In this section I will discuss the most famous ways of treatment regarding weight loss. I have been constantly questioned by my clients about these options, their efficacy and safety. Please read the part you are interested in. if you had any questions unanswered write it in comment and question section.

Laser treatment and weight loss

Is it effective for weight loss? Is it effective for size loss?

Not effective for weight loss and not effective for size loss without diet.

If you read the fat section you realized that first step in weight loss and in every treatment is diet or at least improving the diet style. It is true here too. Laser treatments improve blood circulation in superficial parts of body and not very deep. It means laser provide a better access to fat tissue. This better access does not mean losing fat per se. because of that people experience about laser is mixed and confusing. Some get good results, but most get poor results. People have this imagination that laser would do the job entirely and nothing more is needed to be done. That is of course a false assumption.

Liposuction

It is a famous treatment and a frequently asked question. Liposuction is reserved for extreme cases and not suitable for everyone for everyone. It is an invasive procedure and should be done under complete supervision. There are micro and macro liposuction. Micro takes more time but the result is better. The dangerous but rare side effect is fat emboli.

Liposuction removes the fat tissue directly and physically. Fat tissue has lots of fat cells filled with fat droplets. During the procedure cell rupture may result in fat droplet leak to the blood. If it is big enough it travels in blood stream to the point it is trapped in narrow blood vessels and lung. As a result patient will have temporary shortness of breath and small bruises over the skin. More severe cases are really rare and that is the reason this treatments is permitted to be done routinely.

More important point I have to mention is the final result and the maintenance of liposuction.

Normally we have fat tissue all over the body. This fat tissue consists of millions and millions of fat cells. In slim persons these cells are empty. In fat people cells absorb fat and become very large. The result is increase in body size that we don’t want. In normal diet we force these cells to give up those fat droplets. They are broken and released into the blood stream to be used.

Liposuction is a bypass. It removes fat cells and fat droplets together. Although it seems perfect, it causes a problem if unchecked.

Imagine a lady with extra fat in buttock, thighs and belly. She does not like diet and decided to do the easy way. She goes to a doctor and asks for liposuction. The whole procedure takes 4-5 hours when it is over she lost most of the fat in those areas. She has to rest and give the damaged tissues time to heal (it differs in different persons from weeks to months. More fat has more recovery period). This lady used to eat food more than she needs. Because of that body converted this food to fat and distributed it all over body in fat tissues. This distribution is mostly even. Now the fat tissue in some parts partly removed. This lady thinks it is over and continues her diet style with this hope that fat has gone for good. Now the body has extra food at hand which is converted to fat again! Body searches for fat tissue to store the extra fat and unfortunately does not find it where it used to be. Forcefully it sends this fat in other body parts: face, arms, upper back, upper sides and so on. The result would be a disfiguring weight gain that can’t be resolved easily this time. Imagine the poor lady…what she thought and what she becomes now.

So again…if you want to do liposuction you need to watch what you eat after very very carefully.

Lipectomy

It is the same as liposuction. The difference is the model of approach. In liposuction the doctor make a hole in the skin and then enter a metal tube that grabs and sucks out the fat tissue.

In lipectomy a surgeon cut the skin and removes the fat tissue under his or her eyes. The result is the same, but the recovery period might be a little different. All other points are the same.

Protein powders

Most of them are high in protein, so are very good choices in high protein diets. They come in different tastes and must be mixed with water or milk or any other non carb or low carb beverage. Some are used in weight loss packages that have fat burning pills and other supplements and some used alone. Results vary largely. I have tried many of them on my clients and even myself. Alone they have poor result overall. In combination they show better result. My suggestion for you is to use them in combination. Try a simple protein powder with good protein absorption, Have a low fat and carb diet and add exercise. You can lose about 3-5 kilograms in one month if you do it right.

They can protect your body from protein loss if the diet is done under supervision and correctly. They have many brands. I worked with HERBALIFE more than others and I can say that it has a good quality.

Fat burners, laxatives, fat transporters, diuretics and others

They come in different brands. There is a crazy market selling different fat burning products out there. Open your eyes and don’t just buy anything that is offered. Laxatives are used by many people. It does not give enough time to intestines to absorb the food. Unfortunately the weight loss with this method comes with heavy price. Like laxatives some people use chelating agents. That means using drugs that attaches to fat and does not let the body absorb it. This one has a down side too. In laxatives, not only fat but also vitamins and proteins and carbs can not be absorbed efficiently. In the second one, fat soluble vitamins (vitamin E, D, K and A) can’t be absorbed to. So in long run there is a danger of vitamin deficiency. Diuretics (they produce urine) are abused as weight loss drugs too. It is a scam and sometimes dangerous. I saw a lady went to the hospital for losing lots of water because of these drugs. They are used in kidney and heart conditions mostly and not weight loss.

Fat transporters as I call them are a different group totally. Some of them like L-Carnitine used widely and give good results accompanying a diet. CLA is the same thing. CLA is not effective if taken lonely, but with diet it can make the weight loss process faster.

Both L-Carnitine and CLA( conjugated linoleic acid) are natural body elements. Body produces them to transport fat in the cell. Using them seems to help this transportation process. It means body will have a better access to fat as I mentioned before.

Food packages

They were planned to offer an easy way for the people who want to lose weight. All of them follow a basic rule: increasing protein and decreasing fat and carbs. Most of them are safe and effective. If you want to try them just be sure they don’t charge you for useless stuff.

The downside of these treatments is their price and being slow. Maintenance is another issue that must be addressed and you must know about it before spending your money.

Cellulite treatment

Let’s be honest. There is no 100% cure for this problem. Men do not have cellulite and the reason originates in hormonal difference. Women hormones have an affinity for fat. Best treatment is prevention. Some women are more susceptible to cellulite compare to others. Cellulite is fat accumulation under the skin. It changes the smooth architecture of the skin makes it bumpy.

These dimples and bumps are very resistant. They can not be removed with diet only. Liposuction is useless and laser treatment has nothing to do with cellulite at all. Laser and cellulite is another frequently asked question. Let me tell you that laser can’t treat cellulite. It brings more water under the skin. It stretches the area and conceals cellulite to a degree. As soon as the laser treatment stops it’s effect wears off and cellulite comes back.

The only thing that makes it better more than anything else is a combination of diet and intense daily massage. Other than that….please tell your dear sister, mother or daughter to consume less fat. Once cellulite appears there is nothing you can do about it.

Surgery

By surgery I mean stomach stapling and balloon. Both of them are reserved for morbid obesity (BMI or body mass index over 40). It is a hard surgery and causes many side effects. If you are overweight only don’t think about it. The whole point in this treatment is to decrease stomach volume either by taking a part of it out, or stapling it or inserting a balloon inside it.

We feel hungry when blood sugar falls and stomach is empty. When we start eating, stomach becomes full gradually. The resulting stomach wall stretch send a signal to the hunger center in brain and suppress it. With smaller stomach wall stretch starts sooner and you feel full.

This is also the reason that you feel full sooner, when you eat less for some time. Stomach has this ability to increase it’s volume from 200cc to almost 1000cc! The more you eat in each meal the larger it becomes.

I will try to add new drugs, supplements and methods as they come up. If you think that something important is missed here please let me know. This post will be updated regularly. Post your questions or comments to health@drmehrshad.com .