One such option is exercising. Any workouts that build muscle mass or tighten muscles — especially around the stomach — can reduce the appearance of loose skin. Try incorporating exercises two to three times per week, including: Weight training.
“In general, it can take anywhere from weeks to months—even years,” says Dr. Chen. If after one to two years skin is still loose, it may not get any tighter, she says.
Excess skin removal procedures help people who lose a lot of weight through bariatric surgery (weight loss surgery) or lifestyle changes. Plastic (cosmetic) surgeries, such as panniculectomy, tummy tucks and arm lifts (brachioplasty), can get rid of sagging, excess skin to improve appearance, comfort and clothing fit.
The most effective way to remove the excess skin is through cosmetic surgery, in one or more of an array of procedures known as body contouring. And those who do shed the extra skin generally fare better than those who don't, both psychologically and physiologically.
For small to moderate amounts of weight loss, your skin will likely retract on its own. Natural home remedies may help too. However, more significant weight loss may need body-contouring surgery or other medical procedures to tighten or get rid of loose skin.
However, larger amounts of weight loss, such as 50 pounds and over, especially over a short period, can considerably increase your risk of loose skin. Your genetics and age will also play an important role in determining how much weight loss causes loose skin.
It takes about two to five hours for a surgeon to perform a panniculectomy. The exact timeline depends on the length of incisions made, as well as the amount of excess skin that's being removed.
Core strength workouts like Pilates, yoga, and barre can assist tighten and toning stomach muscles, which can help with loose skin appearance. Toning muscles can be achieved through cardio exercises such as brisk walking, jogging, cycling, or aerobics.
Laser resurfacing This is the most effective procedure for tightening loose skin. Unlike the laser treatment described above, this procedure requires some downtime. You'll need to stay home for 5 to 7 days. Laser resurfacing also gives you the fastest results.
So who can expect loose skin after weight loss? While it varies, mild weight loss (think: 20 pounds or less) typically doesn't lead to excess skin, Zuckerman says. Weight loss of 40 to 50 pounds can seem as massive as a weight loss of 100+ pounds.
To lose stomach overhang you have to burn fat cells in both the fat you can see directly under the skin and also the more dangerous fat that you can't see that surrounds your organs. Cardio such as swimming, aerobics, running or dancing will burn this excess fat store.
Surgical and nonsurgical treatments
Exercise and diet can't remove this. While some individuals will have a lot of excess skin, others won't. There are surgical and non-surgical options available to help with this, but they're often costly.
Exercise
Building muscle mass through weight training exercises can help decrease the appearance of loose skin, especially if the loose skin is from weight loss. If excess fat distends the skin for a long time, the skin can lose some of its ability to shrink with weight loss.
When you lose a lot of weight, such as 100 pounds or more, your skin may not be elastic enough to shrink back to its natural shape. This can cause the skin to sag and hang, especially around the upper face, arms, stomach, breasts, and buttocks. Some people don't like the way this skin looks.
If you're not interested in surgery, skin tightening with Renuvion is a great alternative to achieve tummy tuck-like results. You may have heard of BodyTite, which is another brand name for Radio Frequency Assisted Lipolysis (RFAL) to tighten and lift loose skin.
“Your skin may not contract back to its smaller shape if weight is lost too quickly.” This inability for the skin to contract as well as it once would have, due to the weakening of the fibers over time, is what leads to excess or saggy skin during weight loss.
If you have lost large amounts of body fat, it is likely you will have some extra skin. Stretch marks and sagging skin can often be left behind as reminders of large amounts of belly fat.
Build as much muscle as possible. When you build muscle, your skin naturally looks tighter. It may not actually get tighter, but it will definitely give the appearance of being tighter. Focus on doing exercises like bench presses, squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, military presses, and so on.
In most cases loose skin is actually just cases of excess subcutaneous body fat covered by skin. Because subcutaneous fat is "soft" fat, it is looser, or jiggly, and easier to confuse with skin.
Body contouring, also known as body sculpting, is a surgical procedure that removes the loose skin that is left after weight loss and improves the shape and tone of your body's tissue.