One of the most frequent questions I hear is what to do about loose skin.
When you’re overweight, and you lose weight, you may (or may not) end up with loose skin. There are a lot of factors, so it’s impossible for me to say whether or not you’ll end up with loose skin. Some Rebels do, some do not.
What I can tell you is what you can do about it, and most important of all, WHEN to do anything.
Lose ALL your weight first
If you’ve still got weight to lose, focus on that first. Worrying about your loose skin when you still have 63 pounds to lose is borrowing trouble.
Plus it’s contributing to anxiety that may derail your weight loss journey, and we want all of your focus on getting to goal weight.
Once you’re at goal weight
Once you’re at goal weight, here are some things you can look at to reduce loose skin.
1) Give it time. Your skin my bounce back on its own!
2) Take high-quality collagen from grassfed, grass-finished animals. We don’t dive into powders and all that on Code Red, but if you’re worried about loose skin, I’d rather see you try a high-quality collagen and drink bone broth (also a great source of collagen) than leap straight to some kind of surgery.
3) Exercise with heavy weights. That’s right – exercise is NOT a way to address your weight problem. In maintenance, I totally support you beginning an exercise program, especially if you’re worried about loose skin.
Lift weights three times a week, every week, for a FULL YEAR. Get help from a trainer who knows what they’re doing, can work with your fitness level, and can help you with the proper form.
4) If, and only if, lifting weights three times a week for a full year doesn’t tighten up your loose skin, then either accept it, or look into skin reduction surgery.
I’d much rather you lift weights (SAFELY) and try collagen before resorting to skin reduction surgery, especially since exercise has a million benefits (again, we don’t use it to address our weight problem!).
But IF you’re at goal weight, and you decide skin reduction surgery is YOUR best option, then please do what you feel is best.