How can I tighten up loose skin?

(Turtle Dove) #1

What can I do, if anything besides lipo, to tighten up this loose skin as a result of my fat loss? I can tuck it and hide it but I desperately want to get rid of it. The price of keto success!

(Raj Seth) #2

Fast

(Vladaar Malane) #3

I heard that extended fasting might eliminate some lose skin. I think it was on the podcast of the dudes, where they suggested that might be the case. I donā€™t think itā€™s guaranteed though or that it would happen at a rate that would make someone happy.

(Turtle Dove) #4

Duly noted! You obviously know what youā€™re talking about. Iā€™m on the verge of not being a type 2 diabetic soon since I have gone from taking 3 different types of meds per day to just metformin twice a day. Iā€™ll probably cut down to once a day since my glucose levels are 105 or less even a couple hours after meals.

(Hyperbole- best thing in the universe!) #5

Maybe do some research on autophagy, which is why @Rajseth suggests fasting. Collagen may also help. Iā€™m not sure on bioavalability of supplements vs. food sources. Even without extra effort some people find the skin lessens with time. Sucky answer, I know. But there is anecdotal evidence the wait is shortened with fasting. Not everyoneā€™s answer, bu worth looking into.

Congratulations on the keto success!

#6

Actually lipo is only used to remove excess fat, so if anything it would create the loose skin. So most have to resort to surgery (Tummy tucks, etc.) to remove the extra skin. But as the others have stated, Fasting is said to help with this, as well as simply time itself. ā€¦ As Ruina stated, congrats on the success. :slight_smile:

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #7

This guy had success with fasting and using exercise to tone his ā€œ7 inch skin flapsā€. Lots of great success stories on this site.

#8

Read this a while back. He did very well indeed. :slight_smile:

#9

Thanks for posting that PetaMarieā€¦what a wonderful inspiring story!

(Windmill Tilter) #10

@tfinchy : Nobody knows for sure unfortunately. Here is my strategy.

Feast for 2-3 days at slightly above TDEE with formula: Low carb (sub 20g/day). Low Protein (.6g/kg lean mass). High fat (meet remainder of TDEE). Fast 36 hours. Weight train with heavy weights in the fasted state to create the demand for protein. Wait 24hrs to break fast. Let autophagy find that protein in excess skin. Feast for 2-3 days. Repeat!

This is basically what Iā€™m doing, not that am expert by any stretch. Iā€™ve still got 70lbs to go, but I have great hope that by doing the weight loss this way, I will minimize excess skin. From the anecdotal reports Iā€™ve seen, this is the winning formula. So far so good. :slight_smile:

Congrats on your weight loss success! :+1::+1::+1:

(Troy) #11

InterestingšŸ¤”
always great to see others with results
Very cool
Congrats on your success so faršŸ˜„

Iā€™m getting good results with higher protein intake
Works for me

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #12

The skin will likely tighten up eventually, because of a process called ā€œautophagyā€ (Greek for ā€œeating yourselfā€). Autophagy is a process by which old, worn-out proteins and extra bits of stuff get scavenged and recycled. Fasting is thought to stimulate this process, after a certain number of hours. Iā€™m not clear on the details, but Dr. Fungā€™s site, IDM.com (Intensive Dietary Management, in Toronto) and his book, The Obesity Code, explain in detail. The Dudes also do a series of podcasts with Dr. Fung and his colleague, Megan Ramos.

A search on ā€œautophagyā€ on these forums ought to turn up some useful information, as well.

(Windmill Tilter) #13

Iā€™m not suggesting that this is a hard and fast rule for sure. The .6g/kg lean mass is the number given by Dr. Fung. In the IDM weight loss program, theyā€™re not dogmatic about this number, and suggest that people should do some trial and error to see what feels good. If youā€™re lethargic and feeling lousy at .6g/kg, increase the protein moderately. Keep an eye on your glucose and if the protein starts jacking your glucose readings (because protein elicits an insulin response as well) drop it down a bit to find the right point for you.

I think autophagy will happen on regardless during short fasts, but if you create a demand for protein with a heavy weightlifting session, autophagy will need to increase in order satisfy the new demand. Loose skin is low hanging fruit. Dr. Fung says heā€™s never had to refer a client for loose skin removal, and his recommendation is very low protein as described above. It makes sense and seems like a decent bet.

#14

I do recall that in all my research when I was reading loads of articles on all kinds of stuff. I believe I came across something a few times that mentioned that when fasting to help with skin tightening, they also recommended not over-eating protein, but lowering the amount of protein being taken in? Which I believe was supposed to help by using the skin protein instead. Or something similar to this?

Sorry, canā€™t recall where I read this, or provide the resources for this. :slight_smile:

(Turtle Dove) #15

Have watched a couple of Dr. Fungā€™s Videos and he is mesmerizing. Very useful information. Thanks for sharing!