Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes. For many people, the belly may be the area that’s more challenging for them to tone up. Lack of exercise, a poor diet, and sleepdeprivation can make you more prone to storing fat on the midsection. Even if you lose weight by maintaining a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle, you may still be more likely to carry extra fat on the midsection because of heredity and hormones. Sometimes lifestyle changes can help but they aren’t always enough to address changes that are caused by pregnancy or significant weight gain. A tummy tuck from our Toronto-based practice of Dr. Wayne Carman can help you reduce the resistant fat from the abdominal area, especially if it’s combined with liposuction.
However, while a tummy tuck can be a transformative and life-changing procedure, patients should be aware of what it can and can’t do. The truth is that tummy tucks only remove skin and subcutaneous fat – the soft, pinchable type of wobbly tissue. The surgeon won’t be able to surgically remove the hard, visceral fat that is stored inside the abdominal cavity, close to the internal organs. Tummy tucks only target the layer of fat and skin that are above the muscles of the abdominal wall.
Visceral or “hard” belly fat can negatively affect the results from this procedure so you should consider whether you need to lose weight first before having the procedure. Some patients have too much visceral fat to get the satisfying results they want from a tummy tuck. The only way to control visceral fat is through making changes to your diet and exercise routine. Dr. Carman prefers that patients have reached a stable weight and are re-evaluated after losing weight before they undergo tummy tuck surgery, so if you plan on losing weight, it’s best to do so before you have tummy tuck surgery.
Want to discover more about the benefits of tummy tuck surgery? Contact our Toronto-based office of Dr. Wayne Carman for more advice. Call us at (416) 322-7108 or submit a contact form online to schedule a consultation with Dr. Carman and find out whether you would be a good candidate for body contouring treatments.