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Fat cells don't go away when you lose weight?
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wellthenwhat
Posts: 526 Member
in Debate Club
A person was arguing with me, saying that liposuction was a good idea because fat cells will only get smaller, and it's easier to grow the fat back if you don't get them removed. Is this total Bs, or legitimate?
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Replies
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Fat cells don't go away. They won't fill up again unless and until you over eat again.
That doesn't make liposuction a good idea.
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When you gain weight as a young person, your body creates more fat cells to store the extra fat. I don't know for sure if this also applies to people who gain weight as adults.
When a person with extra fat cells loses weight, the fat cells, both original and extra, hold less and less fat. It is not the case that the originals hold a little fat and the extras hold none. They all hold a little.
This means that persons such as me, who gained weight quite young, held it for 50 years, and has lost almost all the excess of my weight, is condemned to a lifetime of carefully counting calories and exercising to burn off excess calories eaten or earn more food to eat.
Along comes liposuction. Other than the very real risk of death, it proposes to remove many fat cells, mechanically limiting future possible weight gain.
Your person is legitimate, although their reasoning is, in my view, flawed in that that person seems to discount the very real risk of death from the procedure.15 -
Fun (or maybe not so fun) fact: getting fat cells removed during lipo can lead to more visceral fat if weight is regained.15
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Fittreelol wrote: »Fun (or maybe not so fun) fact: getting fat cells removed during lipo can lead to more visceral fat if weight is regained.
I didn't know that. Thanks.1 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »When you gain weight as a young person, your body creates more fat cells to store the extra fat. I don't know for sure if this also applies to people who gain weight as adults.
When a person with extra fat cells loses weight, the fat cells, both original and extra, hold less and less fat. It is not the case that the originals hold a little fat and the extras hold none. They all hold a little.
This means that persons such as me, who gained weight quite young, held it for 50 years, and has lost almost all the excess of my weight, is condemned to a lifetime of carefully counting calories and exercising to burn off excess calories eaten or earn more food to eat.
Along comes liposuction. Other than the very real risk of death, it proposes to remove many fat cells, mechanically limiting future possible weight gain.
Your person is legitimate, although their reasoning is, in my view, flawed in that that person seems to discount the very real risk of death from the procedure.
I'm not going to argue your young-person's-fat-cells thing, but just because you allegedly have more fat cells, I still think that your intake would need to be the same as as the non-child-fat-cells-person to maintain your weight.
In other words, so what if you have more fat cells? They in and of themselves do not lower your TDEE.
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I've heard it can be painful, then you are left with bruses for quite a while too. I watched the procedure once part of a programme on weight loss and it looked and sounded disgusting. Its only spot reduction, what happens if you gain again, would you be out of balance? giggle. When you've not changed your attitude to food, nutrition and exercise.
IMV its an unnecessary procedure, use of a general anaesthetic, it does not come without risks. I don't want to loose any part of me, even a spent fat cell. its all mine, and who knows may be one day I might need the extra bits of fat in the cells to keep me warm. tiny giggle.
Some may see it as an easy option, I believe its anything but.4 -
Liposuction won't stop future fat gain, but it may impact where you store your reserve energy if you gain weight again in the future.
Instead of having a big belly (where my fat goes), it might show up more on your butt, back and thighs.11 -
I've heard it can be painful, then you are left with bruses for quite a while too. I watched the procedure once part of a programme on weight loss and it looked and sounded disgusting. Its only spot reduction, what happens if you gain again, would you be out of balance? giggle. When you've not changed your attitude to food, nutrition and exercise.
IMV its an unnecessary procedure, use of a general anaesthetic, it does not come without risks. I don't want to loose any part of me, even a spent fat cell. its all mine, and who knows may be one day I might need the extra bits of fat in the cells to keep me warm. tiny giggle.
Some may see it as an easy option, I believe its anything but.
Oh, same here. I have no desire for such a painful procedure. I don't even like going to the dentist, lol4 -
I don't know anything about liposuction, but she's correct in that you can't lose your fat-storing cells. Ideally, you're not supposed to gain them either -- you have a certain amount and they get bigger or smaller depending on how much you eat. A big concern with childhood/teenage obesity is that young people are actually gaining more fat cells, which is not supposed to happen in a healthy person, and they can never lose these cells.6
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This is true. There seem to be some strange regain patterns for visceral fat in individuals who have undergone liposuction though (for example, if they have their abs & flank lipo'd they may regain weight unevenly in their arms or legs in the future).
In addition, individuals who have been overweight or obese for extended periods of time generally have more overall SVF cells and continue to produce more leptin (and other hormones) over time. Adipose tissue is made up of more than adipocytes (the cells which grow and shrink to hold lipids). We are actually born with a certain number of preadipocytes which we maintain throughout our lifetime. When an adipocytes has reached is maximal capacity to store triglycerides it will split in two and form a second adipocyte.
Individuals who have been overweight or obese have more total adipocytes which can only be fully "removed" through physical manipulation like liposuction.
here's a nifty little visual of what i'm talking about below:
Essentially the takeaway is... for our health maintaining a low level or appropriate level of body fat significantly reduces our risk for disease. Not even speaking of the physical strain it causes on our bodies which can result in heart disease, sleep apnea, stress on joints, and high blood pressure; adipose tissue secretes hormones which can increase our risk of certain cancers, screw up our sex hormones, cause diabetes, etc. etc. etc.
So one of the greatest things we can do for our health is to: 1.) never get obese in the first place and 2.) If already obese lose weight and maintain a healthy weight for life.
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One question I have(coming from someone trying to lose a large amount of body fat: around 80lbs) is, other than the obvious loose skin, is there a visible difference caused by the increase of fat cells? Or is it does it go unnoticeable as far as the eyes go. This isn't something I worry about to stop me from wanting to lose weight but I am curious if it's something I should expect.3
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Its only spot reduction, what happens if you gain again, would you be out of balance? giggle. When you've not changed your attitude to food, nutrition and exercise.
I'm not arguing for liposuction, but some people get it precisely because it removes fat from specific areas that will always store a disproportionate amount of fat no matter how much one diets and exercises.
If it were safe, painless, cheap, and didn't leave scars, I'd have had it.
I've read it's painful and that the body may fill the areas from which the fat has been removed with fluid.6 -
One thing you might want to keep in mind if considering liposuction is that it's a blind procedure. The doctor inserts the cannula into your body to suction out the fat but cannot actually see what the cannula is touching or exactly where it's going. The M.D. is basically just feeling around the area and suctioning based on his or her fundamental anatomy/physiology knowledge, hoping for the best and assuming that past experience with doing the procedure is a good safety measure.
I work in medical and I would never consent to a blind procedure for an elective, cosmetic surgery.
That depends on what kind of lipo. There is vaser ultrasonic lipo as well as coolsculpting and its variants which don't go inside the body at all. In vaser lipo ultrasound waves break down fat, not a cannula.
I had vaser lipo, which was a breeze.The worst part was wearing a compression garment 23 hours a day for 3 weeks. I have small scars that are fading away, and i had no bruising.
I may gain weight in my legs now, but trust me, it's a risk i'm willing to take.3 -
Its only spot reduction, what happens if you gain again, would you be out of balance? giggle. When you've not changed your attitude to food, nutrition and exercise.
I'm not arguing for liposuction, but some people get it precisely because it removes fat from specific areas that will always store a disproportionate amount of fat no matter how much one diets and exercises.
If it were safe, painless, cheap, and didn't leave scars, I'd have had it.
I've read it's painful and that the body may fill the areas from which the fat has been removed with fluid.
I barely see my scars. The cost was very affordable.
But thanks, that's what people don't get. Some people have areas that won't go away. I make the analogy using women with big breasts. I see women even skinny ones with huge breasts. There is no dieting that away unless maybe they were concentration camp thin. The moment they gain any weight it will go to their breasts. That's why some women get breast reductions. Likewise there are also women even skinny ones with big behinds and lots of fat on their legs. They can gain weight or lose weight and be the same shape. Its genetics.
Some women unfortunately store fat in less conventionally attractive places like their midsections. They have skinny legs, skinny arms, but this belly that won't go away. Enter lipo.3 -
JeromeBarry1 wrote: »When you gain weight as a young person, your body creates more fat cells to store the extra fat. I don't know for sure if this also applies to people who gain weight as adults.
When a person with extra fat cells loses weight, the fat cells, both original and extra, hold less and less fat. It is not the case that the originals hold a little fat and the extras hold none. They all hold a little.
This means that persons such as me, who gained weight quite young, held it for 50 years, and has lost almost all the excess of my weight, is condemned to a lifetime of carefully counting calories and exercising to burn off excess calories eaten or earn more food to eat.
Along comes liposuction. Other than the very real risk of death, it proposes to remove many fat cells, mechanically limiting future possible weight gain.
Your person is legitimate, although their reasoning is, in my view, flawed in that that person seems to discount the very real risk of death from the procedure.
I would not say condemned. I would say you're lucky enough to move your body and eat good food, but not in excess.2 -
One question I have(coming from someone trying to lose a large amount of body fat: around 80lbs) is, other than the obvious loose skin, is there a visible difference caused by the increase of fat cells? Or is it does it go unnoticeable as far as the eyes go. This isn't something I worry about to stop me from wanting to lose weight but I am curious if it's something I should expect.
I've lost 80lbs and there is no visible difference. I look like I have never been overweight in my life.7 -
I had liposuction done, probably 20-ish years ago, and not just spot treatments. I felt that I had a disproportionate amount of fat around my hips, upper thighs, and upper arms. They were very bulge-y. I thought freakishly so, even when I was not overweight, and I didn't want to be like that for the rest of my life. I didn't have a huge problem with my belly. I was young, no kids yet, and had disposable income, so I did it. It was very painful afterwards, and I had to wear the compression garment 24/7. Meds were helpful, but I couldn't do anything for about 2 weeks. I was quite swollen in those areas, but I think that was one of the reasons for the compression garment. That, and making sure the areas heal while the tissue is supported and not sagging. It was awesome when I lost the bulges. Continued with a few endermology treatments and felt great for about a year, but, not having learned anything from the experience, proceeded to gain weight. So of course, it is not a permanent weight loss solution. However, even gaining 40 lbs, even more during pregnancy, my hips never got bulge-y fat again. My legs are permanently well proportioned. My arms will never be pinched sausages again. Instead, my fat was more evenly distributed throughout my body. So overall, I am still glad I did it. It actually helped me to carry extra weight better when I was heavier. Glad I survived and didn't get an infection. No scars, many of those fat cells are gone forever. There is a small patch of varicose veins on the inside of my knee that I didn't have before.5
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My daughter has always been long and lean. Always riding the low line on the graph of normal weight since birth. Since her growth spurt, she is about 15 pounds underweight and struggling to gain. I wonder if she'd have more hungry fat cells to fill if I fed her more when she was a baby and made her chubby? #momguilt1
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cmriverside wrote: »Fat cells don't go away. They won't fill up again unless and until you over eat again.
That doesn't make liposuction a good idea.
yup...2 -
wellthenwhat wrote: »A person was arguing with me, saying that liposuction was a good idea because fat cells will only get smaller, and it's easier to grow the fat back if you don't get them removed. Is this total Bs, or legitimate?
fat cells only shrink but don't go away0
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