Unfortunately, many people who have issues with loose skin really don’t have extra loose skin … they have more fat to lose. There is a real easy way to determine this. Skin is, by itself, only a fraction of an inch thick (ever heard the expression, can’t pinch an inch?) so when you pick up this “loose skin” it should be thin and you can pinch it to the size of a thick piece of paper. If you can grab anything more than a fraction of an inch, then what you have is not loose skin. You have loose skin with fat underneath it (subcutaneous fat).
You still have fat to lose. As you burn that fat, the skin will begin to shrink to your body. Skin is elastic and is fully replaced over time. The keys are to follow proper nutrition (you need healthy fats and certain vitamins for the skin to replenish itself) and skin care (the right skin care products actually improve the elasticity of the skin and help it to heal faster).
I know plenty who have that issue … the last bit of fat to go is where we least want it to be. Unfortunately, it’s common for people to overshoot their target weight and believe they are there but stuck with loose skin, when in fact they simply have another 10 – 20 or even 30 pounds to lose in order to take care of the issue.
So what do you do? You continue to lose fat. That is the only way to get rid of it. Balance your resistance training, cardio, and nutrition, and burn the fat.
Now, these things vary with age and as you get older, elasticity reduces in the skin. However, 99% of my clients who think they have loose skin really just need to lose more fat.
Need help losing that last bit of fat? Check out our online weight loss plan.
