How to Lose Weight Without Having Excess Skin

If you're losing a large amount of weight quickly, it's difficult to avoid excess skin. But slower weight loss of 10 to 20 percent of your body weight minimizes the potential that you'll have baggy skin once you reach your goal. Lose weight without excess skin by consuming a healthy diet, plenty of water and adding muscle tone. Take your time and lose the weight properly. It took some time for your skin to stretch as you gained weight, so allow the same time -- if not more -- for your skin to return. Losing the weight too quickly can result in saggy skin that can only be removed through surgery.

Lose one to two pounds per week. This realistic time frame provides time for your skin to shrink, and is recommended as the healthy approach by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Elasticity of Skin After Weight Loss

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Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. The epidermis layer of skin is primarily composed of water. Increasing the fluid content of the skin leads to a greater skin thickness, whereas dehydration causes the skin to lose its elasticity. Staying dehydrated for long periods of time can cause more elasticity to be lost and your skin may not be able to recover.

Add resistance training to your workout to help build muscle tone. Losing weight without building muscle will remove any mass between the skin and bone, causing the skin to sag. As you build muscle mass, the skin has something to grab onto, filling the void left by the loss of body weight.

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Avoid smoking and sun exposure. Both cause skin to lose its elasticity and minimizes its ability to respond to your weight loss.