Does collagen make you gain weight

Many people ask us ‘does collagen make you gain weight?’

Collagen is the most infinite protein in your body, it forms the foundation for several key components, such as your skin, muscles, bones, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. It also plays a vital role to your connective tissues that holds all your bodies cells together.

So, how does collagen help your skin

Collagen is a type of protein that provides your body with the amino acids it requires to produce more collagen. Your body naturally produces the collagen that contributes to the strength and elasticity to your skin. However, as you get older, your collagen production slows and your collagen fibres reduce and get thinner. It’s believed that this may contribute to the skins ageing process, such as wrinkles and joint pain. 

Increasing your Collagen intake can help to offset some the bodies collagen production and improve the overall health of your connective tissues that you rely on.

Therefore, this is the reason why skincare products contain collagen to support your skin, strengthen your hair, nails and combat the signs of ageing.

The reason for weight gain

It is normal for you to be prone to weight gain, and although collagen is beneficial to the body, it’s very common for people to wonder if it will increase your weight. Weight gain occurs when you eat an excess amount of calories than your body needs to function. When you consume more calories than you use, your body stores them as fat and you gain weight.

Does collagen make you gain weight?

There is nothing in collagen that will cause you to gain weight. In fact, they believe that collagen supplements may promote weight loss by increasing your metabolism and energy levels for better sports performance. However, there is little evidence to support this. 

If you are considering collagen but also conscious of weight gain, it is important to note that although collagen itself won’t increase your weight, it depends on how you consume it through your diet vs. exercise and activity levels. 

Healthy lifestyle 

Although ageing is inevitable, there are many facts that contribute to speeding up the ageing process. For example, excessive alcohol intake and smoking. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is important, regular exercise, a good diet and collagen-rich foods that boost collagen production may also increase amino acid and help with the ageing process. 

Here are some collagen-rich foods to consider adding to your diet. 

• Chicken
• Beef
• Fish 
• Avocado 
• Kale, spirulina & spinach 
• Bell pepper 
• Berries 
• Pumpkin seeds, almonds, cashews
• Citrus fruits 
• Eggs

Here are some examples of how collagen can support a healthy lifestyle and maintain health. 

• Suppress your appetite 

Collagen May help you lose weight by suppressing your appetite. Protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates, therefore keeping you fuller for longer. It is thought that as collagen is a protein, this is the reason for you feeling fuller for longer, and promotes weight loss as it can reduce your calorie intake. 

• Boosts your metabolism 

Collagen is a protein, and protein is essential for weight loss. This is an important factor to your diet and fitness as it helps to build and maintain lean muscle mass. 

Put simply, the more muscle tissue you have, the more calories that you will burn during exercise. Therefore, along with a healthy diet and active lifestyle, increasing your collagen intake, can help your body work more efficiently, burn more calories and give you more energy. Contributing to boosting your metabolism and potentially helping you to lose weight. 

Collagen skincare 

In addition to a diet full of collagen-rich foods and supplements, you can also increase collagen through skincare products. Applying the product onto your skin directly has been proven to slow down the ageing process, reducing wrinkles, dryness and improving your skin elasticity and blood flow. 

Here’s more reasons why taking collagen supplements can help you.

• Slowing the ageing process
• Improve skin health 
• Strengthens hair and nails 
• May promote heart health 
• Relieve joint pain
• Helps build muscle  

Conclusion 

So, does collagen make you gain weight?

Taking a collagen supplement will not cause you to gain weight. In fact, it can help support you on your fitness and weight loss goals in addition to a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Collagen for men and women is an important component to a healthy lifestyle.