Has the thought of going through body sculpting ever appealed to you? Do you ask, “Does body sculpting help you lose weight?” Then this article is precisely for you.
While diet and exercise are essential for a healthy lifestyle, they do not always provide you with the weight loss results you wish to achieve. You may struggle to lose areas of stubborn body fat no matter how much you have worked hard and kept a strict diet to remove them.
It can get frustrating not to see any improvements, which is why you may turn to treatments to help you gain the figure you have always wanted. A popular one these days is body sculpting.
Aimed to reshape areas of your body, this procedure can provide you with excellent benefits regarding fat loss. But how does body sculpting help you lose weight? Let’s dive into the article to find out.
What Is Body Sculpting?
Body sculpting or otherwise also known as body contouring is a non-surgical treatment that safely targets stubborn fat deposits from your body. Many of these excess fat cells in your body are simply removed or destroyed.
Once they are gone, they can never regenerate or be replaced. The procedure works to create a more sculpted shape.
It may also involve procedures to get rid of extra skin. Treatments can be done to your arms, chin, back, thighs, hips, chest, lower buttocks, abdomen, and sides.
Body sculpting treatments are becoming increasingly popular because they offer impressive results without significant downtime or scarring risks.
How Does Body Sculpting Work?
What body sculpting does is it gets rid of your fat cells and reduces the appearance of fat in targeted areas of your body. It does this by killing or shrinking the fat cells through several different techniques.
The goal is not only to remove dead fat cells but also to tighten the surrounding skin.
There are a variety of nonsurgical fat reduction approaches. Depending on your body type and external factors, these could include:
- Freezing the fat cells.
- Heat the cells that accumulate fat using penetrated heat conducted through ultrasound therapy or a radio frequency.
- Eliminating the fat cells using chemical procedures.
Does Body Sculpting Help You Lose Weight?
Body sculpting for fat reduction? Yes. Weight loss? Not so much.
There is a difference between fat reduction and weight loss. Many people confuse both to be the same, and you must understand the difference if you plan on getting a body sculpting procedure to know if it will work for you.
Fat loss means a drop in body fat, while weight loss is an overall reduction in weight that includes fat, muscle, and water. Losing or gaining weight does not increase the number of fat cells in your body, but what it does is it changes the size of the fat cells.
As you gain weight, you increase the size of the existing fat cells. Removing the fat cells through body contouring changes and contours your body.
Generally speaking, body sculpting treatment is not a major weight loss treatment. Instead, it helps shape your body and address specific areas where weight loss isn’t effective or after significant weight loss results in extra skin.
Even if you look thinner, this is not because you lost weight. It is because you lost fat cells. As such, you should not treat body sculpting as a substitute for a healthy diet and exercise routine. But instead, should be used in addition to those healthy lifestyle choices.
What Are The Different Types Of Body Contouring?
Body contouring procedures all work fundamentally the same way: They target and destroy unwanted fat cells, which your body’s lymphatic system then filters away within a few months.
The procedures may get similar results, but these can look and feel vastly different.
1. Cold Treatments (CoolSculpting)
CoolSculpting, otherwise known as cryolipolysis, uses cold temperatures to freeze and destroy fat cells. The desired area being treated is sucked into a device that works like a vacuum. The fat is frozen to -11 until it is crystallized. This can be used on most body parts, including the chin, arms, abdomen, love handles, and thighs. It takes approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour per area. You may see a 20% to 25% reduction in fat in the space of 3 months. This is an ideal treatment if you have problem areas but are not necessarily overweight.
2. Heat Treatments (SculpSure)
Heat treatments involve the use of lasers that penetrate deep enough to damage the structure of fat cells, which your body then eliminates. The device is wrapped around your targeted area like a belt, where the machine fires laser pulses into your body. As fat responds to a lower temperature than other cells, the fat is liquefied. One session, which takes about 25 minutes, may even reduce fat in the treatment area by up to 24%. In addition to this, the process is done through flat applicators, which can work more efficiently in areas that don’t have much fat.
3. Ultrasound Treatments (UltraShape)
A procedure such as UltraShape uses ultrasound energy to break down fat. It involves a technician manually moving around your body with a device that uses a mechanical vibration to break down and destroy fat. This body sculpting method is the most time-consuming out of the four procedures, taking up to 1 hour to complete. Furthermore, it works well for the abdomen rather than anywhere else.
4. Radiofrequency Treatments (TruSculp and Vanquish)
Radiofrequency (RF) body sculpting mainly uses heat and radiofrequency to target fat cells. It works by using a device that transmits energy waves into your body. The waves activate the fatty cells, causing them to vibrate. Radiofrequency helps with slimming your body by safely producing heat which can penetrate your skin’s deep layer and trigger it to produce more elastin and collagen. The RF waves also force fat cells to break down and release liquid fat, causing them to shrink and contract. This helps you achieve tighter skin for a slimmer and more contoured figure. Out of the four, it’s the most convenient because it takes a short amount of time, has no downtime, and produces results quickly.
Body Sculpting Treatments Benefits
There are many benefits to body contouring aside from bringing the extra support you need for your weight loss plan and driving your fat removal process further. Here are other reasons it might be great for you:
- They are versatile, and one procedure can target many areas of your body.
- A minimally or non-invasive way to get the body you’ve always wanted.
- Can enhance the smoothness, firmness, and overall quality of your skin.
- Are a fast and convenient method to shave off a couple of inches in a matter of weeks.
- They can tighten loose skin under the chin and abdomen.
- Results are gradual and look natural.
- Reduced cellulite visibility by tightening the skin.
Who Are Ideal Candidates For This Treatment?
You must first have realistic goals for the treatment. Again, body contouring is designed only to improve your overall appearance. If you expect it will make you lose weight drastically or make you healthier on its own, you may be disappointed.
Body contouring is ideal for those within a few pounds of their goal weight who maintain a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise, usually with a body mass index of less than 30.
If you have recently lost a significant amount of weight and have excess skin hanging loosely around different parts of your body, you may be a great candidate for body sculpting. If you are committed to maintaining your weight, then you can benefit most from the body sculpting treatments.
How Long Until You See Results?
The length of each treatment session depends mainly on the number of areas you are treating, their size, and the volume of fat you are trying to reduce from each area. Once your body has absorbed the dead fat cells, your lymphatic system has to process them via deoxycholic acid from your gut. Depending on the number of fat cells destroyed, you won’t see final results for two to three months after your treatment session.
While not all body contouring treatment provides immediate results, on some occasions, you may notice a difference in your figure almost directly after your first treatment. It is common to have a series of treatment sessions to achieve your ideal results.
Are There Risks?
As with any form of treatment, there is always an element of risk. The decision to undergo a body contouring treatment should not be taken lightly.
You will be asked to sign a consent before the procedure(1), and some of the risks may include the following:
- Anesthesia risks
- Bleeding
- Blood clots, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism
- Excessive or widened scars
- Fluid accumulation
- Infection
- Numbness or other changes in skin sensation
- Poor wound healing
- Residual skin laxity or contour irregularity
- Skin loss
- Unfavorable scarring
To help you make the best and most informed decision, make sure to select a board-certified plastic surgeon.
Bottom Line
Body sculpting can drastically improve your appearance. You may not weigh less after the procedure, but you will look thinner and make your clothes fit better.
The best benefits, however, are the improvements to your overall health, confidence, and appearance. Body contouring with proper exercise and a healthy lifestyle can dramatically change your appearance, and the results will be incredible.
Be sure that you are completely comfortable before going for any body sculpting procedures. The “right” body will come from making the right decisions.
