Can You Get Rid of Sagging Belly Skin?

If you have had a baby or lost a lot of weight, your joy at getting your body back might be tempered by sagging belly skin. The problem can get worse as you get older, because your skin elasticity is reduced and collagen production slows with age. Exercise, lifestyle choices and medical procedures are available to repair even severely sagging skin.

Start a daily exercise routine. Incorporate 30 minutes of aerobics such as walking or cycling into your daily regime to burn calories and firm your body and skin gradually. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend 150 minutes per week of exercise to improve your health, or 300 minutes per week to lose weight 1.

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Perform crunches on an exercise ball to firm your abdominal muscles and tight your skin. Crunches and air bike exercises are among the best ab exercises to help build muscles in your belly and improve the appearance of sagging skin.

Follow a healthy diet plan that incorporates healthy fats and proteins, such as cottage cheese, fish and nuts. Also stay hydrated by drinking at least 8 glasses of water daily. A healthy eating plan helps you maintain your skin's elasticity, which helps tighten sagging skin as you lose weight and tone your body.

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Apply a lotion or cream with vitamin C. Vitamin C helps promote the production of new collagen, reducing wrinkles and sag, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Vitamin C itself is unstable and not absorbed through the skin, but lotions and creams provide vitamin C in a stable form that can be absorbed by human skin.

Discuss the risks and benefits of abdominoplasty surgery with your doctor. If you recently lost 100 pounds or more, you might not be able to tone your abdominal skin without surgery. Abdominoplasty involves surgical removal of excess skin and relocation of the belly-button. The surgery causes some abdominal scarring, but these scars are often less noticeable than excess sagging skin.

Tips

Lose weight at a moderate 1 to 2 pounds per week. Rapid weight loss may lead to sagging skin.

Warnings

Consult your doctor before beginning any weight loss or exercise plan.