fitness, we specialise in working with people who are taking themselves through many changes, and we work hard to support them. Graham Waugh‘s own journey of significant weight loss means that he has had first-hand experience of losing over 30 stone of weight, and has experienced getting rid of the associated skin loss after. If you’d like to find out more, or for support in your own skin loss experience, please do contact one of our team – you’ll always find a good ear and helpful advice at Big Health and Fitness.


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