This post may contain affiliate links. This means we may earn a small commission if you purchase something from a link. This does not cost you any extra and helps us keep the lights on. Thank you!
Belly button (or navel) piercings are some of the most common and stylish piercings available. Because of it’s location, many often worry how weight loss or weight gain may affect their piercing in terms of looks and health. Similarly, some people may look to belly button piercings as a motivator to help them lose weight. So what’s the 101 on belly button piercings and weight loss?
Would Losing or Gaining Weight Affect The Look of Your Piercing?
Average weight gain or weight loss is unlikely to affect the appearance of your belly button piercing. However if you gain or lose a moderate amount of weight, your piercing may appear to move. This doesn’t necessarily mean that your piercing is migrating. The pierced skin may simply move places with the change of the fat surrounding the skin, which can cause your piercing to appear to move as well. If you plan on keeping the weight gain/weight loss but don’t like the new location of your piercing – don’t worry! You can always re-pierce to your desired location.
Can Gaining or Losing Weight be Dangerous for Your Piercing?
Gaining or Losing weight will only be dangerous for your piercing if you gain or lose a significant amount of weight. It’s important to remember to keep a nicely fitted bar in your piercing. While you may not want to accept that you’ve gained so much weight that you need to increase the size of your jewelry, it’s an important step in maintaining a healthy piercing. Likewise if you lose weight – wearing too large a bar will cause the bar too get caught and will also be dangerous for your piercing.
Belly button piercings are a specific type of surface piercing that already have a higher chance of migration and rejection. With any changes that may affect your piercing, it’s important to make sure the jewelry is always the proper size to mitigate the risk of migration.
Does a Belly Button Piercing Cause You to Gain or Lose Weight?
It may be interesting to learn that belly button piercings cause you to gain weight! Don’t worry, however, the weight gain is temporary and it’s so small that you wouldn’t notice unless you weigh yourself daily. Any time you get injured, your body has the possibility to hold onto water weight for a few days. You’ll pass it naturally in a few days, so don’t worry about it!
Some people find that promising to get themselves a belly button piercing once they lose weight can be a powerful motivator. In this way, a belly button piercing can help you lose weight, but on it’s own a navel piercing will not cause weight loss.
Do You Need to Remove Your Belly Button Piercing If You’re Pregnant?
Most women are able to keep their belly button in place for the duration of their pregnancy. It is important to monitor your navel piercing for signs of migration or rejection, in which case you will likely need to remove the piercing and re-pierce after delivery. You should be prepared to remove your piercing during delivery in case you need a C section. Unfortunately this is one surgery where you will need to completely remove your jewelry and you will not be able to replace it with a glass retainer.
Should You Get a Belly Button Piercing if You’re Fat?
If your piercer says you can support a belly button piercing and you want one – get one! Piercings are empowering, they make you feel like you are in complete control of your body (which you are). So getting a navel piercing even if you feel you are chubby can help you overcome any insecurities you may have.
Unfortunately if you have a certain body type, you may not be able to support a belly button piercing. If your stomach typically wrinkles and develops “flaps” over or near the belly button, you may not be able to have a belly button piercing. The reason for this is because piercings require air flow in order to heal. If a piercing is always sandwiched between tissue, this increases the chances that the piercing will get infected or could have an extremely prolonged healing period. Your piercer will be able to tell you if you have the anatomy to support any piercing.
Does a Belly Button Piercing Make It Hard to Exercise?
For a few weeks after a belly button piercing, you will understandably be sore. This can make certain exercises (looking at you, sit-ups) difficult to do during the healing process. Aside from these few exercises, most people find that they are able to exercise with no issues.
Be careful to choose work out clothes that will not restrict your piercing. While we’re jumping around, sometimes workout leggings can ride up and they may tug on your piercing. You will also want to avoid tops that are too constricting around the navel. Crop tops or baggy shirts are excellent for working out with a healing belly button piercing.
Can You Get Your Belly Button Pierced if You Have an Eating Disorder?
Unfortunately anatomy can be harsh to us on both sides of the scale. If you have suffered from an eating disorder and are still very small, you may not have the anatomy to support a belly button piercing. The navel piercing is a type of surface piercing that requires an adequate amount of tissue to pierce. If it’s hard for you to get a “pinch” of tissue off your navel, you will likely not have the anatomy to support a piercing.
Just like some people use a belly button piercing to motivate themselves to lose weight, you can use this opportunity to motivate yourself to get to a healthy weight. Once you have enough tissue to support a piercing, you can reward yourself!
Conclusion
Unfortunately weight does impact belly button piercings in multiple ways. Weight gain and loss can cause the appearance of your piercing to change as well as affect the health of your piercing. You should always check with your piercer if you notice your piercing may be migrating or rejecting. If you have concerns about whether you have the anatomy to support a piercing, you should ask your piercer.
