Without a single trace: how to avoid stretch marks after weight loss

Stretch marks, or striae, do not directly affect human health, but can cause significant psychological discomfort, which reduces the quality of life. The question often arises: is it possible to get rid of them? In fact, it is the same as asking: can you get rid of scars? After all, stretch marks are nothing but the destruction of connective tissue due to damage to collagen and elastin. Only the damaging factors are different.

Today, there is no treatment method that can completely remove stretch marks. However, there are methods that can make them virtually invisible. And the earlier you start these treatments, the more effective they will be, since the strictures have an evolutionary development: from red to white. Treatment of the latter is extremely ineffective.

Tillsammans med Sergei Sergeev, a nutritionist, a member of the National Association of Nutritionists and Nutritionists, a teacher at the VP Fitness Coach Training School, an expert at the International Festival of Health and Sports SN PRO EXPO FORUM, we understand what can really make stretch marks less noticeable.

What can help in the fight against stretch marks?

Studies show the beneficial effects of massage, especially vacuum massage. In addition, the visible aesthetic improvement is promoted by mesotherapy treatment.

Mesotherapy – a technique in which the drug in microscopic doses is injected under the skin at a shallow depth using thin, short needles. This allows it to have an active effect where the ingredients of conventional cosmetic products do not.

Chemical peels have also proven to be effective. And the most pronounced cosmetic effect is observed with the use of laser techniques.

What means are ineffective against stretch marks?

The use of special creams, lotions, scrubs and ointments, of course, can improve the condition of the skin. But alas, studies have not found statistically significant evidence to support their use for the treatment and prevention of stretch marks.

Why do stretch marks appear?

Most methods of fighting stretch marks are complicated, time-consuming and expensive. It is much more beneficial to carry out prevention of their appearance. To understand how to do this, let’s analyze the main factors leading to the formation of stretch marks, namely:

• mechanical stretching of the skin;
• hormonal changes;
• genetic predisposition to disrupt the structure of the skin.

The more you have these factors, the higher the chance of stretch marks. This means that the more carefully you should monitor the sharp weight gain or weight loss. And the weight does not necessarily increase at the expense of fat tissue. Thus, the risk of stretch marks in bodybuilders who use steroid hormones and quickly gain muscle mass is much higher than in a person who is “far” from sports and abuses junk food.

What if our bodybuilder has genetically “shorter”, i.e. sensitive to androgens (steroid hormones) receptors and a tendency to disrupt collagen and elastin synthesis? He cannot avoid stretch marks unless he has the right pharmaceutical and nutritional support plan in place beforehand and seeks to “grow up” faster.

How does nutrition affect the appearance of stretch marks?

If you have genetic problems with connective tissue, it is worth taking care of a sufficient amount of “building material” in the diet for its normal synthesis, i.e. protein. This is especially true for protein rich in collagen-forming amino acids. And this is far from cottage cheese and chicken breasts, which are most often used in weight loss or muscle mass gain. I call such proteins “refined”: they lack collagen-forming amino acids (lysine, proline, arginine, methionine and its derivatives). The latter are found in veins, cartilage, skin, strong bone broths – everything that many people for some reason is not considered proper nutrition.

It is also necessary to provide yourself with macro- and microcollagen-specific bioelements (silicon, selenium, potassium, calcium, copper, manganese, magnesium, iron) and cofactors of collagen synthesis (vitamins D, C, E, B group). All of them take an active part in the synthesis and maturation of collagen. These substances are especially important, given that iron deficiency is becoming more common, even with normal hemoglobin values.