If I gain weight, how will the fat redistribute after several treatments of CoolSculpting?

Question

Hello, I'm 25 years old girl I'm thin person but have realy stubborn fatty areas (arms,belly,double chin) I exercise 5-6 hours a week and I have a quite healthy diet I'm planing to gain weight because I have a very thin face. My question is, if I do a CoolSculpting to the three areas I mentioned before and gain weight the proper way (muscle gain) would I have a chance to the fat to go to my face? How will the fat redistribute after a several treatments of CoolSculpting? Thank you.

Kimberly Butterwick, MD · Answer

The body distributes fat evenly throughout the fat cells in the body, both before and after CoolSculpting. The body doesn’t keep track of how many fat cells are in a particular area. It just fills up the fat cells that are there. That means that after CoolSculpting, even though there are fewer fat cells in your abdomen, your body doesn’t then say, “Oops, where did all my abdominal fat cells go? I have all this extra fat and I need to put it someplace else. Maybe the face?” Instead, it just continues “pouring” the fat into each available cell — the same amount for each cell. So technically, if you gain weight, each area of your body will get a tiny bit more fat than it would have with the extra cells, including your face, but not enough to make a noticeable difference unless you gained a lot of weight, but then you would be unhappy with your body. You may wish to stay thin, but volumize the face with fillers such as Voluma or Sculptra so you can enjoy a beautiful body and face at the same time.
 Please find a board-certified dermatologist to help you achieve your ideal figure with CoolSculpting and to discuss ways to add more volume to your face.

Frank P. Albino, MD · Answer

CoolSculpting much like liposuction results in removal of fat cells.  This is unlike weight loss in which the fat cells are simply emptied but not removed.  If you gain weight following CoolSculpting then the fat will grow in the fat cells you already have so the areas not treated will grow first.  
Not everyone is a good candidate for this treatment so please see a Board Certified or Board Eligible Plastic Surgeon to evaluate if you may benefit. Good luck!
This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare professional.  You should always seek the advice of your physician or healthcare professional for any questions you have about your own medical condition.

Philip Solomon, MD, FRCS · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question. The theory behind CoolSculpting is that you are destroying fat cells in targeted areas, therefor you will have fewer fat cells in that area. If you gain weight, your existing fat cells will expand with your typical weight gain distribution. With that said, the areas that were treated with CoolSculpting should slimmer, flatter and smaller than your baseline. Regarding fat gain in the face, If you normally gain weight in your face you should continue to as you normally would, in other words doing a CoolSculpting treatment on your abdomen will not increase the fat gain in your face. Hope this information helps.

Edward Stokes, MD · Answer

Thanks for your question. CoolSculpting is an excellent way to permanently remove the stubborn pockets of fat that you describe. Having successfully treated tens of thousands of patients with CoolSculpting, we have heard this question many times.  The good news is that any post treatment weight gain will distribute evenly throughout the body. It is possible that you would gain in your facial area, but there is no guarantee that it would increase facial fullness to the degree you are hoping for. Generally, for those who have thin faces and are trying to pockets of fat, CoolSculptng is very beneficial.  This is because CoolSculpting enables the patient to lose the pesky bulges without the need to actually lose weight. Therefore, the patient can maintain the fullness in the face.

Vinay Aggarwal, MD · Answer

This is an excellent question, and it is fantastic to hear that your focus is the improvement of your body. By all accounts, it sounds that you have just a little bit of fat stored in a few pesky areas. I would recommend that you consult your physician first before sticking with CoolSculpting. Although it is an exceptional means of losing fat, it would require you to sculpt the areas giving you problems in your exercise routine. A nutritionist could also help you figure out which foods and vitamins help burn fat and pave way for weight and muscle.

Justin Harper, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Hi wafaat, 
In an ideal world. we could tell our fat cells where to go. Unfortunately, our physique and bone structure is dictated by our genes. If you've had CoolSculpting you would literally have killed off 20-25% of fat cells in the treated area per cycle. In effect, there are fewer cells that can absorb excess fat. You should do this with the assistance of the experts because if you start storing visceral fat, this won't be receptive to future CoolSculpting treatments.
All the best,
Justin Harper, M.D.

Alexis Parker, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Unfortunately, fat in the face is a genetic predispostion and if it is not a "natural" place for your fat to accumulate, CoolSculpting will probably NOT change that.  I teach my patients that all of these areas of fat are "storage bins." Every body stores fat a little differently and it is determined by genetics, diet, exercise and hormones.  If you are a pear, your genetic storage bin is the outer hip and thigh.  An "apple" figure stores around the abdomen and breasts.  So if you think about reducing the size of one storage bin, you will have to store the fat elsewhere in a untreated storage bin that has not been robbed of fat cells.  Fat cells only get bigger or smaller. They do not reproduce, except in the case of morbid obesity when stem cells differentiate into fat cells. 
With CoolSculpting we are only removing 20 to 60 percent of the fat with repeated treatments, unlike liposuction where 80 to 90 percent of the fat is removed. So if weight is gained after treatment the fat will distribute in all the areas and the new shape will be maintained, unless of course treatment to transformation, desired figure, was not complete.  If your weight gain is muscle, you will look better than ever!!

If I gain weight, how will the fat redistribute after several treatments of CoolSculpting?

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