No. Body contouring does not make you lose weight. It changes the shape of one area by removing some of the fat cells in it, and the scale barely notices.
People book the wrong thing because of this mix up more than for any other reason. So here is what happens under the skin, and how to tell which of the two jobs you need done.
What happens to a fat cell when you lose weight?
Your body has a set number of fat cells. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute counted them in a 2008 study published in Nature. The count is set during childhood and your teens, and it barely moves after that.
The same study found that the count does not drop even after a large weight loss. About 10 percent of your fat cells are replaced each year, and the total comes out the same.
Losing weight shrinks those cells. It does not remove any of them, and you do not get to choose which ones shrink first. That is why one area can refuse to change while the rest of you does.
What happens to a fat cell during body contouring?
We treat one area at a time. A cold applicator goes on the spot, and fat cells cope with cold worse than skin and muscle do. The cold breaks some of them down, and your body clears them out over the next few weeks.
Those cells are gone. The area changes shape because there is less in it. None of that shows up on a bathroom scale in any way you would notice.
Why does the scale barely move?
Fat is light for the room it takes up. Take a visible amount off a waistline and the scale may read the same as it did the week before.
So the scale is the wrong tool for this. A tape measure is the right one, and so is a pair of jeans. Our clients almost never talk about pounds, they talk about inches.
Monte Gibbs said it best after a few sessions on his abdomen. “There is a notable difference. I am now back into 34 inch waist jeans.”
Who gets the most out of body contouring?
It works best when three things are already in place.
- You are at, or close to, the weight you want to be.
- One specific area has not responded to anything you have tried.
- You want the shape of that area to change, and you can come in more than once.
If your goal is to lose a large amount of weight, contouring is the wrong first step. Start with the weight, and come back for the area that is left over. We would say the same thing at an intro visit, before you pay for anything, and we can talk through weight loss options there too.
How this plays out in Creve Coeur
Most people who walk into our studio on Old Olive Street Road are not trying to lose weight. They are within a few inches of where they want to be. One area will not budge: a lower belly, the roll along the bra line, the upper arms.
That is the person body contouring was built for. The drive is short from Chesterfield, Ladue, Clayton and Town and Country. A session for one area takes about 30 minutes, so plenty of people come in over lunch.
What to do next
Decide which job you need done first. If it is weight, work on that, and if it is shape, measure the area with a tape and take a photo. Then book an intro visit so we can look at it with you.
Our page on fat reduction vs weight loss puts the two side by side in a short table. Check which group you are in before you call.
And if the area is a stubborn pocket of fat, CryoSculpting in St. Louis is the treatment most people are asking about when they land here.
Call (314) 301-9012, or book an intro visit. It takes about half an hour, and if contouring is not the right tool for your goal, we will say so.