Laser Lipo, smartlipo, slimray - opinions?

[Lil Freek]

Alright, here's the deal.

I was overweight/obese from about 4yrs old to roughly 23yrs old. I was 320lbs when I maxed out and said "enough". By the time I was 24, I had lost about 80lbs and slowly lost another 10lbs while trying to gain muscle mass.

For the last 2 years, I've been cutting, bulking, etc, etc... and it seems the MOMENT I try to bulk, fat piles on. Even when I limit my diet to hippy whole foods and local greens and ultra-lean meats (local turkey, local turkey and misc. fish), I still manage to gain fat like it's nobody's business.

I searched the board for the terms and I found nothing relating to smartlipo, laserlipo or slimray clinics.

I've researched the matter with reasonable diligence, and I've come to the conclusion that unless I get lipo, my body's going to persist with it's love-affair with fat-storage. My body created tons of new fat cells to accomodate my near-20 years of obesity, and it's landed me in a predicament that I loathe. No matter what I do, I gain fat fast/easily and without hesitation. I have some loose skin and just excess fat cells that are dying to be fed.

I'm in the process of finding a surgeon in my city that offers laser liposuction (google's not finding me anything). I know it's a touchy subject on here, but I've managed to lose about 90% of my excess fat, I've managed to stay around 20% BF for almost 3 years (crawled above 20% for a few months after injury) but haven't really managed to get well beneath it. I work out 4-6times/week, eat at or below my BMR almost every day and have alternated through misc. fatloss products to help me out. I can't take ephedrine and I can't have more caffeine than is found in an espresso (gives me nervous system problems)

I've e-mailed a couple surgeons in town to discuss my options in regards to lipo vs. laser lipo. My dermatologist has said that my loose skin may eventually tighten up, but since it hasn't done much in the last 2 years, it's not looking too bright. I'm not super lean, and my loose skin makes it look even worse.

Everything combined gives me a mediocre looking physique. My girlfriend really doesn't care, but it's pretty sad when her abs are more predominant than mine.

Anyways... has anybody on here done extensive research on laser lipo? I don't want it to do all the work for me. I've done 90% and I'll be damned if I'm never going to get a proper V-taper after 4 years of exercising.

I'm just looking on feedback and maybe a correction if i've misunderstood the functionality of fat cells: that once a new fat cell is created, it can't be destroyed naturally and a fat cell can only become so small and will ease fat-gain as there are more cells to which fat can attach itself in your body. Since there's no natural way to destroy a fat cell, I'm left with my last option, liposuction.

[caa5000]

first, of all, lipo is for quitters...

secondly. Of course if you "bulk" at 20% bodyfat you're going to put on even more fat. Think of bulking while fat (I consider 20% overweight) as a downward slope with a 20% grade, and that slope is your bulking. You're going to fall down that hill A LOT faster with that steep grade. Now take someone on an 8% grade, that ball is going to roll a lot slower, and it's going to take some time to build acceleration (accelerated fat gain).

While genetics may have something to do with it, very few humans are the "exceptions."

Secondly,
If you've been eating below your BMR, which I hope you know is if you did ABSOLUTELY nothing all day, chances are you've experienced some metabolic slowdown. Check out Robbie's thread on metabolism forecasting (sticky on nutrition). In addition, try taking your core body temperature when you wake up to see if it's below 98.6.

[Lil Freek]

lol - figured I'd get one of those.

When I'm on a cut, I eat about 2000-2300cal/day on a 40/40/20 split. I've managed to plateau at 215lbs a couple times. I get false-readings from every tester that I try to test my bodyfat. I'm not really into the game of testing myself every 45 seconds, but with my research on fat cells and how the body creates and stores them... it's not my poor genetics that would cause that, it's my poor lifestyle that would have caused my body to create new fat cells over the duration of my life.

Google it if you want, but the summary is that once a fat cell is created, it's there for good. I could eat 1cal a day and run 3 marathons and my body will only get SO lean and my skin will only get SO tight.

In the end, the decision is going be mine and I'll be formally consulting with doctors and surgeons on the best course to take. My doctor and nutritionist are hardcore hippies, so when they say "you might have to get surgery to fix it if it bothers you that much", that's a loaded statement.

[caa5000]

well, they don't dissapear, and they do shrink. They shrink to extremely small proportions. If you don't believe go to the fat loss transformation thread. You'll see plenty of ex-obese people who have no problems obtaining six packs. So obviously you haven't researched it very well. I'm glad you're honest about how you got that way in the first place, but when you make assumptions you only set yourself up for failure.

I was a fat kid, and it does seem a little easier to put on weight then normal. I don't suggest resorting to surgery as you're not truly fixing the problem...

[Lil Freek]

Umm... I don't think you actually read my first post.

I eat right, exercise plenty and I've stalled. With the use of this board, personal trainers and a nutritionist, I've been unable to get well under 20%. When I was working out 4hrs/day 6days a week, I managed to get to the low teens - but I def. can't maintain that lifestyle for very long. (work, school, girlfriend are more important)

For people to go from obese to 6-pack, that does involve genetics. I've never blamed my weightgain on genetics, but I see my family and know my genes aren't perfect (both parents are overweight)

And I know that they can get small, but they don't disappear. Essentially, for the remainder of my life, I will constantly be prone to gaining fat faster than a normal person. By forcibly removing fat cells, I'm essentially reverting my fat cell count to that of a normal person - which is kinda the end goal for formerly-obese people.

It's not as though I just started losing weight and I'm tired of it... I've lost over 90lbs of fat, and have very little to go. I've been trying to dispose of my excess fat for about 3 years. I'm not new at weightloss, I eat insanely clean but there are limits for some people, and that why I'm looking at my options.

I'll check out the other threads, but I've followed plenty of advice from this place and it's helped me lose weight but only to a certain point. I just made an appt with a nutritionist/kinesiologist that specializes in formerly obese people at my university - dunno what that'll produce other than "yup, you were fat, and now you're not quite as fat as you were before", but I'm hoping there's something more intellectual than that.

[casticonstantinescu]

Sounds like you've made up your mind on this subject.

I think at 20% , you still have a ways to go and there is obviously something that isn't being done right that is not causing you to continually drop in body fat percentage.

Cut out the bulking completely, as has been said, no sense to bulk when you're at 20% BF already.

Stalling is temporary, and that can be reset, unless you're the type of individual who has put themselves in starvation for way too long (4 hours of cardio 6 days a week + training?), and then it's another problem that can be evaluated by a professional.

The tried and tested techniques have worked for every single person on this thread who has been 100% spot on with their nutrition and wanted it bad enough. Measure your portions carefully, calculate the BMR, do a 1000 deficit per week with a combination of eating + weight training.

If your response is that you've already tried all that, and were true about it, then I guess you've made up your mind on what you want to do anyways.

Edit: From the pics on your profile, you can totally achieve what you want if you really follow a strict eating regiment. This doesn't mean boring food, but count count count and progress.

[trev0000]

Umm... I don't think you actually read my first post.

I eat right, exercise plenty and I've stalled. With the use of this board, personal trainers and a nutritionist, I've been unable to get well under 20%. When I was working out 4hrs/day 6days a week, I managed to get to the low teens - but I def. can't maintain that lifestyle for very long. (work, school, girlfriend are more important)

For people to go from obese to 6-pack, that does involve genetics. I've never blamed my weightgain on genetics, but I see my family and know my genes aren't perfect (both parents are overweight)

And I know that they can get small, but they don't disappear. Essentially, for the remainder of my life, I will constantly be prone to gaining fat faster than a normal person. By forcibly removing fat cells, I'm essentially reverting my fat cell count to that of a normal person - which is kinda the end goal for formerly-obese people.

It's not as though I just started losing weight and I'm tired of it... I've lost over 90lbs of fat, and have very little to go. I've been trying to dispose of my excess fat for about 3 years. I'm not new at weightloss, I eat insanely clean but there are limits for some people, and that why I'm looking at my options.

I'll check out the other threads, but I've followed plenty of advice from this place and it's helped me lose weight but only to a certain point. I just made an appt with a nutritionist/kinesiologist that specializes in formerly obese people at my university - dunno what that'll produce other than "yup, you were fat, and now you're not quite as fat as you were before", but I'm hoping there's something more intellectual than that.

As you progress with the weight loss you need to change things up every 6-8 weeks (diet and your workouts). Most of us hit a wall at some point you just have to push harder and want it. All of us in here will agree that it is not easy to drop fat but if you are determined you will break through it. You may need to adjust your calories or pick up the cardio.

[ramsesthe2]

Why bother posting?

[DuLac]

Op, it seems clear you want the lipo. Go do it, post back on how it went.

[Amandarose531]

(work, school, girlfriend are more important)

While I agree on this - I balance a life like this too, minus the girlfriend, it certainly sounds like you've made up your mind.


But, keep in mind that you don't just, HAVE a six pack and stay shredded all the time without CONSTANT work and dedication. Yes, you can stay in maintain mode - but you're not going to keep extremely low bf without consciously working on it, you're not going to roll out and ingest X amount of calories without feeling the repercussions, the lower your bf gets the harder it gets to maintain.


That being said we all plateau - we all need to break the cycle - I wake up everyday and can usually pick out more than 5 things I want to change about my body, but they're works in progress. Hell I'm seeing my mom for the first time in a year tomorrow and i've lost 50 pounds since then, but I don't see the difference but I know she will.

It's a constant lifestyle change is what i'm saying, if your head isn't in the game you wont be either. That being said, my bf has worked out at least 5 times a week every week since we've been together (2 years) and 4 years before that and he's still perfecting his body because - he started out "fat kid" too but he's getting where he wants to be WITHOUT the easy way out.

[Lil Freek]

I'm not dead set on lipo, but it's a viable option I'm seeking to finish off my weightloss.

I've just done my fair share of physiological research (outside of my actual studies) so "eat less, workout more" isn't a satisfactory answer.
I'm not expecting to be shredded, but I'd like to be able to maintain 13-15% bodyfat without having to monitor every food item that enters my body and workout 4+ times a week. Many of my friends have the genetics that allow them to eat whatever and never exercise. I'm not expecting to ever be there. I enjoy working out, and I'm still another year away from being able to afford the surgery (about $4000), so I'm going to keep trying everything under the sun.

I've switched my diet a bunch of different ways. Even when I got to the low teens and maintained that for a few months, my loose skin was a major factor that held me back. I can only assume my dermatologist isn't an idiot and if she says my skins not likely to go back to normal, I can either live with loose skin or fix it.

I didn't post looking for people's approval, I'm looking for feedback from those that have done it or know of the process in great detail.

Everything I've found related to laser lipo seems very biased, so I'm wondering if it's a load of horse**** or if it's really a new, credible way to destroy fat cells and tighten up skin.

I'll def have my before & after pics. I wouldn't expect lipo to remove more than 10-15lbs of fat from me. I'm not going to let myself go between now and surgery, just to let the surgery do all the work while I sit back and relax.

[ZidaneValor]

Since every post seems to be 3-5 paragraphs, I'm just going to tell you bluntly to quit being a bitch.

[ZidaneValor]

For the last 2 years, I've been cutting, bulking, etc, etc... and it seems the MOMENT I try to bulk, fat piles on. Even when I limit my diet to hippy whole foods and local greens and ultra-lean meats (local turkey, local turkey and misc. fish), I still manage to gain fat like it's nobody's business.

You're supposed to put on fat during a bulk. If you are putting on TOO much fat, drop calories.

My body created tons of new fat cells to accomodate my near-20 years of obesity, and it's landed me in a predicament that I loathe. No matter what I do, I gain fat fast/easily and without hesitation. I have some loose skin and just excess fat cells that are dying to be fed.

1) 20 years is NOT that long.
2) Fat cells can't be "fed" if you are eating at a deficit or at maintenance.

I work out 4-6times/week, eat at or below my BMR almost every day and have alternated through misc. fatloss products to help me out.

Post your exact nutrition and exact workouts on this thread. There may be some errors somewhere.

but it's pretty sad when her abs are more predominant than mine.

Exactly why is this "pretty sad"? Women have abs too.

I'm just looking on feedback and maybe a correction if i've misunderstood the functionality of fat cells: that once a new fat cell is created, it can't be destroyed naturally and a fat cell can only become so small and will ease fat-gain as there are more cells to which fat can attach itself in your body. Since there's no natural way to destroy a fat cell, I'm left with my last option, liposuction.

Or not eating too much. That's an option too.

lol - figured I'd get one of those.

When I'm on a cut, I eat about 2000-2300cal/day on a 40/40/20 split. I've managed to plateau at 215lbs a couple times.

Sounds rather low if you are 6'5" and working out 6 times per week (especially four hours per week). Also, how long do you consider a plateau?

Google it if you want, but the summary is that once a fat cell is created, it's there for good. I could eat 1cal a day and run 3 marathons and my body will only get SO lean and my skin will only get SO tight.

Incorrect. Like others have said, view the transformation section on this forum.

I eat right, exercise plenty and I've stalled. With the use of this board, personal trainers and a nutritionist, I've been unable to get well under 20%.

20%, while good, is not that lean. Also, you haven't posted your nutrition or exercise regimens, so we don't know if you eat right.

When I was working out 4hrs/day 6days a week, I managed to get to the low teens - but I def. can't maintain that lifestyle for very long. (work, school, girlfriend are more important)

You can't maintain that lifestyle for too long because it's bad for you. 24 hours a week is too much unless you are doing marathon or triathlon training.

I've never blamed my weightgain on genetics

Really? Because your very next sentence is...

but I see my family and know my genes aren't perfect (both parents are overweight)

So yes you are. My entire family and my brothers are overweight. But it's not genetics. It's because we all ate too much. Once I stopped eating too much, I overcame my "genetics."

And I know that they can get small, but they don't disappear. Essentially, for the remainder of my life, I will constantly be prone to gaining fat faster than a normal person.

Possibly, but that only happens if you eat too much and or starve yourself.

It's not as though I just started losing weight and I'm tired of it... I've lost over 90lbs of fat, and have very little to go. I've been trying to dispose of my excess fat for about 3 years. I'm not new at weightloss, I eat insanely clean but there are limits for some people, and that why I'm looking at my options.

Lifestyle means forever.

I've just done my fair share of physiological research (outside of my actual studies) so "eat less, workout more" isn't a satisfactory answer.

Maybe not, but have to tried working out differently? Maybe do a 5x5 Starting Strength routine, or try Rippetoes for a while. Try to bulk up to even out the loose skin.

I'm not expecting to be shredded, but I'd like to be able to maintain 13-15% bodyfat without having to monitor every food item that enters my body and workout 4+ times a week.

You're supposed to monitor every food item that enters your body. That is how you stop from regaining weight. People go on "diets", do very well, then go back to what they were doing before, and are surprised when they end up looking like they did before.

Many of my friends have the genetics that allow them to eat whatever and never exercise. I'm not expecting to ever be there. I enjoy working out, and I'm still another year away from being able to afford the surgery (about $4000), so I'm going to keep trying everything under the sun.

How do we know you've done everything? You haven't told us anything that you've done other than the most generic things. Also, I thought you weren't blaming genetics.

I've switched my diet a bunch of different ways. Even when I got to the low teens and maintained that for a few months, my loose skin was a major factor that held me back. I can only assume my dermatologist isn't an idiot and if she says my skins not likely to go back to normal, I can either live with loose skin or fix it.

Care to tell us these ways you've switched your nutrition? Also, have you sought the opinion of more than one dermatologist?

I didn't post looking for people's approval, I'm looking for feedback from those that have done it or know of the process in great detail.

The reason you aren't getting our approval is because you are more than likely taking the bitch way out.

Everything I've found related to laser lipo seems very biased, so I'm wondering if it's a load of horse**** or if it's really a new, credible way to destroy fat cells and tighten up skin.

Everything you've found is biased because lipo is a business that thrives on people taking the easy way out.

I'm not going to let myself go between now and surgery, just to let the surgery do all the work while I sit back and relax.

Edit: Actually, I read this quotation incorrectly. Sorry about that. The rest of my points still stand.

[S1FU]

Since every post seems to be 3-5 paragraphs, I'm just going to tell you bluntly to quit being a bitch.

I actually laughed out loud and luckily didn't have a mouthful of drink otherwise my computer would be fooked!!!!!

[trev0000]

I actually laughed out loud and luckily didn't have a mouthful of drink otherwise my computer would be fooked!!!!!

lol me too. Zidane you a lawyer dude? If not you should be! The OP has a few questions to answer but he might try to get someone else to do it for him

[ZidaneValor]

lol me too. Zidane you a lawyer dude? If not you should be! The OP has a few questions to answer but he might try to get someone else to do it for him

Software Engineer. That's why I like going to the gym and playing basketball, because I'm pretty inactive during the day.

[trev0000]

Software Engineer. That's why I like going to the gym and playing basketball, because I'm pretty inactive during the day.

Im in the same boat in front of a computor all day need to keep active to keep up with my kid.

[jay24k]

Your girlfriend has more abs then you because you are fat dude. 20% is not going to show your abs. I'm also willing to bet you don't have loose skin as bad as you think. People assume jiggle fat is loose skin when it is just plain ole pure fat. I've lost over 80lb and I have light jiggle fat but it isn't loose skin. Just because you have an excess of fat cells doesn't mean anything. They deflate to almost nil proportions. And I don't buy the you gain fat faster. You gain fat as much as you eat. IF you are bulking eating 5K calories, of course you are going to get fat. And honestly, bulking at 20% is kind of high dude. Cut to 10% then bulk

[Lil Freek]

holy ****... i forgot how retarded you all are.

this is why I stopped posting on this board.

go **** your redneck cousins or some ****.

[ZidaneValor]

holy ****... i forgot how retarded you all are.

this is why I stopped posting on this board.

go **** your redneck cousins or some ****.

[jay24k]

holy ****... i forgot how retarded you all are.

this is why I stopped posting on this board.

go **** your redneck cousins or some ****.

The truth hurts I guess? Were you expecting everyone to say good job being super thin at 20% and go get your fat trimmed off? People are truely looking out for what is BEST for you but if you wanna go get some surgery to get rid of fat cells, then go do it. Why ask the internet for an opinion when you have your mind made up? Your body is still going to make more fat cells as you overeat. If you get fat easy, you are going to get just as fat when you overeat. So the only one being disrespectful is you dude.

[dbluegoat]

stop trying to take the easy way out.......you have not even tried or worked hard enough....I can bet money on that.

Check my sig. Try being a mid 30's nearly 400lb fat ass......Your young and you are getting down there. Lifestyle is forever....anyone can change, I am a testament to that. I can guarantee I will be one of the best transformations on this site one day...and my entire family has "poor" genetics, bunch of fat bastards who eat and eat......

You think you don't have to always maintain? working out 4-5days a week and eating pretty clean is a forever thing if you want to keep what you earn and work hard for.

It's not as though I just started losing weight and I'm tired of it... I've lost over 90lbs of fat, and have very little to go. I've been trying to dispose of my excess fat for about 3 years.

3yrs and you have only lost 90lbs? your not doing something right

[trev0000]

holy ****... i forgot how retarded you all are.

this is why I stopped posting on this board.

go **** your redneck cousins or some ****.

Dude first off you asked our opinion on a subject that we all find very hard to do LOSE FAT! any advice given to you, you take as "if I have to do work I don't want to do it" go get your surgury done be thin but remember when asked by others how you did it say it was too HARD so I took the easy way out! BITCH

[Nick1971]

In my opinion, lapband is the way to go on this. I have two friends who have done this and both have been dramatic success stories. One has lost over 100lbs in two years, and the other about 80lbs. My friend who lost more weight went from 5' 11" and 440lbs and he's now at 297 (I asked last week) and his life has been improved significantly

I won't kid you, it's $13K or so and you have to adjust to using the lapband, but it's worth it for those who have serious issues with control. It's a far better alternative than surgery, which all to frequently doesn't work in the long run, and the repercussions from the event are permenant. Lapband can also be removed down the line.

BTW, I think you should a) ignore comments that escalate into heated argument, and b) avoid escalating it as well. I know you're upset but you need to look past the emotions of the issue. Good luck!

[DrBermant]

Alright, here's the deal.

I was overweight/obese from about 4yrs old to roughly 23yrs old. I was 320lbs when I maxed out and said "enough". By the time I was 24, I had lost about 80lbs and slowly lost another 10lbs while trying to gain muscle mass.

For the last 2 years, I've been cutting, bulking, etc, etc... and it seems the MOMENT I try to bulk, fat piles on. Even when I limit my diet to hippy whole foods and local greens and ultra-lean meats (local turkey, local turkey and misc. fish), I still manage to gain fat like it's nobody's business.

I searched the board for the terms and I found nothing relating to smartlipo, laserlipo or slimray clinics.

I've researched the matter with reasonable diligence, and I've come to the conclusion that unless I get lipo, my body's going to persist with it's love-affair with fat-storage. My body created tons of new fat cells to accomodate my near-20 years of obesity, and it's landed me in a predicament that I loathe. No matter what I do, I gain fat fast/easily and without hesitation. I have some loose skin and just excess fat cells that are dying to be fed.

I'm in the process of finding a surgeon in my city that offers laser liposuction (google's not finding me anything). I know it's a touchy subject on here, but I've managed to lose about 90% of my excess fat, I've managed to stay around 20% BF for almost 3 years (crawled above 20% for a few months after injury) but haven't really managed to get well beneath it. I work out 4-6times/week, eat at or below my BMR almost every day and have alternated through misc. fatloss products to help me out. I can't take ephedrine and I can't have more caffeine than is found in an espresso (gives me nervous system problems)

I've e-mailed a couple surgeons in town to discuss my options in regards to lipo vs. laser lipo. My dermatologist has said that my loose skin may eventually tighten up, but since it hasn't done much in the last 2 years, it's not looking too bright. I'm not super lean, and my loose skin makes it look even worse.

Everything combined gives me a mediocre looking physique. My girlfriend really doesn't care, but it's pretty sad when her abs are more predominant than mine.

Anyways... has anybody on here done extensive research on laser lipo? I don't want it to do all the work for me. I've done 90% and I'll be damned if I'm never going to get a proper V-taper after 4 years of exercising.

I'm just looking on feedback and maybe a correction if i've misunderstood the functionality of fat cells: that once a new fat cell is created, it can't be destroyed naturally and a fat cell can only become so small and will ease fat-gain as there are more cells to which fat can attach itself in your body. Since there's no natural way to destroy a fat cell, I'm left with my last option, liposuction.

Liposuction is not an alternative to losing weight. All liposuction techniques can help with localized surface fat, but will not help with tightening loose skin, loose muscle fascia, global body fat, nor fat inside the belly (where much of the body fat collects. High volume liposuction results look terrible on animation, try to find videos of how the tissues move.

90 pound of weight loss is a major achievement. After Major Weight Loss, loose skin and fascia are frequently residual concerns. It can take up to 1 1/2 years for the skin to tighten for some. But once stretched, it may never come back even at extremely low body fat numbers.

Tummy Tuck Abdominioplasty and Lower Body Lift Surgery are compromises to deal with the surface localized fat and loose tissues. Check out the movies on how patients move before and after those sculptures. However, losing weight before surgery is better than after. Further weight loss may result in loose skin again. Being patient and getting to a weight you are happy with first is usually a better option.

Plastic Surgery is not a quick fix.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Liposuction Body Contouring