If you are obese and if you have diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated blood triglycerides, or sleep apnea, then you need to lose weight to retain your health.  A weight loss procedure that reduces the size of your stomach and limits the amount of fat your body can absorb may be a good choice for you.  One of these procedures is called duodenal switch, and a qualified surgeon can complete the operation.  If you opt for this type of surgery, you will likely start losing weight relatively quickly.  When this happens, you may notice a great deal of sagging skin across your body.  You can prevent your skin from sagging significantly, and the information below can help you.

Increase Body Muscle Mass

Loose skin often appears across the body when you lose a great deal of body mass at one time.  When you lose weight, large fat deposits are burned throughout your body and this reduces the general size of your stomach, chest, legs, and arms.  As the fat deposits burn away, the stubborn subcutaneous fat pockets that lie just underneath the skin tend to remain. Normally, this type of fat layer is relatively thin.  If you are obese though, then the fat layers are much thicker.  When body fat is lost, there is no longer a significant amount of mass behind the subcutaneous fat.  The fat and the skin attached to it then sags forward.

You can reduce sagging skin concerns by making sure that body mass is partially retained as you lose weight.  Building muscle is a good way to do this, and resistance training can help with muscle gain.

Resistance Training

Resistance training uses muscle resistance with the use of weights to help strengthen and build muscles.  You can use your own weight as resistance by completing chin-ups, sit-ups, squats, or push-ups, or you can buy free weights to use at home.  If you choose to use free weights, buy a variety of barbells in different sizes.  You will gain muscle mass by completing numerous exercise repetitions during a single session.  You cannot do this at first if the weights are too heavy, so make sure your weight set has two 3 or 5 pound weights to start with.  Use the weights to complete shoulder shrugs, bicep curls, and weighted crunches.

If you do not want to invest in your own weights, then consider joining a gym and using weight machines.  Leg extension, leg press, chair squat, butterfly, and abdominal crunch machines are good devices to use.  Make sure to consult with a trainer or gym employee before using the machines.  This will keep you from hurting yourself if you use them wrong.

Increase Skin Elasticity

Another good way to prevent the formation of sagging skin is to improve skin elasticity.  Elasticity refers to the ability of your skin to both stretch and pull back.  If you have poor elasticity, your skin will not pull closer to your body as you lose weight, and it will remain stretched out.  Nourishing your body by providing it with nutrients that build new skin cells can help with this.  

Consider adding more vitamin C to your diet, because it is needed to create collagen.  Collagen is a protein that is used to form new cells and tissues in the body.  Collagen is needed to replenish the skin cells, and new cells are more elastic.  Eat foods like broccoli, bell peppers, oranges, tomatoes, and strawberries to increase your vitamin C intake.

Also, think about eating foods high in vitamin E.  Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps to fight free radicals in the body.  Free radicals cause cell damage and poor skin quality.  Foods high in vitamin E include tofu, almonds, and spinach.

If you are obese, then you may be thinking about scheduling a weight loss surgery like a duodenal switch.  If you go through with the surgery, then you may have difficulties with excess skin afterwards.  However, you can prevent problems with the tips above. To learn more, talk to an experienced surgeon or visit http://www.weightlosssurgeon.com.