5 Ways to Avoid Saggy Skin

Aging brings a lot of unwanted changes to the body, one of which can be saggy skin. This is because as we age, we lose the underlying muscle that supports the skin. But there's no law that says you have to deal with flaps under your arms and above your knees when you turn 50!

Sometimes people wrongly assume that simply losing weight will help remedy their sagging skin, but that's not the case. Aniela and Jerzy Gregorek, founders and head coaches of the UCLA weightlifting team, offer some better solutions. Here are 5 ways to avoid the wrinkle and sag.

Dont Lose Weight Too Fast

When you lose weight too fast, your skin doesnt have enough time to adapt to the loss of elasticity and connection with muscle. While you may want to lose weight as quickly as possible, a healthy rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. At this rate, you can lose weight while building muscle at the same time, keeping you toned and fit.

Eat Vitamin Rich Foods

It is highly recommended that you eat vegetables, fruits, animal proteins, grains, nuts and vegetable oils.

These foods supply vitamins C, E, A, B complex, and K, essential fatty acids and three minerals selenium, copper, and zinc. Specifically, you can find these essential nutrients in these foods: asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, garlic, olives, leafy greens, bananas, vegetable oils, flax and safflower oils, flaxseed, rice, salmon, sardines, mackerel, oysters, poultry, eggs, and lean meat.

Resistance Training

Resistance training and speed lifting using light hand weights are a great way to gain muscle and burn fat, but be warned that you shouldnt lift weights that are too heavy. Additionally, DO NOT do endurance exercises, such as running on the treadmill, stationary biking, or jogging.

In fact, endurance exercises will contribute to the wrinkling and sagging of your skin.

Use Your Full Range of Motion

While strength training, use your full range of motion. Using a low range of motion strength will not give you enough muscle growth in necessary areas. For instance, if you do a half squat, you will gain muscle in your thigh but not in your knee area, leading skin around the knees to wrinkle and hang.

Eat Lots of Fruits and Veggies

Of course. We should all be eating more fruits and vegetables.

To avoid sagging skin you should eat twice as many fruits and vegetables as any other food at lunch and dinner. If you don't eat enough, your body will develop chronic inflammation and your skin will lose elasticity.