Liposuction is one of the most popular cosmetic procedures in the world. It can be used to treat a wide variety of problems, including the appearance of gynecomastia in overweight men and excess abdominal and arm fat in women who were pregnant. It’s offered at the office of Dr. Bruce Kadz in Beverly Hills, CA, and we get a lot of questions about the results of this procedure. Here’s what you need to know about losing weight with lipo.
How Much Weight Can You Lose From Liposuction?
You can generally expect to lose up to 10 pounds from liposuction. However, the amount of fat that can be removed safely during this procedure depends on your body mass index. If you’re already at your goal weight, we may only be able to remove one to five pounds (roughly an inch) of fat from you. On the other hand, if you are far from your ideal weight, we may be able to remove up to 11 pounds of fat from your body.
Note, if you have already lost a significant amount of weight, there is a chance that you have excess skin. If you have a significant amount of excess skin, you may qualify for a body lift. For example, you may be a good candidate for upper arm lipo and an arm lift. If you qualify for a lift, we can remove excess skin, meaning you can lose even more weight safely.
How Much Weight Can I Lose After Lipo?
Once your procedure is complete, you are free to lose as much weight as you want to. However, there is a limit to how quickly you should lose weight post-op. It is not advisable to lose over two pounds per week. You should also keep in mind that you should make an effort to lose no more than 1% of your body mass weekly. Therefore, if you weigh only 130 pounds, you should lose no more than roughly 1.3 pounds per week post-op.
There is a good reason it is a good rule of thumb to lose no more than 1% of your body mass weekly. The faster you lose weight, the more likely you are to have loose skin when you reach your ideal weight. Note that there are other factors that affect your risk of developing loose skin if you lose weight rapidly. Among these factors are the quality of your diet, how well you care for your skin health, and your age.
Can I Work Out After My Lipo Session Is Complete?
Yes, it is possible to work out after your lipo session is complete. In fact, regular moderate exercise is strongly recommended during the early stages of your recovery. You shouldn’t expect to feel up to working out during the first 24 hours post-op due to the way sedation or general anesthesia affects your body. If you are administered general anesthesia, there is a good chance that you will feel unusually tired for three days after your procedure.
Once you’re feeling up to it, you should get moderate exercise as often as you can. It is crucial that you do not overexert yourself, so you can’t do vigorous exercise. You also shouldn’t exercise for too long. Ideally, you should aim for 10- to 30-minute long moderate cardio sessions. If you still have quite a bit of weight to lose, it is okay to get up to 60 minutes of moderate exercise daily five days per week. Just make sure you’re getting plenty of rest, too.
Can I Do Resistance Training?
During the first several weeks following your fat removal procedure, you should avoid resistance training as a way to burn calories. Even if you only lift weights at a moderate intensity, you can lengthen your recovery process. We will advise you on the weight lifting restrictions you will have during your initial consultation, and you may be able to start lifting sooner if you recover quickly.
As a general rule, you should refrain from lifting anything weighing 10 pounds or more during the first couple of weeks post-op. It will be approximately six to eight weeks before you can safely resume lifting heavy weights and engaging in other vigorous physical activity.
What Should I Eat During My Recovery Period?
Most of your diet during your recovery period should comprise high-quality protein and soluble fiber. It is particularly important to make sure you’re eating enough soluble fiber during your recovery period because you do not want to have uncomfortable constipation symptoms while you’re recovering from surgery. It is very important to eat plenty of protein during your recovery period because protein is made up of amino acids.
Everyone needs to consume an adequate amount of nine essential amino acids to stay relatively healthy. If an insufficient amount of essential amino acids is consumed, your body’s ability to build things made up of protein, like muscle tissue and collagen, is impaired. To recover from your procedure as quickly as possible, it is essential that you get enough amino acids to build plenty of collagen. Collagen plays a crucial role in helping the skin heal itself.
What Foods Should I Incorporate Into My Post-Op Diet?
Dark green vegetables are great to incorporate into your post-op diet because they are high in protein, soluble fiber, and vitamin C. Both protein and vitamin C are key ingredients in collagen. If possible, eat dark green veggies with every meal. For example, you may have a kale smoothie and scrambled eggs with spinach for breakfast. For lunch, you may have a broccoli salad, and you may have Brussels sprouts with dinner.
Am I a Good Candidate for This Procedure?
The only way to determine whether you are a good fit for this procedure is to attend an initial evaluation. This procedure is extremely effective in some cases, but it is not effective in every case. To ensure that you will achieve your desired results with lipo, we need to evaluate your areas of concern and verify that there is the right amount of fat in your areas of concern.
If you’re considering lipo, it is important to understand that this fat removal technique is not the most effective when there is little fat in an area of concern. You also must understand that this procedure may not be able to provide you with your desired results if there is a very large amount of excess fat in an area of concern.
How Does My Health Affect My Candidacy for Lipo?
It is of the utmost importance that you are healthy to qualify for lipo. Most people who undergo this procedure are given general anesthesia due to its ability to put you to sleep, ensuring you’re calm, and numb your entire body, ensuring that you feel no pain or discomfort. To be a good candidate for general anesthesia, your heart and lungs must be healthy. Also, it is important that you can regulate your blood sugar effectively.
Effective blood sugar regulation is important because you will need to fast for eight hours prior to the administration of the general anesthesia. Fasting is a critical preparation step because if your stomach is not empty when you are intubated, how your body reacts to the medication can be affected. Therefore, to qualify for general anesthesia, you cannot have uncontrolled diabetes. Other health factors that affect your candidacy include:
- Your pregnancy status
- A history of cancer
- Liver failure
- Renal failure
Find Out Today Whether Lipo Is Right for You
The amount of fat you can lose from lipo depends on your body mass. We can’t tell you how much weight you can expect to lose without evaluating your cosmetic goals, subcutaneous fat distribution, and body mass. What we can tell you is that you shouldn’t expect to lose more than 10 pounds from this procedure unless you have a lot of weight to lose before you reach your goal weight.
We can also tell you that you can lose even more weight if you opt for a body lift if you have excess skin following your weight loss. If you think lipo could improve your self-confidence, we’re here for you. Contact us today at the office of Dr. Bruce Kadz in Beverly Hills, CA to schedule your initial liposuction consultation. We can’t wait to create a customized treatment plan that will help you solve all of your body contouring problems.
