Letty's Liposuction Directory

Part 5: Alternative to Lipo

Author: Letty's Staff Writer

Hands down the best alternative to liposuction is diet and exercise.

There are several reasons why these two things together are the very best to any surgery that you be considering to lose weight and/or tighten and tone areas of your body.

The first reason and not a small thing in today's economy – is that dieting and exercising is inexpensive.

In fact, to make a lifestyle change with this particular alternative to lipo should save you money in the long run. Junk food, excessive calories costs you money – and lots of it.

"NOT exercising is FREE!" - you say...

Or is it?...

What price will you pay in terms of long-term health and appearance as your body ages, and deteriorates from lack of use?

If you ask me – an inactive lifestyle is extremely expensive.

Not only do you feel awful just sitting around feeling guilty about everything you aren't doing for yourself – but it costs you health, vitality, libido, and self-confidence as well.

This a terribly high cost to maintain.

So, the simple thing to do is to just get moving – even though you don't feel up to it. Don't wait for the right timing (don't wait for some magical alternative to liposuction), or for your good feelings to kick in.

YOU are going to create the right timing, and you are going to manufacture those great feelings as you begin to take care of yourself.

How does diet and exercise affect the need for liposuction?

This concept is so simple as to be insultingly obvious.

When you diet and exercise you decrease the continuing storage of fat. And you also diminish the fat that is currently stored in various troublesome areas of your body.

So if you are looking for an alternative to liposuction – one that doesn't involve going under the knife, then diet and exercise are probably going to be your best friends moving forward.

Now, liposuction is designed to address resistant fat.

What is "resistant fat"?

Well, this is the fat that remains after you've dieted and exercised.

It is the fat that clings to your thighs, hips and abdomen – no matter what you do. For those people who are of a normal, healthy weight – who have pockets of fat that they can't seems to rid themselves of – liposuction is not a bad choice because you can always suck out the fat that won't go away any other way.

Why isn't diet and exercise working?...

BUT I would say to those people who are convinced that diet and exercise alternative to liposuction - alone won't address their concerns – you probably are working out WRONG.

If you are within the normal weight for your height and your waist circumference isn't bigger than what it should be – then your diet is on target.

It is your exercise routine that should be examined. To melt away resistant fat with the diet and exercise alternative to liposuction – you've got to vary your routine and shock the muscles of your body (that is – not letting them acclimate to the exercise). In this way you build lovely muscle tone in areas of the body you previously weren't able to address.

Diets REALLY suck!

Don't despair. The traditional diet doesn't ever work for most people. You aren't alone.

What's the problem then?... The traditional diet is based on denying yourself whole categories of food – for the remainder of your life. For most normal people that is simply impossible to do. Humans are designed to crave calories from a wide variety of food groups. It is really hard to restrict yourself to one or two primarily.

The better way to approach the problem is to substitute the most unhealthy fats, grains, and meats with healthier alternatives. Whole books have been written about what can substitute for the junky foods you are currently in love with.

Don't try to avoid portion control.

Just stop thinking about it!...

Let's face it - for many of us appetite and "feeling full" is not a good way to gauge whether you are getting too many calories.

Years of over-eating has ratcheted the gauge up a notch or two. So you are going to have to watch your portions to get that internal compass set properly again...

The trick is NOT to think about it.

Dr. Oz (of Oprah fame) has suggested a simple way to address the tedium of counting calories in his best-selling book "You on a Diet". He says to automate at least one meal (preferably two) each and every day. In other words - figure out two good calorie-appropriate, nutritious meals (say breakfast and lunch) for the day – and plan on eating them day in and out. Dinner is where you will have variety (but you must still keep the meal calorie appropriate).

To avoid tedium – you can alter these automated meals once a week, or once a month. The trick is to figure out the calorie content of these meals before automating them. And the beauty of it is you don't have to think about it. You just get up in the morning and have what you are used to having.

Avoid hunger like the plague!..

The second big suggestion in Dr. Oz's books is to never become hungry.

Hunger can cause us to reach for quickly gratifying, calorie-busting snacks (in huge quantities).

So make sure you have a filling snack that can cut the hunger between meals (like walnuts and dates on single serving of yogurt). Hunger and craving is the enemy of any sensible eating plan. You should defeat it by eating frequent small meals (and planning beforehand what snacks you will eat).

With a little planning your healthy eating becomes an easy lifestyle change (and a viable alternative to liposuction).

I am too busy to go to the gym.

Excuses, excuses...

You don't have to spend hours in the gym to tone your body. In fact, for many of us the gym can become an unnecessary and time-consuming barrier to making real lifestyle changes.

Don't go to the gym.

You can walk or jog in your neighborhood, on a treadmill at home. If you don't want to invest in expensive home gym equipment you can buy an aerobics video and exercise right in your own living room.

Ten minutes of strengthen training every other day, and 45 minutes of daily walking, jogging, dancing (aerobic activity) – is enough to have tremendous results.

I am not strong enough to exercise.

I won't say much about this common excuse – other than how will you ever get stronger by doing nothing.

You can start small and work your way up to more eventually. The key is to start.

I am too fat to exercise.

You are never too fat to begin taking care of yourself.

If you are overweight – it is obvious that at some point you stopped making yourself a priority. Reverse that trend. Start caring for yourself and you will find that weight comes off – and your attitude about being active improves.

Why I love yoga.

Yoga is strength training that increases your heart rate as well. However, it is gentle and soothing – and if done right can be started by just about anyone at any level of fitness.

Yoga is a fabulous alternative to liposuction – because through it you are able to engage muscles seldom used our daily lives.

In this way you are able to address those areas of fat that are resistant to other forms of exercise (for which you would otherwise feel the need for liposuction). The payoff in doing yoga is that you will be developing a poised, flexible, toned and beautifully sculpted body.

Why I love kettle bells.

Because of the design of the kettle bell you are kept just off center enough to have to engage your core muscle to a greater extent. This can really address the troublesome mid-section that plagues so many of us both male and female. This is simply a fabulous alternative to liposuction (no surgery required to get the benefit).

What is the take home here?

If you are looking for the best alternative to liposuction – diet and exercise is it. Contrary to common assumption diet and exercise are – in fact – able to address your areas of resistant fat when done properly. And the dividends you get in terms of your long-term physical and mental health are truly priceless.

Final Thought: Liposuction cannot give you a better you. Only you can.

Lipo Alternative - A Comparison References:

• Jesitus, John. "Tight light: the laser as fat-melting tool has some practitioners rethinking conventional lipo." Cosmetic surgery Times 10.4 (2007): 24+. Health & Wellness Resource Center. Web 3 Feb. 2010.

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Public Statement in response to the practice of using Lipo-Dissolve. Sept. 20 2007.

• Brunk, Doug. "Patients are seeking less-invasive fat removal." Skin & Allergy News 39.12 (2008): 19. Health & Wellness Resources Center. Web 4 Mar. 2010.

• Preuss, Harry, and Bill Gottlieb. "The Natural Fat-Loss Pharmacy." Original Internist 14.1 (2007): 7. Expanded Academic ASAP. Web 23 Mar. 2010.