Is liposuction cheating?

Judy - how could it be cheating if you've done everything within your lifestyle and control to reduce the fat? If you get a consultation from a plastic surgeon, they'll turn you away if you're a bad candidate. They won't operate on someone whose using liposuction to lose weight. At least the ethical doctor won't. Using lipo for quick weight loss is definitely cheating. Spot removal of fat is not in my opinion. Good luck with your decision.

You know, I had liposuction on my chin 2 years ago.  This is an area that does not seem to respond  to diet and exercise. I personally do not feel as if this is cheating.  But then again-  I have had Restylane and Juvederm too.  I think if you are happy and feel better about yourself, it is easier to work out more and eat better to improve your overall appearance and health.  Go for it.

So what if it's cheating? You're not hurting anyone by taking this particular shortcut. And you're not changing the world by exercising to get results either. Just do what makes you happy. Life is too short. Why not take advantage of its conveniences.

I had lipo on my inner/outer thighs and stomach 3 years ago and it was one of the most fabulous things I ever did for myself. What a confidence booster having a flat stomach and thin thighs! But a word of caution: If you are going to get lipo you MUST maintain your current weight or risk gaining fat in other areas that you previously did not gain it in. I have gained almost 10 lbs since then and now it's all gone to my flanks and hips. Trying hard to lose it but not as easy as it used to be. I must admit that I'm considering going back for more lipo...still unsure about that though.

Girl! You are NOT cheating. I had my abs, flank and back (for back rolls) done. IT WAS THE BEST thing I had ever done for myself. As a short woman of avg weight, my weight would bunch up in my waist area. I hated it for years. Now I have a cute slightly hour glass shape. I've gained some weight (during winter) but I gained it evenly; not mainly in my midsection. I normally exercise a lot so I'll lose it by June. It's VERY important that you keep you weight the same or lower....or gaining no more than 10lbs. If you do this be sure to wear your garment the whole recovery time and get some benadryl for itching. You will itch BIG TIME as you being to heal. My itching only lasted 2 day but it was intense. Benadryl is AWESOME. :) However, my friend who had some areas done said she didn't feel much itching. Go and get your consult..I'd say do it.

One more thing. I had it done in the summer three years ago. It would be best to do this in the winter since you must wear a tight garment for a while. You may be HOT wearing the garment under your clothing. You can substitute the unattractive undergarment they give you (you place might have nicer ones) for a tight contour undergarment they sell in department stores. I purchased a small one piece (like a bathing suit) in the bra section. That worked fine and it was softer..and prettier.

The next generation of liposuction just got FDA approved--SmartLipo. It's the only laser assisted liposuction device on the market. It's amazing for smaller areas like under the arms, neck, lovehandles, legs, buttocks, stomach, etc. Literally, the laser melts the fat and then you suction the fat out. The best part is that it doesn't require general anesthesia and hardly any downtime. In fact, they just make a 1/2 inch incision and you are awake when they do it. The price is similar to traditional lipo--but without the risks. You really gotta check this out. The only center in Philly that has this is the Center for Body Contouring on 6th & Walnut Street.

lipo is only cheating if you're using it as a substitute for exercise and good diet. If you get liposuction and keep your bad habits, you just get back the fat. So you cheat your pocketbook and you're taking unncessary risk by getting the procedure. just my 2 cents.

I am a week away from having Smart Lipo on my thighs, and I have been feeling guilty that it is cheating too! Thank you all for your psoitive comments...it helped make me feel better about my decision, and it was nice to know that someone else had similar "cheating" feelings too!

Cheating what? It's not a game, it's your self esteem and your life and it's nobodies business. Good luck.

ive got a liposuction done on my thighs, stomach & hips. it worked!! really good to bigin wid .. got it done in mid jan 08' & now after 2 months ven i c myself.. i c that there is a little bit of gain in the flesh around my stomach which looks like a ponch. not a beer belly!!! i mean grows right frm the centre. not a tyre from all sides!!! but over all i shrunk a lot & look very good & in shape now!
pls do not expect much of a weight loss in kgs or lbs. instead expect to look gud in clothes & in gud shape!!! thats wot my surgeon told me !!! which i true!
side effects - loose skin whic wud need real hard work to be toned !!! & loss of sensation on the stomach (my expirience) specially around the places of incesion! for a couple of days after the surgery.. stick to liquids as much as u can!!! cuz ur gonna be really constipated! i di my BIG JOB after 4-5 days!!!! & was a good dump! u really need to work out hard to toneup the body! but overall good ! feel free to contact

I am seriously thinking of having smart lipo on my abs and back. I love to power walk and do so for a few miles nightly. How long does lipo take to recover from? Does it hurt? can I go to work the next day? What are the side affects?

Liposuction of any kind does not mean you can work the next day. You can't even do that with Lipodissolve. I would count on a few days off work. Especially think about leaning on your back in a chair at work! There is pain to lipo and the drugs may make you sleepy, so just be cautious and be home the first two days.

I am 34 years old with 3 children. I eat very healthy. NO fat, sugar, white flour, caffeine, alcohol or corn syrup of any kind. I run 3 miles a day and still have had the same baby fat on my thighs that has been there since I was born. I had my breasts done 3 years ago and the plastic surgen actually told me that I should do something about my thighs. I didn't have any cellulite on them because of all of the years of running but they were just not in proportion to the rest of my body. I weighed 5'10" and weigh 150 lbs. I had lipodissolve done. The doctor that gave me my consultation told me that intensive exercise would give me good results after treatment. I did as she told me along with 15-20 minutes of hard/intense massaging on the treatment area every night.
I now have the legs of a barbie doll but it was definitely HARD work and the results are well deserved. I had two treatments in all. I weigh about the same, so no it won't help you lose weight, but I went from a pants size 7 to 3. I've now maintained it on my original weight plan. I don't think lipodissolve is cheating because your not going to get great results if you don't put the work in. Just like losing weight.
You may get decent results but if you want to be the woman that turns everyone's head you get what you deserve. The only women I know personally that say it's not worth it, wouldn't turn anyone's head. I'm sorry. I know that doesn't sound nice, but I want to be honest to motivate women to really love themselves and have a body to be proud of. Also, I know I'm kind of hard core about the exercise and diet and I don't mean that everyone should be that way. I do it for myself. My husband is fabulous he would sincerely love me if I was a size 3 or a size 15. I don't need to impress him. He's impressed by the way I love and take care of him.

Hi Judy,

I feel for you . . . don't feel guilty about the Smart Lipo. I had it done last November, 6 months ago. I am a superfit, horsetrainer, who is 5'6" and presurgery weighed 124lb and now, post surgery, a slight 113lb. I basically exercise 8 hours a day. The pain was excrutiating lasting 6 weeks on pain meds. Be aware that your doctor may not be honest about the pain - mine, a prominent La Jolla surgeon, was not - and, I never saw him after the surgery notwithstanding the unbearable pain I endured. The results are not totally satisfying either. Although, my size 3 jeans are loose-fitting, I am self-concious and am not able to show any skin - my stomach looks awful. All of the areas treated LOOK treated as they are uneven, lumpy, and the skin is distorted. Be aware of the negatives going in so you won't be discouraged when it is over.

Michell Anne

It sounds like many of you are having very bad experiences. I would say it has to do more with the aggressiveness and technique of your provider than SmartLipo. I hate to say it. . .but you really need to know how your doc performs SmartLipo. You have to see their results and talk to their patients. If they are lumpy. . .you will be lumpy! It doesn't have to be that way.

Being too agressive or not using enough anesthetic can be very painful and result in unsightly results.

I am sorry many of you have had such bad experiences.

You should always be able to see your physician for follow-up - it doesn't matter if you liked your results or not. Be persistent.

Liposuction is only cheating if it is done for the wrong reason.

Liposuction is not for someone who is overweight with an even weight distribution; it is for someone at their ideal weight or even a bit above it, but for whom the fat distribution is imbalanced or causes a contour irregularity.

How do you know which category you fit into? Look at yourself in the mirror. If everything seems balanced for your age and gender- neck, breasts, back, stomach, etc. - then you probably do need to lose weight, and in that case it would be cheating to do liposuction.

But if there is a bulge in one area that is disproportionate to the surrounding areas, then liposuction is probably your only solution, and it certainly isn't cheating. The clearcut example of this is the woman with a size 2 waist and size 6 thighs, but it is also the woman with a size 10 waist and size 14 thighs. Or it can be the patient who says, "The only way I can make my thighs look right is if I lose so much weight that my breasts disappear or my face looks too gaunt." And there are some people who complain about a bulge that is present no matter how much weight they lose. For all of these people, liposuction would certainly not be cheating; in fact, it is possibly their only option.

One general rule I have, is that if a patient asks for "lipo of my arms, neck, back, waist, stomach, and thighs," then in most cases the issue is excessive weight. But when someone comes in and says, "no matter what I do, I have a bulge here and here," pointing to one or several areas, then they are more frequently liposuction candidates.

And here's another thing: lipo doesn't work all that well when you do it all over. It can't smoothly thin you out from head to toe; it reduces and reshapes discrete problem areas. Only dieting can reduce you all over, so even if you tried to do "total body lipo", it would never substitute for weight loss.

The most frequent concern patients have that are considering liposuction is whether the fat goes somewhere else. When you do it on an isolated bulge or two, it does not go elsewhere. But if someone is diffusely overweight, no matter how many areas you treat, the untreated areas tend to thicken up a bit over time, unless the patient really watches their weight. But if the patient started out with a weight issue, it is by definition highly improbably they will be totally in control of their weight.

I know that's a bummer. Everyone wishes liposuction were a way to cheat around weight loss, but it isn't.

Liposuction most certainly IS NOT cheating, as long as patients and doctors are honest and realistic about what can and cannot be achieved. Liposuction is designed for people like you who are concientious about diet and exercise, but who have areas of fat that are resistant to these efforts, which are often genetically pre-determined. It is not a substitute for diet and exercise, and I carefully document my patient's weight post-operatively to insure that they are doing their part to maintain the results. However, liposuction can give patients such (often dramatic) improvement in their body contour that they have a better self-image and are more motivated to maintain their new figure by dieting and exercising than ever before.