WRINKLES, AGEING, EXERCISE & WEIGHT LOSS
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Dermatologists and plastic surgeons believe that high impact cardiovascular exercise such as running, jogging and jumping can lead to premature wrinkles. Many die-hard runners, although slim, have premature wrinkles and sagging. Think of female distance runners over the age of 40. Dermatologist Dr. Dennis Gross believes that when a woman’s foot strikes the ground, the force of her body weight bounces back off the ground and up into her body, increasing the risk of
damage to the joints and also resulting in breakdown of collagen. Thus causing the loss of the face's plump, youthful contours. Plastic surgeon Professor Laurence Kirwan agrees that jogging may boost your heart rate, but can damage facial tissue and cause skin to sag, “It stretches the attachments between fat and the cheekbones”.
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Exercise Smarter
Although exercise is vital, intense aerobic exercise, can be detrimental to your skin. Over the age of 30, women should focus on resistance training, stretching and low-impact activities like swimming, cycling and power walking. Both doctors agree that reducing high impact exercise, by alternating gentle (low-impact) exercise (e.g. swimming, cycling, elliptical cross trainer) with high impact cardio, will lessen the risk of pre-mature damage to the skin.
This is not an excuse not to exercise, it is merely suggested that pounding the pavement every day for extended periods of time may not be wise. Simply put, mix up your routine a little. This doesn’t only benefit your skin, but also keeps your body on “its toes”, which means it doesn’t get used to the same daily routine, thus making weight loss is easier!
Ageing and Dieting
Other than smoking and baking in the sun, cyclical, significant weight loss (yo-yo dieting) is a great way to get wrinkles! When women lose weight, one of the first places the weight comes off, is the face and breasts. When you lose and gain around 10 – 20 pounds (4.5 – 9 kgs), the skin is stretched and loses its elasticity, making it more susceptible to wrinkling and sagging. How much your skin will return to its former tautness depends on genetics, age and how often you are gaining and losing weight.
In fact, according to a 2004 study presented by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, fat loss and sun damage play a greater role than gravity, in aging the face. Try to stay within five or 10 pounds of your ideal weight and avoid fad or crash diets.
Wrinkles, Age and Weight
As you get older your skin loses its natural elasticity and it gets harder to bounce back from large weight loss. The older you get, the more an extremely large weight loss can leave loose skin that will not return to normal. As you get older they say you “must choose your face or your bottom”. Facial skin changes over time becoming thinner, especially around the eyelids. These changes are often accelerated by sun exposure, which damages the skin. It is better for our faces to lose weight in our twenties and thirties while skin is still elastic.
Simple Ways to Beat Aging
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Avoid the sun when it is at is strongest.
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Use a high SPF on your neck, as well as face. Wrinkles running across the neck are an easy way to recognise a sun-worshipper. Neck skin can show sun damage early on because it's much thinner than facial skin, thus good protection is vital.
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Avoid severe weight fluctuations. Try to keep within 5- 10 pounds of your ideal weight and avoid fad or crash diets.
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Mix high and low impact exercise.
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Stay slim but not thin. After 35, you have to make the choice: your bottom or your face. Become underweight and your face loses the layer of subcutaneous fat that can help plump out potential lines and wrinkles.
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Drink lots of water—hydrated skin looks plumper and is much less susceptible to wrinkling.
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Don’t smoke!
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Several studies suggest that eating organic whole foods can beautify the skin and that “good fats” such as those found in salmon, avocadoes, olive oil and almonds are packed with skin-friendly ingredients, which improve your skin’s condition. A diet lacking these healthy fats can lead to dull and dehydrated skin.
