Saggy, loose skin is one of the battle scars left after pregnancy for many women. Because you gained weight so quickly to fit room in your body for your bundle of joy, your body needed to produce more skin. After the birth of your baby, that skin may still be present as loose rolls or extra sags. If you have a mild case, your skin may just not feel as tight as it was pre-pregnancy. I’m going to go over some healthy ways to reduce or get rid of that saggy skin once and for all in today’s article.
Exercise
One of the best ways to tighten excess skin is to exercise. Although all exercises are great to do, there are specific exercises that will tighten loose skin. I’ll go over a few of those exercises here. Just remember that even if it doesn’t tighten the skin around your stomach, it never hurts to do them anyway. Not only will exercising make you healthier, but it will improve your lifestyle.
Plank
Planks are a great exercise to do if you want to strengthen your abs, which will result in a tight stomach. Try to hold plank as long as you can. Each time you do a plank, you should be able to hold it longer.
How to do a plank:
Get on your forearms, with your elbows directly underneath your shoulders. Contract your abdominals, and pull your bellybutton in towards your spine. Hold this position for as long as possible. At first, you may only be able to hold it for around 10 seconds, but as you strengthen your core, you should be able to hold it for minutes.
Plank Pike Ups
Similar to a plank, plank pike ups, also known as plank saw, are an excellent exercise to do if you want to strengthen your core and tighten your skin. Unlike planks, this exercise is not isometric, but instead more dynamic.
How to do plank pike ups:
Start in plank position, with your back flat and elbows directly under your shoulders. Once you are in plank position, slowly walk your feet up towards your hands. Walk as far as you can, so that you make a triangle shape. Once you have walked up as far as you can, slowly walk back down until your body is flat again. If this move is too hard to do at first, you can modify by starting at the top of a pushup instead of in a plank. If you want to make this move even harder, you can jump up to your hands instead of stepping.
Leg Crosses
Leg crosses are another ab workout that makes your core strong.
How to do leg crosses:
Lie flat on your back, with your legs on the ground. Slowly cross your legs as you raise them until they are straight in the air. Once they are straight in the air, lower them until they are touching the floor. Continue to do this exercise as long as you can without losing your form.
Drink Lots of Water
Drinking water can help you burn calories, as well as keep your skin healthy and tight. You are supposed to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, so make sure you don’t slack on drinking water.
Exfoliate Your Skin
When you take a shower, it may help to exfoliate the skin around your stomach. Exfoliating your skin helps increase the blood circulation by increasing the blood flow in that area. Exfoliating your skin also helps create new, healthy, and more elastic skin.
Breastfeed Your Baby
Not only is breastfeeding healthy for your baby, but it is also healthy for you too. While breastfeeding, your calories are transformed into milk, which therefore helps you get rid of extra fat. Studies have shown that a breastfeeding mother loses weight faster than a non-breastfeeding mother.
Lose Weight Slowly
Whether you want to know how to tighten skin after pregnancy, or how to tighten skin after weight loss, one of the reasons why your skin stays loose is because you lost weight too quickly. If possible, consider slowly dropping your weight. It is recommended to lose 1-2 pounds per week. The healthiest way to lose weight is to exercise daily. Make sure to give your skin time to adjust to its new shape.
Eat Protein
Protein is a great source if you want muscle growth. It also contains important nutrients that help your skin, such as collagen. Most women will need around 50 grams of protein a day. If you are more active, you may need a little more.
Try Skin Firming Lotions
There are many different skin firming lotions that you can use after pregnancy or weight loss. These lotions and creams contain vitamins E, C, A, and K. You will want to apply it to loose skin twice a day. Keep in mind that it is controversial on whether skin firming lotions actually work. For the best results, you may also want to try a different method of getting rid of excess skin, such as exercising.
Final Thoughts
Don’t expect your loose skin to disappear overnight. Despite the fact that you may have heard of miracle cures for loose skin, they really don’t happen very quickly. Instead of getting down about not seeing quick results, keep plugging away at following these tips that I’ve gone over in this article. Be persistent, and you will see results. Good luck!