Targeting concentrated stores of excess body fat is not easy. In fact, it’s virtually impossible with diet and exercise alone. If you have abdominal fat, flanks, or fatty deposits in your bra area, you’ll need to find the best cosmetic solution for selectively refining and sculpting your physique. In the past, residents of Beckley, WV and elsewhere were limited to using body contouring surgeries to physically remove their unwanted fat. Now, however, there’s a safe and convenient alternative to be found in CoolSculpting®. This revolutionary fat removal procedure can radically redefine your body’s proportions to help you get the exact shape and dimensions that you’ve always wanted.
Understanding the Limitations of Natural Fat Loss
Maintaining a balanced diet and implementing a regular workout plan is an important part of establishing a healthy lifestyle and good overall well-being. When you lose weight by creating a calorie deficit, however, you don’t have the ability to create any dramatic changes in your physical proportions. That’s because your body shape and type are both largely determined by genetics. Disproportionate fat stores will consistently remain unchanged by even your most diligent efforts in natural fat loss. With each pound that you drop, all parts of your body will always become uniformly smaller. You’ll reduce in size as you lower your body weight, but you’ll ultimately have the same proportions.
CoolSculpting® provides targeted fat removal in a way that natural fat loss methods cannot. Rather than simply eliminating unwanted fat, this procedure hones in on the very pockets and bulges that are preventing patients from getting the looks they truly want. This procedure can selectively reduce fat stores across the abdomen and in many other body areas like the flanks and bra region. Best of all, you won’t have to slim down features that you’re already happy with in order to combat your most frustrating trouble zones.
How CoolSculpting® Transcends the Limitations of Diet and Exercise
During these treatments, select stores of fat are gradually frozen. This causes crystallization to occur at a cellular level. Once fat cells crystallize, the body no longer has the ability to repair them. As they succumb to the process, the body begins the process of breaking these cells down and routing the resulting waste out. Once all of the targeted cells have been removed by this process, the treated area will have become noticeably slimmer. Best of all, this entire treatment can be performed without the need for surgery or anesthesia.
The History of Cryolipolysis
Several decades ago, a team of doctors discovered an amazing relationship between the application of cold temperatures and the development of dimples in toddlers. They found that eating lots of frozen juice bars caused many small children to lose concentrated collections of fat at the inner cheeks. Moreover, this fat loss did not appear to have any negative impact on the surrounding soft tissues. It was soon established that fat cells respond to cold temperatures significantly faster than does skin, muscle, or connective tissues. More specifically, fat freezes and crystallizes at a considerably higher temperature than these things. While the application of frozen juice bars eradicated fat cells in the cheeks of toddlers, it did not have any lasting impact on other structures. Through the refinement of these discoveries, the field of cryolipolyis, or the science of fat freezing, was born.
Find Out How CoolSculpting® Measures Up to Liposuction
CoolSculpting® is in some ways comparable to liposuction in that both of these procedures are designed to achieve the same end: contouring the body. However, where liposuction surgically removes stored fat and requires the use of anesthesia, Coolsculpting® can be performed directly on top of the skin and does not involve any surgery at all. As a result, there is virtually no downtime with fat freezing, and there is also no risk of scarring or infection. Both liposuction and CoolSculpting® patients can target concentrated accumulations of stubborn fat across many of the same body areas, but with CoolSculpting®, they can look forward to a far easier and much more convenient healing process all-around.
It is also important to note that many patients have multiple areas or zones that they would like to address when strategically sculpting their bodies. With liposuction, a multi-zone treatment plan may require multiple treatments and/or a longer recovery, depending on the situation. Conversely, CoolSculpting® patients can take advantage of multi-zone cooling that allows for the treatment of two areas at once. While multiple fat freezing treatments may be needed for some patients to achieve the desired results, the need to address multiple body areas will never require any additional surgery or healing time.
How CoolSculpting® Procedures are Performed
Before the targeted area can be cooled during these visits, a protective gel must be applied. This is positioned between the skin and a small appliance. Over the course of the treatment session, this specialized cooling device will gradually lower the temperature of targeted fat stores to the point of freezing. The lowest temperature used during this process will always be high enough to prevent serious skin, muscle, and connective tissue damage. Throughout the cooling process, the professional can inspect and massage the treatment area as needed. This is done to make sure that the cooling effects of this application are being evenly distributed.
What to Expect After Your Procedure
There may be some minor aftereffects around the treatment area following these procedures. Although CoolSculpting® only destroys fat cells, it can affect the tissues that surround the targeted fat in minor ways. Within just hours, however, these relatively mild aftereffects will start to abate and the treated area will return to its normal, pre-procedure appearance. As such, there is no need to schedule time off of work for healing. In fact, with most fat freezing treatments, patients are able to return to their normal activities right away.
Within just weeks of the treatment, noticeable slimming across the targeted area will most likely occur. This area will have a smooth and natural-looking appearance with no evidence of having had a fat removal procedure performed. Best of all, additional improvements will continue to appear over the following weeks and months.
How Many Treatments Will You Need to Reach Your Cosmetic Goals?
Many single-zone treatments require only one fat freezing session. When two areas must be addressed, it may be possible for the professional to treat both locations at once. This can be done through the application of two separate cooling appliances. In certain instances, however, patients may be advised to treat individual areas during separate appointments. This is usually determined based upon the location of the targeted fat stores and the estimated ease and efficacy of a multi-zone treatment.
It’s important to note that certain areas of stored fat are far more difficult to treat than others. This is often the case when fat layers are quite thick or fairly difficult to reach. One of the most common trouble zones addressed with these procedures is the abdomen. If you have considerable stores of excess abdominal fat, you may require more than one treatment. Moreover, the duration of your appointment will likely be much longer than if targeting a thinner and more accessible fat layer.
When Do the Results of Fat Freezing Start to Manifest?
It can take weeks to months for patients to see noticeable changes resulting from the treatment. How fast the fat loss occurs after a fat freezing procedure is largely determined by the individual’s body and other factors. Once your targeted fat cells have been frozen by this treatment, all that remains is the breakdown and removal of the resulting waste. With healthy filter organs and optimum liver functioning, patients are likely to see the benefits of the treatment much faster. It is also important to note that targeted fat loss will not manifest all at once. Gradual improvements can continue to occur for multiple months following the treatment. This gradual and steady manner of fat loss allows for a truly inconspicuous experience overall. At every stage of this process, no one will have to know that you’ve had a fat removal procedure performed unless you absolutely want them to.
Reveal Your Incredible Muscle Tone and Definition
There are people in Beckley, WV who spend countless hours in the gym with little credit. Unfortunately, much of the muscle that these individuals build is concealed by layers of stubborn fat. If you’ve done numerous crunches, sit-ups, and other abdominal toning exercises throughout the years, CoolSculpting® will help to ensure that your hard work pays off. After this treatment has removed the accumulated fat beneath your skin, you’ll be able to see the definition and structure that you’ve worked so hard to create. For people who want ripped abs that they’ve never been able to truly show off, this fat freezing treatment can be ideal.
Being able to selectively streamline and sculpt the physique can also be a tremendous confidence booster. Once their major trouble zones have been addressed, patients tend to feel better about themselves when donning form-fitting ensembles, tailored suits, swimming attire, or other snug or revealing clothing.
Can CoolSculpting® Help You Reach Your Cosmetic Goals?
To be a suitable candidate for CoolSculpting® in Beckley, WV, you should be at or very close to your ideal body weight. Much like liposuction, fat freezing is not meant to be an alternative to healthy weight management. Moreover, rather than removing large accumulations of fat, this treatment works by targeting specific and concentrated fat pockets. This allows for remarkable results without requiring significant amounts of actual fat loss. Losing even just a little bit of stubborn fat in a very specific and concentrated area can streamline and improve your physique in a very surprising way.
CoolSculpting® also has limitations in terms of what it can treat. This procedure is designed to freeze and crystallize unwanted subcutaneous fat. This is the fat that’s positioned right beneath your skin and that can be easily pinched with your fingers. Due to its highly accessible location, excess subcutaneous fat can be effectively eradicated with CoolSculpting®. However, visceral fat cannot. This is a waxy, yellowish fat that accumulates on the vital organs in the abdominal cavity. It can be found on the pancreas, liver, and other interior structures. This is the fat that gives the belly a distended and tight appearance. It cannot be treated with liposuction, CoolSculpting®, or other cosmetic fat removal procedures. The only way to eliminate visceral fat is with proper diet and exercise.
How Long Do the Results Last?
The results of CoolSculpting® procedures are designed to be permanent. The fat that’s treated with freezing temperatures is destroyed, broken down, and completely removed from the body. This is far different from how fat responds to natural fat loss. Whenever you drop sizes by creating a calorie deficit, your fat cells effectively shrink and cause your body to become uniformly smaller. More importantly, these shrunken fat cells will multiply far more rapidly than they ever did before. This creates a higher likelihood of future weight gain.
One very important thing to know about your CoolSculpting® results, however, is that they will not negate the need to maintain a balanced and ultimately healthy lifestyle. That’s because this fat freezing procedure does not have the ability to arrest the formation of new body fat. If you gain any considerable amount of weight after targeted fat removal, there is always the possibility of developing disproportionate fat stores once again. As such, it’s crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle in order to maintain the results.
Get Started
To learn more about the benefits of Coolsculpting®, or to find out if this popular treatment is right for you, set up an appointment with our specialist at Mountain State Cosmetic Surgery in Beckley, WV. We are proud to offer both surgical and non-surgical body contouring options, and we would be more than happy to evaluate your case and determine which procedure is best for helping you achieve your goals for your figure. Contact us today to schedule your consultation!