Will liposuction help get rid of fat so I can maintain the weight? (photos)

Question

Will liposuction help get rid of fat so I can maintain the weight. Tried every kind of diet and workout plan. I have spent so much money on pre planned meals, trainers and weight loss pills and nothing works. Am I a candidate for liposuction before trying to have the gastric sleeve?

Carmina Cardenas, MD · Answer

Your main issue is not even excessive subcutaneous fat which may be removed through liposuction, you have a very protruding abdomen because you have a large volume of visceral fat and no plastic surgery will reduce that. So liposuction will not have any positive impact on the  appearance of your body. 
Your BMI is not healthy to have a safe procedure. 
Be encouraged!! After losing all the extra weight you may not even need any plastic surgery, because male patients tissues are so wonderful that skin has a very powerful retraction feature. 
Dr. Cárdenas

Camille Cash, MD · Answer

Liposuction is designed to remove pockets of stubborn subcutaneous fat.  It is not a weight loss tool and in fact patients typically will only lose a few pounds from surgery.  Based on your photos liposuction would help with the "love handle"/flank area.  Your abdominal appearance is primarily influenced by visceral fat.  This is the fat behind your muscle wall that cannot be addressed by liposuction- only weight loss.  If you are struggling to lose weight I encourage you to speak to your primary care doctor about options.

Douglas Taranow, DO, FACOS · Answer

There are many issues.  First, liposuction does not result in any large weight loss.  Fat floats, it is not that heavy.  Large liposuctions May result in a 5-8 pound weight loss (at most).  
Second:  you have a large amount of visceral (internal) fat which cannot be liposuctioned.  Only diet, exercise and weight loss will reduce this.  
Liposuction will certainly remove some fat from the front of your belly and a lot from your flanks and back giving you a better waistline, but the round curve of the front of your belly will remain.

Mats Hagstrom, MD (license on probation) · Answer

Liposuction will actually do the opposite. After high volume of liposuction your brain will be stimulated to eat more and less you’re able to lose weight on your own six months after the procedure you’ll most likely have gained weight and come back exactly the same way you were before just with a different fat distribution. You also carry a substantial percentage of your fat as visceral fat and this fat cannot be reduced with Liposuction so you will force your body to have a higher percentage of visceral fat with subcutaneous fat liposuction.
I was shadowing a doctor once in my life and the patient was telling the doctor she was struggling with losing weight. The doctor told her to simply cut all her meals in half of what she was currently eating save some of the food and have a little bit more later if she still felt she had to eat.
At the time I was pretty chubby myself at around 250 pounds.
I did what the doctor had told the patient and literally and physically cut everything I normally ate in half and more and more started ordering and preparing foods that could easily be split. if I went out to a restaurant I would literally divide the plate in half and ask for a to go container for half the food. I eventually started only eating small meals and while I’m not at the 190 pounds I was able to achieve at one point I typically weigh 205 and have for the last 10 years.
Having worked exclusively in Liposuction and a fat transfer and having dealt with obesity at myself I am asked lots of patience what their habits are what’s worked and what has not worked.
What seems to never work is a temporary fad diet. anything done for a short period of time for rapid weight loss will almost always cause bounce back to worse obesity.
The slower the weight loss happens the more likely it is to be permanent. Permanent slow changes are More successful than drastic rapid changes.
For example an attempt at losing more than 5 pounds per week is probably too aggressive.
Healthy weight loss for someone like you should take six months to a year.
I’m going to include a write up I put together many years ago after I lost the weight. It’s a combination of personal thoughts and what I’ve learned from interviewing patients.
Perhaps you’ll find it useful.
A few thoughts on the weight loss.
While liposuction is generally not prescribed as a treatment for obesity most patients who get liposuction are somewhat overweight.
From having met thousands of people interested in liposuction I have had ample opportunity to talk to many people about their struggle with weight.
A few repeating patterns seemed to emerge.
Perhaps the most common one is people not eating frequently enough. Losing weight by not eating is a fallacy. In reality we tend to over eat when we eat after having gone hungry for long periods of time. This was my personal issue and when I addressed it by eating frequently I lost weight(60 lbs)
Another common misunderstanding is the relationship between weight and exercise. Most patients are not successful at losing weight by exercising without changes in diet. In my opinion weight is 90% diet and 10% exercise. Exercise has to do with fitness and good health and certainly can help with weight loss. Exercise also helps us feel better about ourselves and that's key in successful weight loss. 
Think of diet and exercise as two separate entities with two separate purposes. 
That said I encourage everyone to exercise on a regular basis. 
The majority of people get hungry from working out and tend to over eat afterwords. Sometimes feeling justified to do so after a strenuous workout. 
The number of calories burned during a typical workout session is far less than people believe.
Any successful weight reduction program has to be based on permanent change. Any temporary diet plan will ultimately fail if not followed by permanent changes in behavior. This one is fundamental. 
Understand the role that insulin plays in obesity and what causes insulin surges. If you read the late Dr. Atkins book(old school now called ketogenic diet) you will learn that his obsession was with controlling insulin much more so than with eliminating carbohydrates.
Learn what glycemic index and glycemic load's are. Avoid eating meals that give a high glycemic load. This is somewhat similar to saying avoid eating large carbohydrate based meals though understanding what foods constitute as bad carbohydrate meals is critical. This will be learned after mastering the concepts of glycemic index and glycemic load.
Here are my rules to keep weight under control. 
1. Never go hungry
2. Never eat a large meal. 
3.  Never, never, never eat a large meal when your hungry.
4. Avoid large carbohydrate based meals with a high glycemic index.
5. Don’t expect exercise to get your weight down. Don't blame the lack of exercise or the inability to exercise for not being able to maintain a healthy weight.
6. Step on the scale every day after you get out of the shower in the morning.
7. Accept weight fluctuations. None of us stay at the same weight or continue to go down in weight.   Don't beat yourself up if you gained a few pounds. It's the long term, rest of your life, progress that matters.
I hope that is of some help.
Good luck,
Mats Hagstrom, MD

Jose A. Munoz, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Hi and welcome to our forum!From your photos, I note significant fullness of your chest, abdomen, and flanks, compatible with obesity.Liposuction is not designed for weight loss. The procedure removes localized fat repositories to improve shape. Each State has set maximum limits for safe liposuction to prevent excessive blood loss and hemodynamic instability. Here in Florida, we can remove 4 liters of fat...that's only about 6-8 pounds. The gastric sleeve will treat obesity quite well and appears to be the best option for you to achieve permanent weight loss.Best wishes...

Will liposuction help get rid of fat so I can maintain the weight? (photos)

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