Weight Loss Basics: Which Areas Do We Lose Body Fat from First?
Although it’s not a weight loss tool, liposuction from our
Palm Desert Cosmetic Surgery Institute allows you to do
something that exercise, and dieting can’t accomplish: remove targeted pockets
of fat from isolated spots. Understanding the basics of fat loss—and why it’s
so difficult to “spot reduce” unwanted bulk in certain areas—can help anyone wondering
why their daily exercise routines and low-carb lunches aren’t touching a pesky
double chin or love handles.
Unfortunately, although your overall body fat percentage may
be lower after weeks or months of working out and reducing your calorie intake,
you may be frustrated when you notice that the areas you want to lose weight
from don’t seem to ever grow any slimmer. Additionally, many people get to a
point where exercise isn’t enough for them to get to the point where they have achieved
their body contouring goals.
A balanced diet and getting enough routine physical activity
certainly keep you healthy. However, if you’ve reached a weight-loss plateau—meaning
you’re still following your exercise and diet closely, but are temporarily unable
to lose any more weight—cosmetic procedures may be the best option for helping
you attain the shape you want.
Body fat or adipose is a connective tissue that has many
important health benefits, including temperature regulation, balancing hormone
levels, improving reproductive health, and serving as an energy reserve to use
for fueling our activities.
You may notice that whenever you gain weight, it usually
goes to one or two areas. For some people, it’s the belly. For others, it’s the
thighs and buttocks. Ideally, we could simply do exercises that focused on
specific areas to make them thinner. For example, wouldn’t it be great if running
and squats would automatically give someone smaller thighs? Sadly, fat doesn’t
work that way.
The way that our bodies distribute fat and the “order” in
which it is lost is mostly determined by genetics, gender, metabolism, and body
shape. Women typically store more fat in their hips and thighs because it is
essential for childbearing, so these may be the last areas to reduce in volume.
Men tend to have more at in the abdominal area.
Also, the most recent area where you gained weight is likely
where you lose it from first.
Generally, you’re likely to retain your same basic body
shape—but in a smaller size—after weight loss. Liposuction, however, can help with
all of these challenges by targeting specific pockets of fat no matter when
they first appeared, as well as improving proportions after you’ve reached a
stable weight. Think of it as customizable body contouring.
Interested in having liposuction in Palm Desert? To request
a consultation with Cosmetic Surgery
Institute, give us a call at (760) 837-0364 or fill out a contact form.
How Can a Tummy Tuck and Liposuction Work Together?
If your
midsection is a “problem zone” for you, you probably already know how difficult
it is to maintain a lean look. You may do everything right—including eating
well and exercising—but a flat abdomen seems to stay out of your reach. The Cosmetic
Surgery Institute team explains that while lifestyle-based efforts can give you
a healthier body overall, and are ideal for reducing fat, diets can’t be used
to target specific areas. Sit-ups can build muscle, but the results may remain
hidden under a thick layer—or the muscles may be separated from being stretched
out.
To address a
range of cosmetic belly problems, there’s no substitute for an abdominoplasty, available at our Palm Springs-area practice. For the procedure better
known as a tummy tuck, we make strategic incisions that allow us to tighten
muscles, fascia, and skin, as well as to excise any redundant skin. A traditional,
full tummy tuck is limited to the area that extends below the chest to the
pelvis.
But what about
stubborn, resistant rolls that often surround the belly area? For additional
fine-tuning, there’s always liposuction. Our approach involves using surgical
fat removal to optimize results, in addition to standard surgical techniques.
Performing two
procedures (a tummy tuck and liposuction) at the same time proves to be more
efficient, effective, and less expensive than performing them separately—not to
mention patients won’t have to go through two surgeries and recovery periods. Also
with this approach, the risk of complications associated with standalone tummy
tucks, such as seromas, is reduced, and combining procedures has been shown to
improve patient satisfaction. This combination is sometimes referred to as
“lipoabdominoplasty” or “liposuction-assisted abdominoplasty.”
Liposuction is a
commonly performed body contouring procedure that allows patients to remove
resistant, subcutaneous fat deposits from most areas of the body, using a
hollow cannula to break up and extract fat cells. In addition to the belly it
also allows for shaping features that border the belly area, like the hips,
flanks, waist, and back, for more definitive contouring. Slimming down these
other areas also accentuates a flatter abdomen. This improves your overall body
contours for a more streamlined and balanced appearance.
Patients from
Palm Springs and surrounding areas can plan an abdominoplasty with liposuction
at Cosmetic
Surgery Institute. Call (760)
837-0364 or send a message online to get more information or arrange a
consultation.
The Negative Effects of Smoking on Liposuction Results
Liposuction
continues to be an ideal surgical technique for dramatic body-contouring
results. It produces new contours faster than non-invasive alternatives can, is
generally low risk, doesn’t require a long recovery time, and only causes small
scars. The procedure can be a useful tool for body contouring—also referred to
as body sculpting, a term referring to a range of procedures intended for
altering the contours of the body by modifying fat, skin or muscle. While it is
great for removing fat from almost any area of the body, doctors at Cosmetic
Surgery Institute explain to patients in the Los Angeles basin area that liposuction for body contouring's success hinges on them avoiding nicotine
before and after surgery.
You may have
noticed in your research before the big day that cigarette smoking is
emphasized on just about every list of things to avoid before going in for
plastic surgery. Some surgeons recommend staying away from cigarettes for a few
weeks or up to a month before the operation and for a long time afterward as
well. But why exactly is smoking so bad for you—in this specific case?
In short, smoking
makes you much more likely to develop post-operative complications after
liposuction surgery. If you’re a regular or heavy smoker, surgeons understand
that giving up the habit can be difficult, but they can also help you find support
during this time.
A chemical
called nicotine, which is contained in cigarettes—and such cigarette
substitutes as gum, patches, chewing tobacco, pipes, cigars, etc.—is the source
of the problem. When you have plastic surgery, some of the blood vessels are
severed, and it’s up to the remaining intact vessels to supply the oxygen and
nutrients needed by the rest of your body. This includes the incision sites and
tissues in the surgical site that need to heal. Poor healing can lead to poor
results. Scars may be more pronounced and visible, since nicotine restricts
blood flow and inhibits oxygen supply to cells.
If you still
continue smoking, your surgeon may not want to administer liposuction. Complications
from pre-op and post-op smoking may include infections, fat necrosis, blood
clots, increased pain, and thick scars.
Are you ready
for a new you? Get started on your plastic surgery journey today with help from
the Cosmetic
Surgery Institute team. To
schedule a consult regarding liposuction for body contouring in the Los Angeles
basin area, connect with us by phoning (760) 837-0364 or sending a message.