AGING & 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
- Avoid the sun when it is at is strongest.
- Use a high SPF on your neck, as well as face. Wrinkles running across the neck are an easy way to recognize a sun-worshiper. Neck skin can show sun damage early on because it’s much thinner than facial skins, thus good protection is vital.
- Avoid severe weight fluctuations. Try to keep within 5- 10 pounds of your ideal weight and avoid fad or crash diets.
- Mix high and low impact exercise.
- 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.
- Drink lots of water—hydrated skin looks plumper and is much less susceptible to wrinkling.
- Don’t smoke!
- Several studies suggest that eating organic whole foods can beautify the skin and that “good fats” such as those found in salmon, avocados, 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.
