Since starting PB, I'm getting really wrinkly...help? page

[EagleRiverDee]

Ok this is weird because I would think all the good fats in PB and all the clean foods would be good for my skin. But I've been Primal for about 2-1/2 months now, I'm down 15 lbs, and my face and hands look like I've aged 10 years. I have fine lines all over my face now that were not there before I started primal. My hands, also, just look...old.

Since I know people will ask- my diet looks like this:
Breakfast is either 3 hard boiled eggs, a can of sardines or a protein shake and generally is around 300 calories. I also have one 12oz cup of coffee with stevia and almond milk.
I don't snack but do drink tea (green tea, rooibos or herbal tea) in the morning.
Lunch is usually a big azz salad of organic mixed herbs, tomatoes, 1 whole avocado, carrot, bell pepper and either steak or chicken on top with a balsamic vinegar/extra virgin olive oil dressing.
Dinner is often red salmon, cod or steak and the veggies vary by day: broccoli, roasted vegetables like beets, carrots, leeks. Occasionally we have rice or quinoa, but not often.

I don't avoid fat at all. I do avoid processed foods, sugar, dairy (because I'm allergic). I used to eat fruit all the time, now it's maybe some fruit one day a week.

I exercise moderately on a daily basis, mostly walking.

My vices are drinking red wine and eating chocolate. I'm a sucker for dark chocolate.

I supplement the same way I have for years, as recommended by my Naturopathic Doctor:
Selenium
D3
Fish Oil (only on days I don't eat fish)
multi
Curcumin (a turmeric extract for my joints)
L-Lysine

The only new supplement in my diet is NAC, which was recommended by my doctor and in my research I've not found anything that would lead me to believe it's affecting my skin.

So this leads me to believe either my diet is causing my skin to wrinkle up, or it's the weight loss...but I've lost weight before at this rate and this didn't happen.

Ideas? Suggestions?

[vyieort]

Congrats on losing 50 pounds! Could it be that the skin wrinkles were being masked by the stretching force of excess weight or fat? As in, when a balloon deflates, it's wrinkly as well. (Not trying to sound cruel, here.)

Obviously this is not an answer, so I'm curious if anyone has something more concrete. But, this would make sense, no? Or, maybe the wrinkles aren't permanent and the elasticity of the skin will recover as you decrease in weight. Losing 50 pounds, while great for ones health, certainly leaves excess coverage (skin) which ends up hanging on the body differently when filled out.

[CiKi90]

Well, I don't have a scientific answer for this, but from experience I can tell you that when I lost a lot of weight, I had wrinkles in odd places, just as vyieort suggested: a deflated balloon. It wasn't in my face or anything, but I did have a large wrinkle of skin at the cinched part of my waist, and on my butt . However, I gained the weight all back (a good thing, for me) and the wrinkled are gone. Also, i remember when I was very thin, my hands revealed my veins a bit more noticeably, too.

The only thing I can say to do is to maybe use a firming lotion and wait for the skin to shrink to your new body size! As long as you aren't losing weight too quickly, the wrinkles shouldn't be permanent. Congratulations on your weight loss, too!

[magnolia1973]

Weightloss and skin are not friends. I think it takes time. I'm dealing with the same issues. One thing that I noticed is that I drink less water now. I used to be a 10-12 glasses a day. Now it's about half that. Hydration helps keep skin plump and youthful. Maybe try drinking more water?

Also, as you age, skin wrinkles. You have to be somewhat proactive if you don't want it to age as quickly. If they are light wrinkles, get a cream with retinol. I do a tightening serum, neck cream and retinol, plus bi-monthly peels and it has helped tighten up my face and neck, botox erases the few wrinkles I do have. Note- this is not grok like. I know.

[magicmerl]

Yeah, as other people say, both losing the 'bloating' from water retention due to wheat intake, and weight loss in general can cause loose skin.

Give it time, and maybe try to put some muscles under your skin

[EagleRiverDee]

Thanks everyone. I guess the consensus is that it's the weight loss. Hopefully things will tighten up and I'll be back to my normal wrinkle-free appearance.

[MamaGrok]

Yes, I'd say that you're either seeing wrinkles that would have been there had you never gained the weight (and never eaten primally, b/c processed oils are much more likely to lead to wrinkles than quality fats)(and the wrinkles were invisible for a while b/c you had them filled up with fat and/or water retention), or these are just skin that has deflated and will soon (with continued quality fats & adequate water intake) smooth out to close to what you would have had if you had never had the weight.

Or it could be Satan.

[YogaBare]

Knifegill asked the same question recently... some people would say it's not an uncommon occurrence on low carb diets. Here's teh thread: https://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread73085.html

[EagleRiverDee]

Knifegill asked the same question recently... some people would say it's not an uncommon occurrence on low carb diets. Here's teh thread: https://www.marksdailyapple.com/forum/thread73085.html

Thanks, I'll read through that. I had done a search on "wrinkles" but didn't look at variants like "aging". I appreciate the heads up.

[MamaGrok]

I had the same thing happen, but it's definitely going away now. And I'm still low carb. My skin is now the softest and smoothest it's ever been.