Is Body Contouring Effective?

• 3 February 2020
• MCC Marketing

Last updated on July 10, 2024

While diet and exercise are effective at helping you lose weight, significant fat loss can result in loose skin and more noticeable diet and exercise-resistant fat deposits. Body contouring is a safe, effective treatment that addresses these issues and more. To find out more about how you can benefit from treatment and attain the results you’ve worked so hard for, contact My Cosmetic Clinic in Newcastle, NSW today.

How Weight Fluctuations Affect Fat Cells

We’re all born with a certain number of fat cells in our bodies and can generate more until we reach our mid-20s. Our fat cells get larger when we gain weight and smaller when we lose it. The amount of fat cells each person has can vary and depends on your genetics.

How Body Contouring Works

Many body contouring procedures seek to remove or destroy the fat cells in your body as opposed to changing their size the way diet and exercise can. Once the cells are gone, they cannot be regenerated or replaced. The fat cells that remain, though, can still get larger and smaller depending on your habits, which is why it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle after undergoing a contouring procedure.

By removing fat cells in specific areas of your body, such as your abdomen, flanks, or thighs, your practitioner can sculpt your body into one that is more in line with your aesthetic desires. You will look thinner after undergoing a contouring procedure, not because you have lost significant weight, but because the fat cells that were negatively affecting your physique have been removed.

Why Is Some Fat Resistant to Diet and Exercise?

In 2008, researchers discovered that the number of fat cells in your body will increase in number from infancy to your mid-20s. Once your fat cells stop increasing, you will maintain a relatively similar amount throughout your lifetime.

Where these cells are distributed is influenced by genetics and your sex hormones and cannot be changed. Some people are genetically predisposed to having excess fat accumulate in specific areas of their body, including under the chin, the abdomen, thighs and buttocks, and upper arms. For these people, no amount of exercise or dieting will completely remove the fat.

Types of Fat

There are two main types of fat in the human body: subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Visceral fat tends to accumulate around organs and muscles and responds to diet and exercise. When you “burn fat” throughout the day, whether it’s due to intentional exercise or just completing daily tasks, you lose mostly visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat rests just below the skin and tends to be highly resistant to diet and exercise. Subcutaneous fat is often the culprit when you lose weight and notice you still have a double chin, love handles, or a belly because it isn’t as responsive to diet and exercise as visceral fat. To get rid of subcutaneous fat and enjoy the body you’ve worked so hard to achieve, body contouring is often the only option.

Is Contouring Effective for Weight Loss?

When you choose to undergo one or more of these treatments to sculpt your body, you will lose weight as fat cells and excess skin are removed. However, these procedures are not in and of themselves solutions for excess body weight. They’re intended to put the finishing touches on the body you desire; not to be the primary driver of weight loss.

The idea is similar to the techniques used by a sculptor who works on stone. They start with a piece of stone and use a larger, heavier hammer and chisel to remove large pieces of unnecessary stone. Then, once the stone is the size that they require, they use smaller tools to perform more intricate, detailed work. The same principle is true for body sculpting. Diet and exercise are necessary to lose significant amounts of weight, while body sculpting is useful for more detailed work, providing you with the definition and contours you desire.

Which Body Contouring Procedures Are Available?

The procedures we offer include abdominoplasty (tummy tuck), arm/thigh lift, and liposuction. Each one is capable of treating common areas of diet and exercise-resistant fat and can greatly improve the shape and contours of your post-surgical self.

Tummy Tuck Surgery

A tummy tuck is an incredibly common cosmetic surgical procedure that is effective at removing unwanted fat and loose skin from the abdomen while tightening the muscles and tissues in your abdominal wall. Excess abdominal fat can be caused by pregnancy, the effects of aging, or significant weight gain and is often highly resistant to diet and exercise.

Dr. Ansari’s experience with tummy tuck surgery is vast, and he will tailor your procedure to achieve the results you want.

Who Is a Candidate for a Tummy Tuck?

The best candidates for surgery are men and women who are in good health and are worried about excess skin and fat deposits around their midsection. Many women who have gone through one or more pregnancies look to abdominoplasty to get back to their pre-pregnancy physique. Men, on the other hand, often look to abdominoplasty to address their belly or love handles. A tummy tuck can address all of these issues and more, depending on the variation of the procedure you desire.

What Are Your Options?

Dr. Ansari uses two basic techniques to address the issues of excess exercise and diet-resistant fat and/or loose skin around your midsection.

Mini Tummy Tuck

Patients who have maintained relatively tight abdominal muscles but have a small-to-moderate amount of loose skin they wish to have removed may benefit from a mini tummy tuck. The incision is smaller, the recovery is quicker, but the results aren’t as dramatic as those provided by a full abdominoplasty. However, for patients whose cosmetic desires do not require dramatic results, a mini tummy tuck is probably all you’ll need.

Full Tummy Tuck

Losing a large amount of weight or going through one or more pregnancies can result in a significant amount of fat and loose skin around your midsection, as well as stretched abdominal muscle and connective tissue. During a full tummy tuck, more skin and excess fat can be removed, and the tissues of your abdominal wall will be tightened, resulting in much firmer, sleeker contouring than you experienced before surgery.

Arm/Thigh Lift

Arm or thigh lifts are often suggested to address excess skin and fatty tissue that rests in the upper arms or thighs. The procedure will also improve the shape of the area, resulting in a more balanced and aesthetically pleasing figure.

Benefits of a Surgical Lift

When you have excess skin and fat around your arms and legs, you are at a higher risk of experiencing skin irritation and fungal infections. Surgery can relieve these symptoms and provide a much lighter feeling in the limbs, allowing for greater freedom of movement and an increased level of physical activity.

Lift procedures can also have a dramatic effect on a patient’s self-esteem and self-confidence, as you’re able to wear what you want and know that you look good. A more proportioned, balanced figure might be just the self-esteem boost you need to get out and be the best version of you that you can be.

Who Is a Candidate for an Arm/Thigh Lift?

Lift procedures are suitable for those who have been losing weight and are looking into body contouring procedures to reach their final goal. Many people develop loose skin in their upper arm and upper thigh areas after losing significant weight. Sometimes, the excess skin sagging is a result of aging, since skin loses volume and elasticity as we continue to get older.

Sometimes, the excess tissue on the upper arms or thighs causes undue distress, especially after a patient has successfully lost a lot of weight. These procedures are effective for patients who desire to remove the extra skin and improve the shape of the area. As a contouring procedure, arm/thigh lifts are best suited for those who have reached their ideal body weight already or are close to doing so.

Liposuction

Liposuction is a surgical option for people who have been successfully losing weight but aren’t satisfied with the results they’re able to achieve. While liposuction will remove some fat, the results are easier to maintain when a patient reaches a weight they can comfortably maintain before undergoing the procedure. Depending on your current condition and desired results, the effects of liposuction can range from dramatic to subtle. What matters most is that you achieve the physique you want.

Can Liposuction Replace Diet and Exercise?

One of the most common questions we get about liposuction is whether it’s an effective alternative to traditional weight loss methods. Liposuction is an effective, time-tested procedure that can successfully remove unwanted pockets of fat from a variety of locations around your body. You can even have the fat moved from one place to another if your aesthetic goals include enhancements in specific areas.

What liposuction cannot do is replace traditional weight loss methods. The ability to maintain your weight loss is critical to maximizing your liposuction results.

Why Choose Us?

At our clinic, we believe in taking a holistic approach to cosmetic beauty. We believe that a combination of medical and surgical techniques can help you achieve the best possible results. When you work with us, your condition and concerns will be treated with the attention you deserve as a valued patient. We have no problem taking whatever time is necessary to ensure you achieve the best possible results.

Dr. Ansari

Dr. Ansari has undergone 9 years of surgical training at prestigious locations around the world. His initial surgical training was received under the auspices of the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, where he obtained Membership in the Royal College of practitioners (Edinburgh) in 2006. Dr. Ansari has a genuine interest in surgical research as it translates into better results for his clients, and he has been involved in several academic research projects. Additionally, he was awarded a Masters (MSc) in Advanced Surgical Practice from Cardiff University in the UK.

After his training in the UK, Dr. Ansari received additional training in cosmetic surgery in Australia, where he was granted a fellowship from the Australasian College of Cosmetic Surgery. He served as a Clinical Tutor for the Austin School of Medicine–Melbourne, practitioner Instructor at GPCE–Sydney, and was appointed as an External Examiner for Guy’s King’s and St. Thomas’ (GKT) School of Medicine–London.

Achieve the Results You Want

Your body has a certain number of fat cells that form between birth and your mid-20s. As you lose or gain weight, the cells either shrink or grow, but their numbers do not change significantly. If you’ve recently lost a significant amount of weight and you’re dissatisfied with the results, it could be because you have diet and exercise-resistant pockets of fat throughout your body.

Body contouring includes a set of procedures designed to address loose, excess skin and fat deposits in various places around your body, including your belly, upper arms, flanks, thighs, and under your chin. Body contouring works by removing the fat cells and excess skin, reshaping and re-contouring your body into one that matches your desired cosmetic results. If you’re interested in learning more about the procedures, call My Cosmetic Clinic in Newcastle, NSW today. The body you want is within reach: don’t wait!