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Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Tips

How To Get Rid Of Loose Skin

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Rapid weight loss is the most common cause of loose skin. Perhaps you were overweight and you’ve managed to lose a huge amount of weight, but now you’re left with loose flaps of skin? Or perhaps you’re a woman who has recently had a baby and you’ve got loose skin from where your bump used to be? In either case, having loose skin can be frustrating. Not only does it not look nice, but it can rub and cause rashes if you’re not careful. Fortunately, there are several ways of reducing this loose skin. Below are a few solutions to look into.

Build muscle mass

Building muscle mass can be a healthy way to fill out the areas of loose skin. This is most achievable if you are still quite young and not already toned.

Weight-lifting exercises can help to tone up arms and legs to reduce loose skin here. Sit ups and core exercises can meanwhile help to tighten the abdomen by building abdominal muscles, while squats and lunges can build glute muscles to reduce sagging skin around the butt. Consider which areas of your body have sagging skin and try to focus on toning up these areas.

Use firming creams

Firming creams are often recommended for people with loose skin. These creams work by increasing the turnover of skin cells, helping to tighten up areas of thin loose skin. Ingredients typically include retinoic acid or tretinoin. 

This guide to firming creams compares some of the best options on the market. Some are designed to target specific areas of the body such as the arms or the tummy, while others can be used on all parts of the body. 

Try massages

A massage could help to stimulate collagen production in an area with loose skin. This can help skin to become firmer.

Your best option is to visit a clinic that specialises in skin treatments as well as massages. Such professionals will have a better idea as to the type of massage therapy needed to help make skin firmer and may even be able to use lotions or infrared devices to further help tighten up skin.

Alternatively, you can try massaging areas of your body yourself. There are also devices that you can buy that use infrared and RF technology to help boost collagen production within the skin. 

Explore cosmetic procedures

When it comes to large amounts of loose skin, cosmetic procedures may be the only solution. 

Surgery is the most effective way to reduce large amounts of loose skin quickly. This is typically done in various stages if there is loose skin on different parts of the body. Surgery can be expensive, which is its biggest downside. 

Radiofrequency treatment is also an option. This involves heating the skin to induce collagen production. The likes of postpartum skin tightening often uses this treatment and can help remove excess skin gained during pregnancy. 

When it comes to small amounts of loose skin and wrinkles, another option is chemical peels and laser resurfacing. This also promotes collagen production to decrease the appearance of loose skin. 

Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Your skin may start to firm up on its own if you are looking after your skin well. 

This includes making sure that you are consuming a healthy diet that provides your skin with all the nutrients it needs. Citric fruits are full of vitamin C, which is important for our skin’s collagen cycle – by consuming oranges and lemons, you could help to fight sagging skin. Garlic, tomatoes and egg whites are other foods that are important for our skin. 

To make sure that these nutrients are getting to your skin, you should also consider giving up smoking and not drinking too much alcohol. Both smoking and heavy drinking can restrict blood flow and prevent nutrients getting to the right places. This can not just prevent loose skin from tightening up, but may even lead to further sagging of skin. Finally, make sure that you are getting enough sleep. It is while we are asleep that our skin produces new collagen, helping to fight sagging skin. You should aim to get 7 hours of sleep per night. This is not always possible for new moms trying to reduce loose skin around their stomach, however catching up on sleep with naps and sharing night feeds can help. If you cannot get a good night’s sleep for other reasons, there are many other solutions to help you improve your sleep quality.

Fitness, Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

How Runners Can Better Care For Their Feet

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If you want to keep healthy, then you will be fully aware that it’s important to exercise. Of course, it’s not always easy to get as much as you should, but there are nonetheless a number of ways you can do this more effectively. One of the simplest and easiest is to just go running on a regular basis. But if you are going to do that, you will need to take care of your body, and in particular your feet. There are a few things you should bear in mind on that front, which we are going to look into right now.

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Listen To Pain

Your running shouldn’t ever cause you actual pain, only discomfort. So if you notice that you are experiencing pain in your feet while running, you should really make sure to listen to that pain rather than ignore it. In other words, you should stop running as soon as possible and attend to the issue. It might be that you have something as simple as an ingrown toenail – and if so, the ingrown toenails treatment you need is simple enough – or you might have a sprained ankle or something. In any case, don’t ignore it.

Warm-Up & Cool Down

You need to make sure you are warming up and cooling down before and after every workout. That is a really vital thing to do, and it’s the kind of thing you notice the difference once you stop doing it. If you are keen to take good care of your feet, this is going to be absolutely essential. All you need to do is stretch and get the body to a good level of limber, and then you can run with ease and without fear of harming yourself, including your feet most importantly of all.

Use Proper Footwear

Another thing you can do which will make a huge difference is to make sure that you use the proper footwear that you need. This is going to save your feet more than you might think, so it’s one of those things that are really worth trying to remember. This means using trainers or runners, some kind of footwear that is going to protect your feet and ensure that you are less likely to damage them in any way. If you do that, you are going to be in a much better place with regard to your feet when you run.

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Allow Space
Speaking of shoes, you should generally follow the rule of thumb of always going half a size above what you think you need, because that is going to mean that you are much more likely to remain comfortable and less likely to damage your feet in any way. This is a really good rule that is worth remembering, and you’ll be amazed at what a difference it can truly make if you do this. So that is something that you might want to think about if you are keen to care for your feet more effectively while running.

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Lifestyle, Parenting

Resourceful Mini-Workouts for Time Pressed Stay at Home Dads

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As stay-at-home dads, many of us strive to squeeze in time to get our heart rates up with our favorite workouts. While during certain weeks, our schedules may, in fact, permit time to fit in our ideal workout, this is only sometimes the case. As our days get squeezed by the demands of our kiddos and never-ending domestic responsibilities, it is tough to consistently find the time to enjoy our optimum workout regime, whether a two-hour ride, swim, or gym session.

The schedule and intentions we set for ourselves at the start of the week need to consider the often erratic nature of looking after youngsters, whose demands can significantly fluctuate at a moment’s notice. If we don’t take into account the unpredictability of caring for our youngsters, we set ourselves up for frustration when our coveted ‘me time’ gets taken away. And if our ‘me time’ is our exercise, our frustration can escalate into irritable behavior, negatively impacting the vibes in our household. In my case, missing just one or two days of intense physical activity can significantly impact my mood. Therefore, I do what I can to be resourceful. When I can’t find the time to go for an hour or two-hour gym session or bike ride, I become innovative and find shorter time increments to exercise while looking after the kids.

What is important for us to recognize is that our exercise regimes don’t always need to be perfect or that lengthy. When time is tight, and we are faced with a full day with the kids, we need not despair. Instead, we can choose to adopt a resourceful mindset by looking for fun and efficient ways to fit in our exercise while keeping the kids engaged. Hey, who said that guys can’t multi-task anyway?

While I’m sure many of you are already well aware of the health benefits of shorter, more intense exercise increments, I thought I would reiterate the significant health impacts these ‘quick hit’ sessions offer. An increasing number of health studies have demonstrated that even twenty minutes of medium to high-intensity exercise can help improve cardiovascular health, strength, and overall well-being. According to Stephen J. Carter, a cardiovascular physiologist at the Indiana University Bloomington School of Public Health, shorter, more intense workouts can be more advantageous for our health than longer, less intense physical activity. Carter states that, among other health benefits, these ‘quick hit’ workouts help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and lower mortality rates. So, with increasing studies backing their effectiveness, why wouldn’t we incorporate these time efficient high impact exercise sessions into our weekly routines, especially when our little ones demand so much of our time?

So, the next step is strategizing how we can implement these mini-workouts amidst our never-ending childcare responsibilities. Following are some examples of resourceful mini-exercise sessions I have been able to implement with my kids on several occasions that I’m sure most of you can fit in as well. Keep in mind that the ideas presented below will need to be adapted based on the developmental stage of your kiddos.

At the Playground:

Between pushing them on the swing or chasing them around the playground, do some natural bodyweight exercises like chin-ups, dips, push-ups, and lunges. Feel free to give them a good push on the swing or help them onto the slide and then fit in a quick set. You can even jog to and from the kiddos when needed in between sets. As an alternative to box jumps, try some park bench jumps. They are awesome for leg strengthening and jacking up the heart rate. Spinning them on the merry-go-round can be a tremendous oblique strengthening exercise. Don’t worry what the other parents think! They will likely be impressed and perhaps even inspired to do the same at some point.

Jogging while they Bike or Stride:

If they love to bike, jog with them. Understand that the jog may not be at a steady pace, but even if you have to stop now and then to pick them up off the pavement after they crash, it will still get your blood flowing and boost your endorphins.

At the Park:

Play some games of tag or do some fun races (running, hopping, bear crawling, or otherwise). Grab a soccer ball, baseball, or frisbee and sprint between kicking and throwing. Give them a head start while you sprint with them to get the ball.

In the Snow or on the Ice:

If you live in a snowy winter climate or have access to an ice rink, put a leash or rope around your waist and do running intervals by pulling them on a sled or skating rink. My kids love this, and it is a fantastic way to ensure an intense workout while they experience some good fun.

In and Around the House:

If your kids love to be taken on daddy horsey rides and you’ve got the strength for it, get them to sit on your back while crawling around the house and doing push-ups. For the legs, get them to hop on your back while doing squats or lunges. Body weight squat holds are fantastic for quad strength and mental fortitude. Have them count reps and seconds while you feel the burn! Airplane rides can also work the quads as well as stabilizers. Have fun with it!

For those with equipment at home, do circuit training with your kids. They will enjoy the creativity of coming up with their own fun exercises.

On the Trampoline:

If you have access to a trampoline, get on it and bounce with them. Kids love being double-bounced, but be careful not to launch them into your neighbor’s yard. You will be surprised at how much of a workout some good old-fashioned bouncing can provide. The quads and abs will be feeling it for sure.

Of course, you must ensure that these ideas are implemented safely and consider your children’s developmental stage. However, most of them can be adapted to best suit a range of ages. Each of these will also provide a legitimate increase in heart rate, in turn providing the health benefits our bodies need.

So, when you encounter a domestic turn of events and realize that your optimum workout may not happen, feel free to incorporate some of these mini-exercise regimens with your kiddos. Not only will you be gaining valuable health benefits yourself, but you will also model the importance of physical activity for your kids. Just remember to engage your resourceful mindset and have some fun!

I would also love to hear some of your creative mini-workout ideas, so please share them in the comments below.

Resources:

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2021&issue=03000&article =00012&type=Fulltext

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/08/well/move/full-body-workout-20-minutes.html