Sometimes, your weight can drop according to the scale, but your contours don’t look as slim as you would like. This isn’t because you are not making progress. It is likely because of excess fat pockets or loose skin that is hiding your results. At Aledo Empowered Wellness, our MD and PA team helps patients in Aledo, Willow Park, Hudson Oaks and Weatherford recontour their bodies and tighten loose skin without surgery.
Why Your Skin and Body Shape May Not Bounce Back After Weight Loss
Skin stretches to accommodate weight gain. While it has an amazing ability to stretch, it cannot always contract back to its original position, especially if fat reduction is extreme or fast. Collagen and elastin are the proteins that are responsible for making the skin firm and giving it its “snap-back” quality, but both of these decline with age. Skin after major weight loss is weaker and lacks integrity because of fewer collagen fibers and damage to elastin.
Hormones will impact your contours, too. Estrogen, testosterone, thyroid hormones and more influence the structure of the skin and where your body will store its residual fat. Shifts during perimenopause, menopause, andropause and pregnancy leave stubborn fat in areas where you don’t want it, particularly the abdomen, flanks and under the chin. Losing this weight fast with medications gives the skin less time to remodel as pounds drop off.
Four Common Concerns After Weight Loss
After weight loss, our patients often complain of these physical concerns:
- Loose, Crepey Skin: Skin can feel thinner and more wrinkled, and it may hang more loosely because of the loss of underlying collagen and elastin scaffolding. This is most visible on the upper arms, lower abdomen, inner thighs, jawline and neck.
- Residual Stubborn Fat: Some fat deposits stay put no matter how much weight you lose. Your body tends to reduce visceral fat that surrounds the organs first, which is good because of the health benefits of reduced visceral fat, but it often leaves the visible subcutaneous fat alone.
- Lost Muscle Tone and Definition: Losing weight fast can take lean muscle with it. Even if you are happy with your weight, you may have less strength and a softer appearance.
- Stretch Marks: Stretch marks are common during weight changes because the skin has to expand faster than collagen can keep up. This causes tears in the dermal layer that do not fully heal on their own.
Where Is Loose Skin Most Common?
On the face, loose skin is common along the jawline, under the chin and on the neck where the skin is thinner and gravity pulls it downward. On the body, you may see it on the abdomen, lower half of the upper arms, inner thighs, knees, buttocks and chest. It is very common to see loose skin after pregnancy or weight loss, and it increases with age.
Surgical vs. Nonsurgical Skin Body Contouring
Surgical options like tummy tucks and thigh lifts are sometimes needed to remove excess skin and tissue when the patient has more because of major weight loss. This produces dramatic results, but surgery is not for everyone and is not always needed.
Nonsurgical body contouring uses energy-based technology instead and can tighten skin and reduce fat. It can also stimulate collagen without the downtime, to tighten skin and even heal stretch marks. Those with mild to moderate skin laxity and small pockets of fat benefit the most from these treatments.
How to Contour Your Body After Weight Loss
We use three different technologies, sometimes alone and sometimes in combination, to treat loose skin and excess fat:
Evolve X Transform
This device combines bipolar radiofrequency with electrical muscle stimulation, all in one hands-free treatment that is free of downtime. The radiofrequency heats deep tissue to destroy fat cells and stimulate collagen. The muscle stimulation causes deep, powerful contractions that are much stronger than a gym workout to rebuild tone in the abdomen, thighs, arms and glutes. Evolve X sessions run 30 to 60 minutes, and you can see results in four to six treatments.
Morpheus8
Aledo Empowered Wellness was the first clinic in our area to offer Morpheus8. This InMode technology pairs microneedling with radiofrequency. Tiny needles puncture the skin and deliver heat up to 8mm beneath the surface. This device is especially helpful for tightening the skin and can also remodel fat. The device offers two options: Morpheus8 for facial contouring, and Morpheus8 Body for subdermal adipose remodelling in large areas like the abdomen, thighs, hips and arms.
Forma RF
Forma RF skin tightening delivers gentle, uniform radiofrequency without needles. It feels like a warm massage, but it is doing much more. The heat contracts protein fibers in the skin and encourages additional collagen production. It is suitable for the face, neck and smaller body areas and is often used as maintenance after other treatments or as a first step for patients with mild laxity.
What Makes Body Contouring at Aledo Empowered Wellness Different?
All of these treatments are beneficial, but they cannot replace a healthy and active lifestyle. We want to treat the whole person, and that often involves encouraging our patients and keeping them accountable to their wellness goals. We are well-suited to help patients at all different stages of their journey.
Your doctor, Travis Mackenzie, and his wife, Marisa Mackenzie, PA-C, owned a gym in California and have spent over 30 years gaining experience in strength and athletic training. We believe that preventative medicine is just as important as treating symptoms, and we can help you with any challenges that you face, including building the right nutrition and exercise plan, losing weight and regulating imbalanced hormones.
Restore Your Shape After Weight Loss With Body Contouring in Aledo, TX
The best time to start body contouring is when your weight has been stable for at least two to three months. If you have lost weight and you are ready to put on the finishing touches, we have three good options for skin tightening, fat reduction, stretch mark reduction and muscle toning. Call Aledo Empowered Wellness at 817-646-8935 or reach out online for more information.
