Should I Gain Muscle Before or After a Lower Body Lift?

Hi, thank you for your question about gaining muscle before or after a lower body lift. You ask a great question. You must understand the human body's metabolic requirements after a 360 circumferential lower body lift or belt lipectomy to answer this. During the recovery, your body needs extra calories to heal and nourish itself after a 360 circumferential lower body lift. Most experienced board-certified plastic surgeons recommend you drink or eat at least 100 g of protein daily during your healing period. This 100-gram protein goal is usually achieved with protein drinks and powders. This 100-gram-a-day protein goal should be continued for approximately two weeks after the body lift. To prepare your body for the 360 circumferential lower body lift, you should increase your protein intake for approximately four to six weeks before the 360 circumferential lower body lift. Plan on increasing your protein intake to approximately 75 to 100 grams. You should also build muscle mass before the 360 circumferential lower body lift because, in the recovery period, after a lower body lift, your body preferentially burns muscle (not fat) to provide calories. These calories created from muscle are used to heal the incision and maintain baseline metabolism. Therefore, for approximately 4 to 6 weeks before the lower body lift surgery, you should build muscle mass to help your body heal.
Thank you for your great question regarding gaining muscle before or after a lower body lift. If you have any more questions regarding the lower body lift, 360 circumferential lower body lift, belt lipectomy, belt abdominoplasty, or belt dermolipectomy, please contact aa experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon. Since the body lift is a big procedure, please seek an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon with significant experience performing the lower body lift. Do your research. Ensure they have performed at least 150 circumferential lower body lift surgeries and have the before and after pictures to prove it. Please carefully review their before and after pictures and check their reviews on RealSelf. If you cannot find an experienced lower body lift surgeon in your neighborhood, consider traveling out of state. Sincerely, Dr. Katzen. (Plastic Surgeon, President of the American Society of Bariatric Plastic Surgeons, certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Fellow of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, American College of Surgery, and International College of Surgery, and member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery, American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery and RealSelf Hall of Fame.)

Thank you for your question.

I do not have a general recommendation to my patients regarding building muscle mass prior to or after surgery.

I do recommend that patients are at their lowest, most stable weight prior to having surgery to achieve the best possible results.  In general, patients who have surgery are very pleased with their "new bodies" and so they work out after the surgery and stay in good shape.

Best Wishes!

Staying fit is always good. However, the key variable in terms of timing for a body lift is weight, so it is very valuable to be at or near your desired weight at the time of surgery.

Thanks and best wishes.