Tips for Tightening Loose Skin After Pregnancy

The Dreaded After Birth Belly

So you thought your tummy would be back to normal by your 6-week postpartum check-up, but instead you have unwanted loose skin and belly flab. Desperately seeking to get your tummy back in shape and get rid of the loose skin where your tummy used to be?

1. Lose weight slowly

If you’re seeking that slimmer belly, you’ll need to lose body fat first. Although losing that extra baby weight can make you feel very anxious and at times be overwhelming, it is very important to do it the healthy way. Losing weight quickly will only add to the problem of loose skin. If you lose weight quickly you will lose both fat and muscle. Importantly, muscle helps your stomach to keep its shape. Your skin needs time to adjust to its new shape when you lose weight. If you loose it too quickly, you may just end up with even more loose skin. Allow your skin time to regain its elasticity.

Tips: Aim for losing around 1-2 lbs. per week.

2. Cardio

It is almost impossible to only burn fat from just one area of your body that you’re unhappy about. When you burn fat, you must burn it all over. If you want to get your tummy back in shape, doing cardiovascular exercise is the way forward.

Tips: Aim for doing some type of cardio for at least 30 minutes, 3 to 5 days a week.

3. Protein

If you want to build muscle, protein is the thing to eat. Not only is it good for muscle growth, but it also contains important nutrients that help your skin, such as collagen. How much protein you need depends on your weight as well as how much physical activity and strength training you do during the day/week. Most women need around 50 grams of protein a day. However, if you are more active you may need a lot more protein.

4. Lotion and massage

It is important for you to lotion your skin that contains collagen, as well as vitamins E, A, C, and K to help firm up your loose skin. Massaging the lotion in will improve blood flow to the area, which helps your skin to appear firmer.

Tips: Try massaging lotion to any loose skin once or twice a day.

5. Strength train

Strength training will help improve your overall muscle tone and will give you more lean muscle. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Moreover, strength training will improve your body composition e.g. the percentage of lean muscle to body fat. Improving your body composition will reduce fat not just along your waist, but also all over your body.

6. Exfoliate

If you want an easy way to tighten loose skin, you must start to exfoliate. Get an exfoliating scrub and scrub your belly with it each time your in the shower. Exfoliating helps to improve circulation and regenerate new, healthier, more elastic skin.

7. Water

Water will help hydrate your skin, making it more elastic. In the long run it will help your body to burn calories more effectively. On top of that, it will help reduce water retention in your belly area, which may make the appearance of loose skin less noticeable. If you haven’t been drinking your H₂0, here’s a good reason to start.

Something to Consider: Planks!!!

Many women try to get their tummy back in shape by doing crunches. Crunches are fine, but they may not be enough to get that loose skin to tighten up again. Planks are an isometric exercise. When you do them, you suck in your tummy and hold it tight. This process of sucking in and tightening will do wonders for your belly. Start by doing 2 or 3 planks and holding them for 15 seconds. Work up to doing 30 second and 1-minute planks. Here’s how to do a plank.