How many times have you seen someone lose a significant
amount of weight only to be left with layers of loose skin?
If this is a concern of yours please do not lose heart,
because there are a few ways to prevent this situation from
happening to you.
If you are planning to lose weight and want to avoid the
loose skin that accompanies fast weight loss, then lose
weight properly and slowly. This may mentally be the
hardest thing for you, but the ending reward is tighter
skin and a smaller body.
For best results, you should keep your weight loss at 1.5
to 2 pounds a week. Any faster and you could be losing
muscle, which is metabolically active. The less you weigh,
the slower you should lose weight.
Nutrition
Nutrition is the number one factor for weight loss. Those
of you who have been reading my articles for sometime now
know I preach this, and rightfully I should because it is a
fact. If you lose weight fast on a fad, starvation, or
liquid diet, then you are going to be left with a slower
metabolism, muscle loss, and loose skin.
Food is not the enemy in the weight loss battle. The wrong
food choices lead to weight issues. There is nothing better
you can put into your body than whole, natural, organic and
unprocessed food. If you are good to your body, it will be
good to you.
Quality nutrients are needed for digestion, and smaller
meals more often will shrink the stomach and increase your
metabolism. As you are well aware, a higher metabolism
burns more calories, even at rest!
If you are planning to lose weight, but don't want the
extra loose skin, then plan your meals. Know your caloric
intake for your body, and reduce calories a small amount
each week.
The biggest mistake you can make is going from a caloric
intake of 1500 to 1000. That immediately puts your body in
starvation defense and you will hoard fat, lose muscle,
reduce your metabolism, and have loose skin.
Eat several small meals a day, track your calories based on
your lean body mass and activity level and make small
changes weekly.
I also add water in the nutrition category. Your body is
70% water, and therefore you should be consuming at least
60 ounces a day, or more. Don't just drink tap water, drink
quality water from a filter or bottle. The more you weigh
the more water you should drink. Water is an internal
cleanser. It rids the body of toxins, excess sodium, and
fat. More water in equals more water out.
Resistance Training
Resistance training builds muscle under the skin, which is
important when losing weight. You want the muscle to take
the place of the fat that is being lost to prevent too much
sagging skin. The added muscle will also create natural
feminine curves. Muscle is lean and metabolically active
and it is the best thing for increased health,
self-confidence, and fat loss. Engage in light weight
training approximately four days a week.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardio is great for the heart and respiratory system. Many
people use cardio as a form of weight loss. While it is a
great calorie burner, I feel many take it to extremes by
combining it with a poor nutrition program that is low in
calories, resulting in the opposite desired effect.
If you are using cardio as a form of weight loss, then
there is some caution that goes along with it. It is
important that you don't engage in long and drawn out
cardio session on little calories because you will burn
lean muscle tissue.
It is best to keep the body guessing when it comes to
cardio and weight loss. Many find High Intensity Interval
Training (HIIT) effective and less time consuming.
Conclusion
If you lower your calories properly with small deductions
each week, you don't have to spend hours upon hours
engaging in muscle wasting cardio sessions. The idea is to
pull the bull by the horns and the tail so you are in more
control.
Weight loss does take some effort daily with nutrition,
water, and exercise. However, you don't have to kill
yourself day in and day out. Listen to your body and take
needed breaks and get needed rest.
----------------------------------------------------
Karen Sessions has been in the fitness industry since 1988.
She is a nationally qualified bodybuilder and holds two
personal training certifications. She has written 6 ebooks
on fitness and has helped hundreds of clients transform
their bodies.
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