Many people who have lost weight wonder what their best options are for cosmetic surgery after their weight loss. While we offer a wide range of cosmetic surgery choices, some are particularly good for people who have lost weight. Here is an overview of the treatments we offer that you may be interested in, as well as important factors to consider when you’re deciding what type of procedures may be best for you.
Changes in the body during weight loss
Before deciding what cosmetic procedure is best for you, the first step is to understand what changes your body goes through when you lose weight. When you lose weight, most of this weight is fat. But if you’re not exercising, you also may be losing muscle. In addition, different people lose weight from different areas. Some people may lose weight from their midsection right away, while others find that’s the last area that slims down. Other changes you’ll notice will be in your skin. When we’re young, we have more elasticity in our skin and this means if we lose weight, our skin is more likely to shrink with our shrinking bodies. As we age, we lose some elasticity each year. So when someone older loses weight, they’re more likely to find their skin does not shrink as readily.
Fast vs slow weight loss
Depending on how fast you lose weight, your body may change in different ways. Someone who loses an average of one pound a week with diet and exercise alone, may see different changes in their body than someone who has lost several pounds every week with bariatric surgery. One cosmetic concern that people tend to have more often when they loose weight quickly, is loose skin. When we lose weight slowly, there’s more of a chance of our skin shrinking as well. If you’ve lost weight quickly, after you’ve reached your goal weight you may be dealing with slightly different cosmetic issues than someone else.
Excess fat pockets after weight loss
You have control over losing weight overall, but you do not have complete control over where that weight loss happens. Some people, even with targeted exercise, cannot slim certain areas of their body. For example, many people have trouble with stubborn areas of fat in their abdomen, hips, thighs, or arms. If this is something that you’re dealing with, liposuction may be the best choice. Liposuction allows us to remove fat from certain areas, giving a leaner more toned appearance.
Loose skin after losing weight
One of the most common complaints from people who have lost weight is they’re dealing with loose skin. While losing weight will reduce the fat in your body, there is very little you can do to ensure your skin shrinks as your body size does. If the loose skin is in your abdominal area, the best procedure for you may be our abdominoplasty (tummy tuck). This is a surgery that removes excess skin, leaving you with a tighter and smoother appearance. Patients who choose a tummy tuck are often interested in their clothes fitting more easily, and looking leaner in a bathing suit, which can be achieved because of the contouring we can provide.
Breast changes after weight loss
When someone loses weight, the fat they lose generally comes from all over the body. This means that your breasts will lose fat as you lose weight overall. Sometimes women lose enough weight that their breasts have a more droopy and loose appearance. This is because the breasts can be supported by fat, and when that fat is reduced, it’s easy for the breasts to appear “deflated”. If this is an after-effect of your weight loss, a breast lift could be a good option for you. During a breast lift, our surgeons remove skin and lift the breasts giving a more youthful, perkier look.
Fine-tune body contours
If you’re interested in a non-invasive procedure for contouring your body after weight loss, our VelaShape procedure may be the best choice for you. VelaShape allows us to sculpt the body and target cellulite through a series of non-surgical and virtually painless treatment sessions. Even though VelaShape shrinks fat cells, it is not a procedure for overall weight loss. Instead, VelaShape is used after weight loss – like CoolSculpt – to maximize results.
Combination of procedures
Some patients are able to reach their goals with a single procedure. For others, they are better served by a combination of procedures like a body lift. A body lift is customized to your individual needs and wants. It can be a combination of any procedures from liposuction to a tummy tuck. Sometimes we do the entire body lift in one day, and other times we stagger the procedure over several visits so we can allow your body to heal in stages.
Regaining weight after cosmetic surgery
If you’ve lost weight, had a cosmetic procedure like liposuction or a tummy tuck, and then regain weight, the results can be affected. This is one reason we ask you to wait until you’re at a comfortable and stable weight before having a procedure. Your results will last longer and be more consistent if you maintain your weight.
Best candidates for cosmetic surgery after weight loss
How do you know if you’re a good candidate for cosmetic surgery after you lose weight? There are several criteria that will help you decide. First of all, you’ll want to be at a stable weight, and generally healthy. It’s also important that you’re comfortable sticking with the dietary and exercise changes that will best optimize your cosmetic surgery results. We find that people who are the happiest are those who have realistic expectations and are patient with their results. If you’re not sure whether you are a good candidate, please get in touch. Our experts are happy to discuss your options and help you set up a consultation.
To recap, here are the most popular procedures you may want to learn more about if you’ve lost weight and are interested in cosmetic improvements:
- Tummy tuck for tightening loose skin and flattening the tummy
- Liposuction for reducing certain areas of fat, giving a leaner appearance
- Breast lift for tightening dropping breasts, allowing for a more youthful body shape
- Body lift is a combination of procedures we customize to target your problem areas
- VelaShape is a non-invasive treatment that targets cellulite and optimizes body contouring
If you’ve lost weight and are now wondering if cosmetic surgery can help you find tune your appearance, we’d be happy to talk to you. Speaking with the cosmetic team at Athenix is the best way to learn about the treatments that may best help you. We not only can show you what procedures will likely work best, but we will give you a detailed and realistic idea of what results you can achieve. Please contact us with any questions.
