Many people begin exercising and eating healthy because they are unhappy with their current body as well as the negative symptoms that accompany being overweight. Losing weight via diets and exercise appears to be a fix-all solution. It seems like if you can lose the weight then everything will get better. You’ll be happy with your body, you’ll have more energy, your attitude will be more positive and you’ll be psychologically content. However, it is coming to light that those that have lost a large amount of weight are not content afterwards. In this article I will highlight the reasons why weight loss may not be the fix-all solution that it appears to be.
Skin Damage
After having lost hundreds of pounds of excess weight, your skin can have a very hard time recovering and at times may not be able to recover completely. This hidden downside that comes with weight loss occurs because of damage inflicted upon the deeper layers of skin such as the dermis. These deeper layers of skin contain the proteins elastin and collagen which help the skin retract and stay strong respectively. As your weight increases, and as your skin has to stretch more and more to accommodate the extra weight, these proteins lose their ability to help the skin retract. This means that once the weight is gone, the skin will remain stretched. These remaining flabs of skin can cause a number of physical issues such as back pain and physical discomfort as well as further psychological problems because of the continued discontent with one’s body. These concerns are not be taken lightly as they can have profoundly detrimental effects on people.
Back Pain Caused by Remaining Skin Flabs
The stretched skin that remains after massive weight loss are typically asymmetric and are not centred with the body. This means that the body’s weight distribution becomes lopsided and this puts extra pressure on the back. One way of imagining this is to think of wearing a heavy backpack for an extended period of time. Although this weight is concentrated in one area, it causes you to change your posture in order to accommodate the weight. This change in posture causes discomfort and eventually quite a bit of pain in the back. This is what happens with the remaining flabs of skin except for the added fact that there may be multiple flabs of skin that hang on various parts of the body. This makes the imbalance much harder to deal with. It is understandably upsetting for those that have lost a large amount of weight to find that their joint pain and inability to get around is only marginally improved. Instead of joint pain they begin experiencing back pain and instead of not being able to get around because of the weight, they have trouble getting around because their back hurts.
Infections
What often happens with these skin flabs is that they will rub together and begin to form infections or ulcers. These infections further contribute to the physical pain caused by the flabs as well as the psychological pain. Furthermore, these infections, if not treated properly and promptly, can actually get so bad that one may have to be hospitalized. This is certainly not the outcome that people have in mind when trying to lose weight. Many of these infections are caused by a failure to keep the flabs try and clean. This can be difficult considering where these flabs are commonly located. The most common condition that results from these flabs of skin is called ‘intertrigo’ which is a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection that occurs when the underside of the flabs remain moist for too long. Not only do these flabs cause, pain, they also need regular maintenance.
Psychological Pain
The psychological pain that occurs after massive weight loss is derived from the discontent that people experience because of the skin flabs. The physical pain and the unsightliness of these skin flabs both contribute to the psychological pain. In addition, the flabs can make it much more difficult to exercise making it harder to not only continue losing weight, but also to maintain the motivation to even bother trying. As you can tell this becomes a negative cycle that continuously feeds itself. Simply to not feel the success that you thought you would after having lost this weight is enough to discourage a person, but the added negatives that can come along with losing weight can produce a whole new nightmare if you do not have the appropriate means to get rid of the skin flabs.
All of this is not to say that one should not bother trying to lose weight. These symptoms typically only occur when a morbidly obese person loses a massive amount of weight. These things do not happen to everyone. Flabs of skin can surely be far more preferable than being morbidly obese! Also, for those that this does happen to, there are solutions. It is possible to have these flabs of skin surgically removed. This may be the final step in achieving the body and lifestyle that you have dreamt of. In this sense, the flabs of skin may simply be one more obstacle that you will have to overcome.
If you want to begin your weight loss journey then look into the HCG diet. This diet consists of 4 phases: loading, low calorie dieting, stabilization and maintenance. This unique process involves controlled dieting and exercise in order to not only help you lose weight, but also to help you get fit. There are a wide variety of diet plans and exercise regimens out there so be sure to research your options so you can find the one that is best for you.
At first glance, weight loss seems to be a solution for all of obesity’s negative aspects. However, losing weight can also have its own cons. The hidden downsides that I have described here are serious and should be recognized by everyone that they might effect. However, these downsides should not be seen as reasons not to engage in dieting and exercise. They should merely be noted beforehand so as to avoid disappointment in the future.