Three Signs It’s Time to Invest in Body Contouring

When you have hundreds of pounds to lose, reaching your weight loss goal can feel bittersweet. You accomplished a great feat, but the evidence of your past life is literally hanging around in the form of loose skin and stretch marks. While body contouring can eliminate these things, it’s not always easy to tell if or when you should seek out the surgery. Here are three signs the time is right.

Diet and Exercise Just Isn’t Working Anymore

It’s normal to hit a plateau in your weight loss journey. It’s usually an indicator that you’ve reached an equilibrium in your energy input and output. It’s an indicator that you need to make adjustments to your diet and exercise program to continue losing weight.

However, there eventually comes a point when the scale or tape measure won’t budge no matter how many calories you cut or the number of hours you put in at the gym. In this case, the extra pounds you’re trying to lose probably isn’t fat but loose skin.

You can verify this by inspecting the area of concern. If you can grab more than an inch and the skin looks wrinkly and saggy, you’re probably dealing with excess skin rather than fat. A doctor can also confirm whether this is the case, so it’s a good idea to consult with your healthcare provider about options for testing your theory.

Once you’ve established excess skin is the source of your woes, it’s a simple matter of working with a cosmetic surgeon to have it removed. Your body will look better and you may even lose an additional 10 to 15 pounds.

You’re Suffering Mentally and/or Physically

The bodily changes associated with losing weight are mostly beneficial, but sometimes they can be detrimental to your health. Loose skin can chafe, causing irritation and sometimes infection, for instance. Being unable to enjoy your new body because of misshapen or unattractive areas can make you feel depressed or anxious.

Opting for body contouring can fix many of the problems you may experience at the end of your weight loss journey. For example, since breasts are primarily made of fat, it’s not unusual for them to shrink several cup sizes when a person sheds pounds. They, too, will often look saggy and unshapely, but breast surgery can help restore their form.

Thus, if your body is causing you physical problems and/or mental distress, then it may be time to talk to a cosmetic surgeon about reconstructing it to match your desires.

It’s important, though, to have healthy expectations of what body contouring can do for you. While the results can seem miraculous, these procedures are not a panacea that will cure all that ails you. It’s a good idea to speak to a mental health professional to ensure your mind is in the right place before scheduling your makeover.

You Maintained Your Results for at Least Six Months

To enjoy the results of body contouring, it’s critical you keep your body weight at or close to what it was when you underwent the procedures. This is because some procedures will impact the way your body functions.

For example, liposuction removes fat cells from that area of the body. Since fat cells do not regenerate, those cells are gone forever. That may sound great. However, if you gain weight again, your body will place those excess pounds in areas that still have adequate fat storage cells, which can result in an odd body shape.

You don’t have to be at your goal weight to get body contouring, but you should be at a weight you can maintain with some ease. This ensures you won’t gain the pounds back and essentially waste all the money you spent obtaining the sculpted body you wanted.

For more information about contouring, contact our office to schedule an appointment for a consultation.