Congratulations! You did the hard part, something a lot of people aren’t able to do. You lost the weight–thirty, forty, even seventy pounds or more. But the excess skin from your heavier frame might still present a problem, making you wonder: does loose skin after weight loss go away?
If Madison’s warming temps are causing you to look ahead to beach weather with dread, let’s take a look at:
- What happens to skin after weight loss
- The effect diet and exercise can have
- How to get rid of excess skin
What Happens to Skin After Weight Loss
Skin is the largest organ in our body. It protects our insides from the outside world.
Eighty percent of our skin consists of collagen, a protein that gives skin its strength and firmness. Another protein in skin is elastin, which is responsible for keeping our skin tight.
When we gain weight, our skin expands to accommodate our larger proportions. After weight loss, our skin contracts. However, if our skin has been overstretched for an extended period of time, the collagen and elastin fibers become damaged and are unable to fully retract. The result is loose, saggy skin. And the more weight a person has lost, the more excess skin they may have as a result.
The Effect Diet and Exercise Can Have
After losing all that weight, you might be looking at your skin and wondering if further diet and exercise can help fix the problem. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Diet and exercise will mitigate fat deposits on the body and strengthen your muscles, but nothing at the gym or anything on your plate will be able to repair those damaged skin fibers.
How to Get Rid of Excess Skin
After reaching your ideal weight, you can be happy to know that you’ve done your part in achieving a better body. Now it’s up to a body recontouring specialist to get you the rest of the way.
To remove the excess skin and sculpt the body you’ve been working so hard on, you’ll need to consult a body recontouring specialist about the procedures that are right for you. Post-weight loss procedures for women include: breast lift with or without breast augmentation, arm lift, tummy tuck, and liposuction. Post-weight loss procedures for men include: chest reduction, tummy tuck, and liposuction.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
Dr. Thomas Bartell is Madison, Wisconsin’s only board-certified plastic surgeon that focuses solely on below-the-neck procedures. With his dedicated, specially selected surgical team and fully accredited surgical suite, Dr. Thomas Bartell provides care that’s highly personalized, safe, and private.
If you think post-weight loss procedures like liposuction, tummy tuck, arm lift, male chest reduction, or breast lift might be right for you, schedule your free consultation with Dr. Thomas Bartell today. At this consultation, you’ll be able to see before-and-after photos of real patients and learn more about the kinds of results Dr. Bartell can achieve for you.
You did the hard part. Let Dr. Bartell take you the rest of the way to a new body.
Dr. Thomas Bartell offers chest reduction, tummy tuck, breast lift, and liposuction in Madison, Wisconsin.
Dr. Bartell Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery
Phone: (608) 271-0500
Fax: (608) 271-0502