By: Andres Carvajal
Edited By: Stephanie Dawson
• Eat fruits and vegetables
The first step to avoid sagging skin is to the right food. Consumption of fruits and vegetables is important for maintaining healthy skin. You should have twice as many fruits and vegetables like any other food at your meals. Not eating enough fruits and vegetables leads to body developing chronic inflammation which results in loss of skin elasticity.
• Don’t lose weight too fast
Your skin doesn’t get time to adapt to the loss of elasticity and connection with muscle if you lose weight too fast. The ideal rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. At this rate you can maintain a balance between weight loss and building muscle which leads to toned and fit skin.
• Stay Hydrated
Pay proper attention to your hydration needs. Water is a very important component of maintaining skin elasticity. You should be taking at least 2 litres of water everyday from food and drinks. A good way of calculating how much water you need daily is by dividing your body weight by 30 and multiply the outcome by 1.5. Water is not only good for your skin, it has many health benefits.
• Make every calorie count
Your meals each day should be varied complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and vitamins. Avoid crash dieting and give your metabolism a boost by gradually reducing your caloric intake. You should also avoid calorie deficits that may take you into starvation mode. These diets do not provide your body with essential nutrients.
• Exercise regularly
We often end up losing healthy muscle tissue along with fat if we only think about what is on the scale. Building new muscle and maintaining the muscle that we already carry is very important as you lose fat. Lack of muscle causes skin to remain loose and doesn’t let it regain elasticity. Adding resistance training three times a week with cardiovascular training 2 days per week is a good idea for maintaining a healthy body and skin.