Know Your Body: Questions to Ask Before Body Contouring

If you want to get rid of extra, unwanted fat from your body, you have several options. You can go the surgical route and have a surgeon perform liposuction to remove fat from a variety of areas. Alternatively, you can have Coolsculpting, which eliminates fat by freezing it, destroying the fat cells so that your body ultimately flushes them out.

Whether you go the surgical or non-surgical route, there are a few questions to ask before you schedule a body contouring procedure.

Are You at Your Desired Weight?

One of the biggest misconceptions about Coolsculpting and other body contouring procedures is that they are an alternative to weight loss. Some believe that you’ll lose massive amounts of weight after having a treatment performed. The reality is that it’s usually best to be at your goal or desired weight or within a few pounds of your goal.

Removing fat, whether through liposuction or Coolsculpting, won’t help you lose that much weight. That’s why either procedure is usually recommended after weight loss, not before. It’s really an ideal solution for sculpting the body and addressing stubborn areas of fat that haven’t responded to diet and exercise.

How Much Extra Fat Do You Have?

Coolsculpting helps remove up to 25 percent of fat in a particular area. You can treat the same area twice to improve your results. You can also treat several areas of the body, either at once with an option called Dualsculpting or one by one.

Liposuction can remove more fat than Coolsculpting. It can also remove fat from more areas of the body at the same time. That means you won’t have to schedule multiple surgeries. If you want to get rid of a considerable amount of fat, you might be better off selecting liposuction. If you only want to treat one or two areas and have a smaller amount of fat to get rid of, Coolsculpting might be the better pick.

When Do You Want to See Results?

Another thing to ask yourself before body contouring is how long you can wait to see results. In the case of Coolsculpting, it can take up to 16 weeks before you see a noticeable change. While liposuction has a longer recovery period, you might see results sooner. That’s because the fat is removed from your body immediately. Swelling might make the results less visible for a few weeks, but if you wear a compression garment you might see a change right away.

Do You Have Time for a Lengthy Recovery?

How long do you have to spare for recovery after body contouring? If the answer is “no time,” Coolsculpting might be the better pick for you. There’s no lengthy downtime or recovery period after Coolsculpting. Many people are able to go back to work or school right after their treatment.

After liposuction, though, you might need to take a week off from your job, if not two weeks, to give yourself time to heal. Your surgeon will also most likely recommend avoiding exercise and other strenuous activities for a few weeks after the surgery.

Where Will You Go For Treatment?

After you’ve decided which type of treatment is right for you, it’s important to ask yourself where you’ll go for Coolsculpting or liposuction. Whether you go the non-surgical or surgical route for fat removal, it’s essential that you find a surgeon who is trained and has experience performing the procedure you’ve chosen.

In the case of Coolsculpting, it’s a good idea to see a practitioner who’s attended and graduated from Coolsculpting University. That ensures that the practitioner received his training right from the source and has a full understanding of the procedure. If you decide to have liposuction, you want to choose a board certified plastic surgeon who has performed the surgery countless times and who has photos and references to prove it.

Are You Ready to Stick to a Healthy Lifestyle?

One last question to ask yourself before Coolsculpting or another fat removal procedure: Are you ready to stick with a healthy lifestyle? That means sticking to a healthy diet and an exercise routine afterward. That will help you to maintain your weight and prevent any remaining fat cells from getting bigger. Although the fat cells removed by Coolsculpting or surgery won’t come back, it’s possible for remaining ones to expand if you gain weight. You can also put on fat in areas that weren’t treated.

Your surgeon can help you put together a healthy eating and exercise plan or refer you to a nutritionist or trainer who can help you out.

If you’re ready to learn more about Coolsculpting or body contouring in general, reach out to Dr. Paul Vitenas, a top-rated plastic surgeon in Houston, Texas. Dr. Vitenas supervises Mirror Mirror Beauty Boutique, a medical spa. Several members of the Mirror Mirror team are Coolsculpting University graduates. To schedule your consultation, call 281-810-9083 today.