You’ve slowly lost weight for several months in a row. You are at or near your goal weight and confident you can maintain it. But no targeted exercise or superfruit diet will allow you to reduce fat from a specific part of your body. You don’t need to settle for a less-than-perfect body. CoolSculpting in Buffalo, NY can help you sculpt the contours of your dreams. The medical professionals at The Cosmetic Vein & Laser Center in Buffalo, NY are proud to offer the best body contouring treatments on the market.
What Is CoolSculpting?
CoolSculpting in Buffalo, NY harnesses the power of cryolipolysis to remove fat cells from targeted regions of the body. First, a gel pad is applied to your body with a suction device attached. Your targeted site is gently sucked up by the vacuum so the cooling treatment can precisely target the areas that trouble you the most.
Once the CoolSculpting device is turned on, it immediately gets to work freezing your fat cells. After your treatment is done, your physician will massage the treatment site to break up any frozen blocks of fat cells. This speeds up the process of the fat cells being absorbed and removed from your body.
How Many Treatment Sessions Will I Need?
The number of CoolSculpting treatments you will need depends on the size of the area you’re trying to treat, how much fat you want removed, and the number of areas you are trying to treat. Smaller regions, such as your underarms, can benefit from an 80% fat volume reduction in just one treatment session. Larger areas, like your arms, may only benefit from a 40% fat volume reduction.
Regions such as your stomach, flanks, and back typically see a fat volume reduction ranging from 20% to 25%. Most people find they only need one treatment session for each region of their body, with the exception of the abdomen. We commonly see people coming in for two treatment sessions to sculpt a perfectly taut, toned tummy.
How Long Does Treatment Last?
Again, this depends largely on the size of the areas being treated, how much fat loss you’re looking for and how many areas you’re looking to treat in that CoolSculpting session. If you’re coming in for follow-up treatment or just looking to treat a smaller part of your body, you may be done in 35 minutes. On average, though, treatment sessions take between one and three hours.
Are the Results of CoolSculpting Permanent?
The results of CoolSculpting in Buffalo, NY are considered to be permanent. When you lose weight, your fat cells don’t disappear. They just shrink. When you sculpt your body with a body contouring treatment, your fat cells are killed and flushed out of your body. Many people struggle to understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss. Let’s take a closer look at how the human body works on a cellular level to paint a clearer picture.
Human Fat Cells
There are three types of fat cells in the human body. First, there are white fat cells ranging from 0.05 mm in diameter to 2 mm in diameter. These are the fat cells that are visibly apparent in overweight individuals. The fat stored in these cells is used by the body for fuel when no carbohydrates are available. Brown fat cells, also known as “baby fat”, are burned by the body to generate heat. Marrow fat cells come from mesenchymal stem cells and are essential for bone health.
The most important thing to understand about fat cells is they grow in number during childhood and adolescence. But once you’ve finished puberty, their numbers are set in stone barring professional medical help. Unfortunately, if you were overweight or obese as a child, you may have more white fat cells than someone who was a healthy weight through childhood and puberty. CoolSculpting results are considered permanent because the fat cells are removed from your body and you cannot grow new ones to take their place.
Lymphatic System
Your lymphatic system acts as your body’s drainage system. It consists of many vessels and tubes to transport a fluid called lymph throughout the body. This lymph is made up of a transparent fluid containing proteins, fat cells, water, and other substances. Your lymphatic system has several functions. However, the most important for CoolSculpting is that it transports fat cells to organs that process them and flush them out as waste via urine. This is in large part due to deoxycholic acid consuming the dead fat cells.
Future Weight Gain
Some people feel that the results of their CoolSculpting are not permanent. They gain weight after treatment and discover that their original problem areas are becoming troublesome once again. Unfortunately, genetics determine where your weight gain is accumulated. If you gain weight in the future, you might once again be perturbed by the appearance of your chin, chest or tummy.
But there are far fewer fat cells in the treated regions and fat cells can only expand so far. You will notice that the localized weight gain is not as significant as it was the last time and fat cells in other areas of your body start expanding. If you’d like to come in for a maintenance treatment in the future, we welcome that. Just do your best after treatment to maintain your weight through healthy habits.
Am I a Good Candidate for CoolSculpting in Buffalo, NY?
Because CoolSculpting is a non-invasive treatment, nearly everyone is a good candidate. To determine if this is the best body contouring method for you, call The Cosmetic Vein & Laser Center in Williamsville, NY at (716) 632-5200 to schedule an in-person consultation. Here’s a brief overview of what makes a good candidate for CoolSculpting:
Enough Fat to Treat
You may hate the lack of definition in your chest, but only more pectoral exercises will correct that. If you don’t have at least an inch of pinchable fat, you probably don’t have enough fat to treat. However, it is essential that you come in for a one-on-one consultation. CoolSculpting devices are now smaller than they ever have been before. They can treat smaller regions of your body in terms of both surface area and localized fat deposit. You may not know until you come in if you have enough fat to treat.
You’re Fairly Healthy
It’s important for you to be in decent overall health. People with certain nerve disorders are not a good candidate for this treatment due to the cold used to kill the fat cells. Similarly, if you have a certain type of bleeding disorder, you may find the suction device causes you to bruise. This doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t undergo this treatment, but you may experience a side effect unique to people with certain blood diseases. During your initial consultation, let us know about any chronic or acute medical conditions you are experiencing.
You’re Not Pregnant
The FDA approved CoolSculpting for safely and effectively removing fat from nearly all individuals, but they did not test CoolSculpting for safety in women who are pregnant or their fetus. If you are pregnant, wait until giving birth to schedule your CoolSculpting treatment. Pregnancy changes your body in many ways and may cause you to gain additional weight in your abdomen. Even if it was safe, you may not be satisfied with the long-term results of treatment if you have it done in the early stages of pregnancy.
You’re Done Having Children
We recommend waiting until you are done having children to receive CoolSculpting on your abdomen. The stress hormone cortisol causes people to accumulate more fat around their abdomen. Many women experience elevated levels of this hormone during their pregnancy and accumulate fat around their tummy.
Other hormonal imbalances also occur during pregnancy and contribute to weight gain in any number of body regions. These may include the buttocks, inner and outer thighs, hips, flanks (love handles), upper arms and lower or middle back. Since there is no telling how pregnancy will affect your body composition and fat distribution, it is best, but not necessary, to wait until you are done having children to get CoolSculpting. Keep in mind, however, that there is no risk to you or your fetus if you unexpectedly get pregnant after treatment.
You Hate the Way Your Clothes Fit
Some people are born with an “hourglass figure”. They gain weight around their bust and hips while not accumulating too much abdominal fat. Most of us are not so lucky. If most of your fat is accumulated in one region, rather than evenly throughout your body or in a perfect hourglass shape, you may struggle to find clothes that fit you. This applies to people who are at a healthy weight.
Maybe you’re top-heavy and can’t find a little black dress that fits your bust but doesn’t drown out your glutes. Maybe you can’t fit into a pair of jeans because those that fit your buttocks are far too large for your hips and waist. CoolSculpting will sculpt your problem areas so you are more proportionate, making it easier to find clothes that fit great, look great and make you feel great.
You Can’t Afford Liposuction
Liposuction is a good way to remove fat from your body. However, not everyone has enough PTO saved up to take a week off of work. And not everyone can afford to take five to 11 days off of work unpaid. Who’s going to take care of your house during your recovery, anyway? Who’s going to walk your dog and clean up after him?
If you don’t have the time or mental energy to deal with a multi-week recovery process, CoolSculpting may be right for you. The results are incredibly similar. On average, the volume of fat loss is 25%, and you can see results in one to three months. The difference is liposuction removes the fat immediately, but you still have to wait several weeks for swelling to subside before anyone can tell you’ve lost any fat. Even better, CoolSculpting has no downtime associated with it so you can go straight back to work after your treatment.
Learn How to Sculpt the Body of Your Dreams Today
If you are sick and tired of being dissatisfied with what your reflection shows, CoolSculpting in Buffalo, NY may be the best way to sculpt the contours of your dreams. If you’re ready to change your life for the better in just a few hours, we welcome you to contact The Cosmetic Vein & Laser Center in Buffalo, NY today to schedule your initial consultation. We will discuss your aesthetic goals and help you find the best body contouring treatment to suit your needs. We can’t wait to meet you and help you get the body of your dreams.
