It is very good to lose excess weight as this leads to a positive impact on blood sugar levels, cholesterol, and blood pressure. However, if you lose a significant amount of weight on any form of diet plan including keto, it can lead to having loose skin in different areas of your body such as arms, legs, neck, abdomen area, and buttocks. Even though you have lost weight, loose skin can really affect your mobility, comfort, and self-esteem.
Some people go for a low-carb diet to achieve weight loss for a short period of time. This is good when it comes to weight loss but the short time period might deny your body time to contract back to its original shape, leading to the formation of loose skin.
The loose skin forms and hangs on the areas that were previously occupied by fats. It is very important that you give your body time to adjust to the speed you are on as you diet on low carb so that as you lose weight, your body will be able to contract.
There are people who get tight skin after being on a low-carb diet. While others often experience having loose skin after all their hard work on the keto diet. Loose skin can be terrifying and demoralizing even as we reap the benefits of our weight loss. One of the best ways to prevent it is to give your body time to adjust to your new diet steadily. There are factors that influence you to have loose skin during your weight loss journey or after losing weight. They include;
- Reducing levels of Collagen. The human body releases less collagen as you get older mostly from 20 years of age. Collagen is very important as it helps in maintaining the elasticity and firmness of the skin.
- The rate of weight loss. One should lose about 1-2 pounds of weight in a week as this is considered a healthy way to lose weight. If you go beyond this, you will be at great risk of developing loose skin.
- Lifestyle habits. Apart from excessive weight loss over a short time period, loose skin can be brought about by lack of sleep, poor skin health, and chronic stress.
HOW TO AVOID LOOSE SKIN ON KETO DIET.
When on the keto diet and you need to avoid developing loose skin, ensure that you do the following preventive measures to avoid going for surgeries.
- Give Your Body Time to Adjust: While on the keto diet, it is most likely that you will develop loose skin. After or during the weight loss journey, your body will be able to shrink back to its shape but this will only happen if you give it enough time to adjust steadily.
When you are on a weight loss journey, it is good to learn to be patient since it will enable you to lose the weight you want in a healthy way. You might neglect your body’s very vital nutrients and minerals while in a hurry to lose weight.
- Be consistent on a Keto diet plan that involves all the whole foods: It is very important that you eat whole foods since they will provide your body with all the nutrients that it needs.
Ingest food that is minimally processed or in its natural form as it will enable you to give your body all the nutrients it needs to improve the firmness and elasticity of the skin. Some of the nutrients that are needed by the skin are;
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- Proteins- They support the building of muscles. Elastin is a protein that helps in the flexibility of the skin while collagen gives your skin strength and firmness.
- Vitamin C- Our skin has high concentrated levels of vitamin C which helps to stabilize collagen molecules and aid in the production of collagen.
- Omega 3 Supplements– This supports the production of collagen for the body. In addition, they also protect the skin from any form of damage like wrinkling of the skin and loss of elasticity.
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- Supplement with Collagen Peptides: Besides eating foods to aid in the production of collagen, the skin can be firmed and strengthened by taking collagen protein powder supplements. The supplements also support the density of collagen and make sure the skin is dehydrated.
- Intermittent Fasting: It leads to the activation of autophagy which helps in healthy fibroblasts. Autophagy is the process by which the body consumes its own damaged cells and creates newer ones. It supports the health of the skin especially when we start aging by helping the skin cells to rejuvenate, creating a younger version of aged skin cells.
- Engage in Physical Activity: It is important for you to do strength training by lifting weights as it helps to build muscles. The body will look more toned, the metabolically active muscles will burn more calories, there will be a reduction in resistance to insulin, and one will have enough strength in their bones which lowers the risk of getting fractures.
CAN I MIX COLLAGEN AND PROTEIN POWDER TOGETHER?
Collagen and protein powder can be mixed. These two are seen as the best combinations as both are animal products. Although, protein can either be sourced from plants or animals. When mixing collagen with protein from plants, they will still mix well and give you the same benefits.
Just add the collagen to warm water first, dissolve it well then add the plant proteins and you will get a good mixture. In addition, both collagen and protein powder is made up of amino acids since collagen is a type of protein.
When you combine collagen and protein powder, you will get benefits like a young-looking skin, healthier joints, healthier nails, and hair, stronger bones, maintained muscle and well grown, improved satiety levels, as well as weight loss.
Related Post: DOES CHEATING ON KETO CAUSE DIARRHOEA?
SUMMARY
While on a keto diet, ensure that you consume foods that not only help you to lose weight but also aid in tightening your skin to avoid loose skin. Ensure your diet has enough proteins as they are bodybuilding and you will be able to build muscles to avoid the loose skin.
Since you are on keto and ready to lose weight as quickly as possible, ensure that you give your body time to adjust to the speed steadily so that you can balance between weight loss and tight skin.
Therefore, it is very important for one to consult a doctor before starting a keto diet. This will enable you to enjoy your weight loss journey as you tighten your skin and at the same time avoid getting into a ketoacidosis condition.
