The Right Diet For Beautiful Skin: Part 1

If you're a veteran dieter, you may already know that gaining and losing the same 10, 20 or more pounds is hard on your wardrobe budget - and on your general health. Some studies have found that yo-yo dieting - or weight cycling as doctors call it - may be worse than not shedding the extra pounds at all. No less harmful is so-called crash dieting: While on these starvation diets, people often consume 1000 calories a day or less.

But what you may not know is that weight cycling and crash diets can be murder on skin. Gaining and losing weight over and over again can cost skin its youthful firmness and elasticity. And crash diets can turn skin rough, dry and lifeless after only a few days.

The most expensive moisturizers and makeup in the world won't do a bit of good if weight cycling has left skin less taut than it could be or if a starvation diet has depleted skin of the vitamins and minerals it needs to repair itself. But you can peel away the pounds without imperiling your skin.

No one's actually studied the effects of yo-yo dieting on skin. But generally speaking, the more body weight fluctuates, say experts, the harder it is for skin to snap back into place when the pounds come off. It isn't good for skin to be continually stretched and released.

Weight cycling leads to wear and tear on collagen, the substance that helps keep skin firm and taut. We have a fixed number of fat cells, which are situated under the top layer of skin. When you gain weight, these cells enlarge and stretch the skin. When you shed the pounds again, the fat cells shrink. So does your skin - hopefully.

But suppose you keep gaining and losing weight over the years. With each weight gain, the fat cells enlarge and press up against the collagen fibers, which give skin its structural support. These fibers can eventually wear out, leaving skin unable to snap back. Skin is like a balloon. If you keep blowing it up and letting out the air, you're eventually going to weaken it.

The yo-yo syndrome can affect skin anywhere on the body, including the hips, breasts and buttocks. But you're most likely to notice loose, sagging skin on your face and neck. Also, gaining weight rapidly during the up phase of weight cycling can damage your skin's supply of collagen. The result: stretch marks.