With summer in full swing, many of us are looking for ways to slim down and look our best by the beach or pool. Sometimes no matter how great your diet is or how many days a week you hit the gym, getting rid of those last stubborn 5 or 10 pounds may feel daunting or unattainable.What if your body just insists on hanging onto love handles, bra bulgeor some other area of flab?CoolSculpting is a non-invasive fat reduction procedure typically performed on people who are already in pretty good shape but have areas of stubborn fat that just won’t go away no matter what.
CoolSculpting helps contour your body. But if you’re looking to fit in a certain pair of jeans or reach a certain body measurement, hang on. The treatment doesn’t necessarily translate into losing inches, and it’s not a weight loss procedure either. Rather, it is a treatment that freezes fat cells to achieve a refined body shape in the area treated. CoolSculpting is designed for people who live active lifestyles, have occasional weight gain and/or loss and are targeting certain areas of the body that contain stubborn fat.
You May Not Lose Inches but You’ll Lose Fat Cells
As we’ve said, losing inches is not the end goal of CoolSculpting. Losing fat cells is. CoolSculpting is a body sculpting process that can eliminate up to 20% of fatin a treated area per session. Results are measured by the amount of fat cells are removed, not by the number of inches lost.
If you’re only losing fat cells, is CoolSculpting still worth it? Many people think so, and that’s because your body only has a certain total of fat cells. Fat cells that are removed as a result of your CoolSculpting treatments will not grow back or be replaced. This means that your body has less ability to retain fat in the areas treated, but watch out – the fat cells that remain in the treated area still have the ability to grow and store fat, so you still have to exercise and eat healthfully if you want to maintain your results.
In the big picture, CoolSculpting is about sculpting and contouring the body. The inches lost or not lost are not relevant when it comes to CoolSculpting – it’s about achieving a shape that gives you confidence.
CoolSculpting Is Not a Weight Loss Treatment
In order for CoolSculpting to work and for you reach optimal results, you must be the right candidate. The treatment is not intended for significant weight loss and results won’t be very noticeable if you aren’t already within an ideal weight range. The right candidate for CoolSculpting is a person who already maintains a healthy and active lifestyle.
Having good eating habits and exercising regularly is the only way you will maintain results after CoolSculpting. How many inches you lose is irrelevant when you notice how your clothes fit you better. And there’s a certain satisfaction in seeing stubborn areas fat get reduced after your CoolSculpting treatment.
Set Realistic Goals
When setting up yourappointment, keep in mind thatany change in body shape in the treatment areas is gradual over time, as your body naturally removes the fat cells damaged by each CoolSculpting treatment.
After your treatments, you can compare how the treated area looked before you started and after all your sessions have completed. The results may be subtle, but a slimmer look without surgery can be an invaluable solution for people who want to feel more confident about their body shape.
Dr. Martin E. Everhard, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., enjoyed a distinguished career in general surgery at Phelps Memorial Hospital Center, Westchester County, New York. After settling in Savannah, Georgia, he retired from general surgery to work with weight loss patients. This new focus on health and body contouring led to him opening CoolBodyContouring in October of 2014, home to Savannah’s premier CoolSculpting® specialists.
