Muscle for Life with Mike Matthews - The 5-Step Solution to Loose Skin After Weight Loss

Episode Date: August 30, 2017

In this episode, I’m going to briefly address a question I’m asked about a lot, and that’s what to do about loose skin after weight loss. Many people think that surgery is their only hope, and I’m happy to say that this isn’t the case. There are several things you can and should do before going under the knife, even if you think the damage is done and it’s too late. These things are equally important if you’re about to embark on a significant weight loss journey because they will help prevent you from having to deal with post-diet saggy skin syndrome. Here’s a little sneak peek of what you’re going to learn in this episode: How to determine whether you’re dealing with loose skin or body fat. What body fat percentage to cut down to really know if you have a legit problem with loose skin or not. 4 simple ways to improve the look and health of your skin. Two supplements that can help improve skin elasticity (not to mention your overall health and well-being!). And more... 3:17 - How can I tell if I have loose skin or fat? 8:14 - How can I improve skin elasticity? Want to get my best advice on how to gain muscle and strength and lose fat faster? Sign up for my free newsletter! Click here: www.muscleforlife.com/signup/

Hey there, it is Mike Matthews from Muscle for Life, and I'm back with yet another episode of the podcast. And in this episode, I am going to briefly address a question that I'm asked about a lot, and that is what to do about loose skin and specifically loose skin after weight loss. Now, many people think that surgery is really their only hope, and I am happy to report that this isn't the case. There are several things that you can and definitely should do before going under the knife, even if you think that the damage is done and it is too late. These things

are also just as important if you are about to embark on a significant weight loss journey, because they will help prevent you from having to deal with post-diet saggy skin syndrome. So here's a little sneak peek of what you are going to learn in this episode. How to determine whether you're dealing with loose skin or body fat. And this is important because what many people think is loose skin is actually just body fat. And I will explain why in this episode. Four simple ways to improve the look and health of your skin. And these things can help everyone, not just people struggling with loose skin.

Two supplements that can help improve skin elasticity and not to mention your overall health and well-being, and more. Now, before we get into this episode, I'm sorry, but I have to shill for something to pay the bills. No, I'm just kidding. I'm not big on promoting stuff that I don't personally use and believe in. So instead, I'm just going to quickly tell you about something of mine, specifically my fitness book for men, bigger, leaner, stronger. Now this book has sold over 350,000 copies in the last several years and has helped thousands of guys build their best bodies ever. And that's why it has over 3000 reviews on Amazon with a four and a half star average. So if you want to know the biggest lies and myths that are keeping you from achieving the lean, muscular, strong, and healthy body that you truly desire, and if you want to learn the

simple science of building the ultimate male body, then you want to read or listen to Bigger, Leaner, Stronger today, which you can find on all major online retailers like Audible, Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Google Play. All right, let's get to the show. So you've done it. You've put in the hard work, you've stuck it out on your diet, and you've lost a bunch of weight. Great success. But there's a problem, a major problem. Instead of the ripped new body that you were dreaming of. You've got bumps and bulges of loose skin. Unfortunately, you've swapped one headache for another. You've swapped blubbery fat for saggy skin. And if it has you down, I totally understand. But I do have good news. You don't necessarily

need surgery to fix this problem. You really can tighten that skin and show off a toned, lean, and healthy looking body. And in this podcast, I am going to share with you several strategies for improving the look and health of your skin and teach you how to go from loose to lean. So the first question you have to ask is, is this loose skin or is it fat? And we need to start here because what many people worry about in terms of loose skin is simply excess fat. They don't realize that, you know, we all have these stubborn deposits of fat that take much longer to shrink than others. In men, this is usually the fat in our stomach region and our love handle region, lower back. And in women, it's usually the hips, thighs, and butt. And unfortunately you can't target those areas in your fat burning.

You can't achieve spot reduction in terms of fat loss. It doesn't matter what you do with your diet. It doesn't matter what you do in the gym. There really is no magic pill or powder that can just zap those last pockets of fat. Now, there are physiological reasons for this, and I won't dive into the technicalities here. But my point is, we first want to just determine if you are dealing with a legitimate case of excess skin or you're just being misled by the soft and jiggly body fat instead. And the easiest way to do this is simply pinch the part of your body that is the source of your troubles. And if you can grab more than I would say a few millimeters of skin,

then there's definitely more fat to lose there. You may also have some loose skin, but there's no doubt that body fat is contributing to the problem. And that once you get rid of that fat, it's going to look better. Because remember that skin is shaped by what's underneath it. And once you have lost those last bits of stubborn fat, it can and will tighten to a degree. Now, as we are talking body fat, let's zoom out real quick and just look at the bigger picture because many people, they just don't realize how lean they have to get to see where they really stand in terms of loose skin. And here's what it boils down to in men. I don't think that men should consider the surgical

route until they hit at least 10% body fat. And for women, I would say it's about 20%. And the reason for this is once you get that lean, you're going to have lost most, not all, but you're going to, you're going to have lost most of your stubborn fat. And thus you will be able to see whether you have a genuine loose skin problem or not. If you're a guy at 15%, for example, or higher, you just don't know yet. You need to get leaner before you can really make that determination. Because again, what many people think is loose skin is really just fat. And it's hard to differentiate those things until you get pretty lean. Now, another big problem related to weight loss and loose skin is weight loss itself. Weight loss is overrated.

I mean, if you just starve yourself and you do a bunch of cardio, you're going to lose weight. Unfortunately, you're not just going to lose fat. You're going to lose muscle as well. And that's what leads to the soft kind of amorphous skinny fat look that you know may work with your clothes on but you're not so excited when you take your clothes off if you want to look lean and athletic instead you need to go beyond weight loss and start thinking about body composition in other words if you want a muscular lean and athletic physique you don't just want to lose weight you want to lose fat and preserve or even gain muscle. Now this goes beyond just the skinny fat dilemma too, because it actually

relates directly to loose skin. You see fat and muscle, these are what press up against your skin and keep it from hanging loosely. So if you lose a significant amount of both fat and muscle, as many crash dieters do, then your skin naturally loses its underlying support and it really can't do anything but go limp. And this is why gaining muscle is an effective strategy for combating loose skin. Now you can't necessarily gain muscle in all the places that you might have loose skin, but if you can add muscle to an area where there's loose skin, it's going to help because it puts something there to fill the void that is contributing to the loose skin problem. Muscle is the ideal candidate.

You can pick muscle or fat. I think muscle is the better one, right? Now, that applies both to people that have already lost a lot of weight and those that are just beginning as well. If you already lost weight and you are now stuck with loose skin, then you should start resistance training to build muscle. Start right away and it's going to help. And if you are just starting your weight loss journey, then make sure to include resistance training in your weight loss regimen because

it's going to help prevent the problem from occurring in the first place. Hey, quickly, before we carry on, if you are liking my podcast, would you please help spread the word about it? Because no amount of marketing or advertising gimmicks can match the power of word of mouth. So if you are enjoying this episode and you think of someone else who might enjoy it as well, please do tell them about it. It really helps me. And if you are going to post about it on social media, definitely tag me so I can say thank you. You can find me on Instagram at muscle for life fitness, Twitter at muscle for

life and Facebook at muscle for life fitness. All right. So let's shift gears here and talk skin elasticity because your skin can shrink and expand and shrink again. It's pretty amazing actually. And it's something that we tend to take for granted until it finally lets us down and stops bouncing back. Now, this is something that happens naturally as we get older, our skin does lose elasticity, but it can also happen when we're young. Rapid weight loss is a common culprit, of course, but there are other lifestyle choices that reduce skin elasticity and increase the risk and the severity of loose skin. And of course, on the flip side, there are lifestyle choices that we can make that will help keep our skin stretchy and healthy. And I want to talk about them here. So the first one is stop smoking. Now there are so many reasons to not

smoke. And here's the big one. It ruins your skin. The bottom line is, if you want to keep your skin looking glowing, looking healthy, then you just have to say no to cigarettes. This is a well-established scientific fact. For example, one study that was conducted by researchers at the International Association of Ecologic Dermatology involved the analysis of the skin of 64 female Italian smokers. So the scientists looked at the presence of lines, they looked at vascularity, looked at pigmentation, elasticity, brightness, texture. And what they found is that the average biological age of the

subjects was nine years older than their chronological age. In other words, their skin looked nine years older than it actually was. And there is a silver lining here though, for all of you smokers that are out there. After nine months of not smoking, the average reduction in the biological age of the skin was 13 years. So if you just stop smoking now, your skin is going to have a much easier time of it. All right, so let's move on to the next tip here, and that is to eat enough protein because protein helps keep your skin moist, wrinkle-free, and elastic. And this is why studies show that a high-protein diet is associated with skin health and youthful appearance.

Low protein intake affects your skin, increasing the likelihood of dryness, wrinkles, and poor elasticity. There are many other benefits to a high protein diet as well. As you probably know, you build muscle and get stronger faster. You lose fat faster and lose less muscle when you're dieting. You genuinely feel fuller. You preserve more muscle as you age and so forth. I won't go on and on. But when you look at the literature, there's just no question that a high protein diet is superior to a low protein one. And especially for those of us that are physically active. All right. The next tip here is what mom has been telling us forever, which is to eat

fruits and veggies. Now it's a well-known fact that eating fruits and vegetables improves our health. Very few people would even try to refute that because research clearly shows that people who eat higher amounts of these foods are just more likely to live longer and have fewer diseases and dysfunctions than those who don't eat enough. It's also a well-known fact that very few people actually eat enough fruit and vegetables, and many people don't even know how much they're supposed to eat and why. The U.S. government recommends that adults eat about three cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit per day. And the more kinds and colors that you eat, the better. Unfortunately, very few people actually do this.

And as our skin is a pretty good reflection of our general overall health, we really shouldn't be surprised that studies show that a high daily intake of fruit and vegetables helps us have beautiful and elastic skin. The next tip here, take the right supplements. Now, I know that there are many supplements out there that claim to help with loose skin, but you should know that most have very little scientific evidence on their side. There really are only two supplements that I know that can help, and those are gelatin and fish oil. Now, I want to say that these supplements are not a substitute for the diet and exercise strategies that we just talked about. Then these supplements might help you get healthier and better skin faster. So let's talk about gelatin first. So gelatin, if you don't know, it is a type of

protein that comes from collagen, which is a protein that is crucial for healthy skin. Research shows that when you eat it, gelatin can stimulate the production of collagen in your body and thereby improve skin elasticity. And in the study that I am referring to specifically, the dosage was about 250 milligrams of gelatin per day. Now, gelatin isn't exactly the easiest thing to fit into your diet plan because it's mostly found in sweets and desserts these days. And that's why I think it's just easier to take as a supplement. And in terms of a specific product, what I like and recommend is Hydrolyzed Beef Gelatin by Now Foods, which is a trustworthy company. It's a good product. So that's gelatin. Let's now talk

fish oil, which is really what it sounds like. It's oil that's obtained from fish. Popular sources of fish oil are salmon, herring, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies. And the reason that this is a thing as far as supplementation goes is the fats in these fish are special. They're not the type of fat that you find in most foods because they are a very good source of two nutrients, EPA and DHA, which are known as omega-3 fatty acids. And that just refers to their physical structure. Now, these are substances that our bodies can't produce, which is why they're also known as essential fatty acids. And what that means is if you were to completely remove these molecules from your diet, you would eventually die.

Now, I think that a high quality fish oil is really one of the best all around supplements that you can take. It has a whole host of health benefits, which may make for a good podcast, actually. And one of them is improving skin elasticity. And results here can be seen in as little as three months of supplementation. So if you want to give fish oil a go for the purposes of improving the health and quality of your skin, and also just your overall health and quality of living, then I recommend you check out mine. I sell one called Triton,

and you can learn about it at legionathletics.com. And it's an extremely high quality and high potency fish oil that's also sourced from sustainable fisheries, which I think matters. Again, you can learn about it at legionathletics.com. All right. So that is it for fish oil and that's it for this podcast. This one is short and sweet because I just want to get this out there. It's something that I get asked about a lot and there's really not much more that I can say on it. So if you've lost weight and you are now dealing with loose skin, then the game plan here is simple. First, you want to get lean. So you want to get to about 10% body fat. If you're a guy and about 20%, if you're a girl, and then you want to make sure that you have built muscle, that it's not just a problem of nothing supporting

the skin. You want to eat a high protein diet. You want to eat a high fruit and vegetable diet, and you also want to supplement if your budget can support it. So if you stick with that plan and you just be patient and consistent, then I think there is a good chance that you can get the body you really want without having to turn to surgery, which in general, I think should just be avoided at all costs. legionathletics.com, L-E-G-I-O-N athletics.com, because I've published over a million words of free articles on the blogs on those websites on all types of things related to building muscle, losing fat, and getting healthy. New articles go up every week on both sites as well. So if you like what you read, then definitely hop on my mailing list and you will be notified when new stuff goes live. My email subscribers also get exclusive deals on my

products and services and other goodies. So there's that too. Thanks again for listening to this episode and I will see you in the next one. Oh, and before you leave, let me quickly tell you about one other product of mine that I think you might like. Specifically, my 100% natural fat loss supplement, Phoenix. It has sold over 100,000 bottles in the last several years, and it helps you lose fat faster in three ways. One, it increases your metabolic rate. Two, it amplifies the power of fat burning chemicals produced by your body. And three, it increases the feeling of fullness from food. In short, it speeds up your metabolism. It helps your body burn fat more efficiently.

And it helps you control hunger and cravings and maintain high energy levels. Phoenix also contains no artificial food dyes, fillers, or other unnecessary junk. And all that is why it has over 700 reviews on Amazon with a four star average and another 250 reviews on my website with a four and a half star average. So if you want to burn more fat every day and have an easier time sticking to your diet without having to pump yourself full of harsh stimulants or potentially harmful chemicals, then you want to head over to www.legionathletics.com and pick up a bottle of Phoenix today. And just to show how much I appreciate my podcast peeps, use the coupon code podcast at checkout and you will save 10% on your entire order.