If you are looking to re-shape your body or lose weight, you may sometimes feel like getting results is impossible, or at least, a mountain climb away. It can be tempting to look for ways to speed up the process, or make it easier. The question may arise: should I work out more, diet or get body contouring fat removal?
In this article we’ll attempt to answer that question.
The benefit of working out to help you lose weight
Working out helps you lose weight by increasing your metabolism and burning calories. When you exercise, your body burns calories to fuel your muscles, which in turn helps you lose weight.
Additionally, working out can help build muscle, which can boost your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This can help you burn more calories even when you’re not exercising.
In general, regular exercise can help reduce stress and improve your overall health, which can also contribute to weight loss. This is because stress creates more cortisol in the body, which produces more fat.
So, do you need to keep exercising to lose weight in the long term? The answer is yes.
The benefit of diet to help you lose weight
Diet plays a crucial role in weight loss because it determines the amount of calories and nutrients that are consumed on a daily basis. By consuming fewer calories than the body burns, weight loss can occur. Some key ways that diet can help with weight loss include:
Reducing portion sizes: Eating smaller portions can help to reduce the overall number of calories consumed each day.
Choosing nutrient-dense foods: Eating foods that are high in nutrients and low in calories, such as fruits and vegetables, can help to reduce hunger and promote weight loss.
Avoiding processed foods: Processed foods are often high in added sugars, fats, and calories, which can contribute to weight gain. Plus, ingredients like MSG can make your brain feel like you’ve eaten a full, wholesome meal, when in fact, you’ve only eaten non-nutritious food.
Incorporating healthy fats and protein: Eating foods that are high in healthy fats and protein can help to keep you feeling full longer, which can reduce the likelihood of overeating. It is especially important to eat proteins as your first meal of the day.
Drinking water: Drinking water before meals can help to reduce hunger and promote weight loss.
Overall, a well-balanced diet that includes a variety of nutrient-dense foods and limits processed foods, added sugars, and saturated fats can help to promote weight loss.
So, do you need to maintain a good diet in order to lose weight in the long term? The answer is yes.
The benefit of fat removal to contour the body
It is important to note, first of all, that fat removal is not the same as weight loss. You are born with a set number of fat cells. With weight loss, your fat cells shrink. With weight gain, they expand. Think of them like balloons expanding and contracting with air.
Now, imagine those balloons pop and ‘die.’ This is what happens with fat removal. Fat removal removes the actual fat cells that would otherwise expand when you gain weight. By removing fat cells, medical aesthetic clinics can achieve a body contouring effect.
Fat removal nowadays can be done non-surgically, such as with CoolSculpting® (fat freezing) or hot sculpting (fat melting).
In more extreme cases, surgical liposuction can achieve fat removal on a larger scale.
Keep in mind that your body needs some fat to survive. So, these body contouring technologies and techniques are not meant to remove all fat.
This means you will still be responsible for maintaining your weight after undergoing fat removal. However, there will be fewer cells left to expand if you do gain weight.
Some people find that no matter how hard they exercise or eat healthy, there are parts of their body that they can’t shape. These are ‘stubborn fat’ areas. They can be genetic. This is where body contouring with fat removal can be helpful.
So, do you need fat removal to maintain an ideal body shape? It’s up to you, and the goal you want to achieve with your body.
To conclude: lifestyle changes and body contouring can be used together
As we’ve seen above, both exercise, diet and body contouring fat removal can help you achieve your desired body shape. But, they work in different ways. Exercise can help you build muscle to burn calories. Diet can help you reduce calorie intake, which otherwise causes fat build up. Body contouring fat removal, such as with CoolSculpting®, hot sculpting or liposuction, can remove unwanted fat from specific areas of the body.
It’s important to consult with a healthcare professional who can help you determine the best course of action for your individual needs and goals.
