Diet & Fitness 

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How to deal with flabby skin

Let's imagine for a minute what a four stone rubbish bag full of jelly would look like. The jelly would expand to the outer limits of the bag and fill it entirely. Then, if you gradually removed a pound or two of jelly out of the bag each week, what would happen? The jelly would be gone, but most likely the bag would retain (at least in part) its previous jelly-filled shape.

The same thing happens to your skin after a significant weight loss. The fat that had built up around your trouble spots has caused your skin to take on a shape that may be hard to change. Your fat cells were essentially filled to capacity. Now that you've lost weight and eliminated the fat, all the cells have retained their shape, causing your skin to resemble the empty rubbish bag on the floor.

This may seem discouraging, but just think, you've done a great job eliminating all that fat from your body. First, be proud of this accomplishment. Next, take some action to reduce that flabby skin. Here's how:

Build some muscle. Although 'spot reducing' a flabby area is impossible, weight training can help you 'spot train' in order to build muscle. Because muscle has a harder, more definite structure than fat, building yourself up may reduce the appearance of saggy skin, especially if you're young.

To maximize the benefits of weight training, train all of your major muscle groups; start with basic exercises for your buttocks, legs, chest, back, shoulders, arms, abs and lower back. There are a limitless number of exercises that build shapely muscles and help reduce the appearance of flabby skin. We recommend hiring a qualified personal trainer or 'exercise specialist' to help you structure a programme that will work best for you.

Tone your midsection. Many of us, especially women, have particular trouble with stretched-out skin around the middle. If you've had children, we don't have to tell you that. Targeting your abdominal muscles with a variety of crunches and other middle-body exercises on a regular basis can not only help tone your tummy but also reduce the appearance of flabby skin. We recommend doing 3-5 sets of 9-15 abdominal exercises at least twice a week. Remember: The key is intensity. In other words, perform each and every rep slowly, carefully and precisely so by the end of the set your abs feel worked.

Be realistic. As you age, your skin's elasticity weakens. If you've lost a great deal of weight after being out of shape for many years, your skin stretches. If you've been pregnant, the skin around your middle may not bounce back to its original shape. All of those factors, plus genetics, dictate how easily you will be able to tighten up loose skin with exercise.

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