How Much Fat Can You Lose With CoolSculpting?

For over a decade, CoolSculpting has been used to remove unwanted pockets of excess fat non-invasively. Otherwise referred to as cryolipolysis, this FDA-approved treatment has been held as the gold standard of non-invasive body contouring. Today, our experts at Old Town Med Spa in Chicago, IL are discussing how much fat you can expect to lose after this treatment and much more.

What Is CoolSculpting?

As stated previously, cryolipolysis is an FDA-approved fat removal treatment. It is similar to liposuction in that it can remove around a quarter of the fat cells in a targeted area. However, it differs from liposuction in many ways. For example, rather than suctioning fat cells out of the treatment area, your lymphatic system flushes the destroyed fat cells out over time.

How Much Fat Can You Lose With CoolSculpting?

Typically, you can expect the removal of 20 to 25% of the fat cells in the targeted area during each CoolSculpting session. That said, the size of the targeted area affects the amount of fat that can be removed from a single session significantly.

How Does the Size of the Targeted Area Affect the Efficacy of Each Treatment?

The larger the targeted area is, the less total fat will be removed per session. For instance, roughly 20% of fat cells can be removed from the back in a single session. On the other hand, 26% of fat cells can be removed from the abdominal region in a single session.

How Much Fat Can You Lose From Smaller Areas?

If your goal is to eliminate unwanted fat from a small body region, like the backs of the knees or the underarms, you can remove up to 80% of the localized fat cells in a single session. You are more likely to eliminate 4/5 of the localized fat cells if most of the fat in the area is near the surface of the skin. During your primary evaluation, we will determine the amount of fat you have in each of your trouble regions and let you know how much fat you can expect to be removed during a single treatment session.

How Much Fat Can Be Eliminated With Several Sessions?

Each cryolipolysis session will remove between 20 and 80% of the fat cells in the area targeted for treatment. Therefore, if your first session removes a quarter of the fat cells in the targeted area, your second session will remove roughly 25% of the remaining 75% fat cells. In other words, you will lose an additional 18.75% of the fat cells that were in the targeted area before your first session. In total, after two treatment sessions, you will lose approximately 43.75% of the fat cells in a fairly large treatment area.

How Much Weight Can YOu Lose After Cryolipolysis?

It is crucial to understand cryolipolysis is not a weight loss treatment. While you can lose a large percentage of fat cells in the treatment area, you shouldn’t expect to lose too much weight. If you have 10 pounds of abdominal fat and 26% of the fat cells in the area are removed, you will lose approximately 2.6 pounds of fat. That said, you shouldn’t expect to see your scale move as soon as your session is over. While this treatment freezes your fat cells to death, they are not suctioned out during your treatment. Rather, your lymphatic system will process the dead fat cells for one to three months. It won’t be until all of the fat cells are processed that your final results will become apparent. In other words, if you have a single cryolipolysis session, you should anticipate losing roughly eight-tenths of a pound monthly for three months.

How Many Inches Can You Lose With Cryolipolysis?

There are a number of factors that affect how many inches you should anticipate losing with cryolipolysis. The size of the area targeted for treatment is the most significant factor that affects how many inches you should anticipate losing. You shouldn’t expect to lose more than half of an inch if you are targeting a small area for treatment. Between two and three inches of fat can be eliminated if a large area, like the chest or abdominal region is being targeted.

How Long Do Cryolipolysis Results Last?

Depending on the results you are considering, the results of CoolSculpting are permanent or semi-permanent. For instance, this body sculpting treatment doesn’t just kill fat cells by freezing them. It also eliminates inches from the targeted regions and results in a noticeable, albeit small, amount of weight loss. Here’s a closer look at the longevity of the treatment results you can expect.

The Durability of the Fat Removal Results

The fat removal results of this body sculpting treatment are permanent. By the time you reach the age of 25, your body has stopped growing new fat cells. Thus, if you’re at least 25 when you receive your cryolipolysis treatment, your body will not replace the fat cells that were frozen to death and flushed out by your lymphatic system. That said, it is possible for the fat cells that remain after your treatments to store energy in the future.

The Durability of the Contour Improvement Results

If you can keep your weight from fluctuating more than 10 pounds above your post-treatment weight, you can expect your contours to remain improved. There are certain medical conditions that result in your body storing abdominal fat. However, usually, your genes determine where your body stores excess energy. If you remove unwanted fat from your upper arms and underarms, there is a good chance you would store adipose tissue in those regions if you gained weight after treatment. Depending on where you store body fat, you may notice you’re putting on weight after gaining six pounds or 20. The more evenly throughout your body your fat is distributed, the more weight you will gain before you notice the changes in your body. If most of your excess energy is stored in your lower extremities or abdominal region, you may catch your weight gain before you’ve gained 10 pounds.

How Cardio Can Help You Maintain the Results of Your CoolSculpting Treatment

If you want to keep off the frozen away inches and pounds for life, you need to consume no more calories every day than your total daily energy expenditure. Most days, eating at maintenance may be a breeze. However, life often throws curveballs that make weight maintenance difficult. If you feel like life is throwing you a new curveball every weekend, you don’t have to skip every important social event planned around food and alcohol. Instead, you can find a form of cardio you enjoy and make time to make it a regular part of your life. For example, swimming and indoor rowing are great, accessible ways to get a convenient full-body workout. A cycling club is a great way to make new friends and keep your quads in killer shape. Take the time to discover at least one or two forms of heart-healthy fitness you enjoy and can see yourself sticking to for decades.

How Anaerobic Exercise Can Help You Maintain Your Results

Notably, building muscle mass is an incredibly simple, reliable way to help you maintain the results of your treatment permanently.  Approximately, muscle is 2.5 times more metabolically active than adipose tissue. In other words, you would need 200 fewer calories daily if you lost 10 pounds of fat. If you gained two pounds of muscle and lost 10 pounds of fat, you could continue eating the same number of calories as you usually do and maintain your weight. For the sake of your health and fitness, we strongly recommend at least two anaerobic workouts weekly. Anaerobic exercise is extremely beneficial, even if you just want to maintain the muscle mass you already have. Additionally, resistance training is very beneficial for the health of your bones.

Who Is a Candidate for CoolSculpting?

If you are neither pregnant nor breastfeeding and you are not trying to become pregnant, there is a very good chance you will be considered a good candidate for this non-invasive body contouring treatment. However, this treatment isn’t the ideal fat removal treatment for everyone. If you have certain medical conditions, such as Raynaud’s syndrome, a different aesthetic treatment may be more appropriate for you.

You Believe Weight Maintenance Is Achievable

To reiterate, your contours will remain improved as long as you maintain your weight. If you have repeatedly gained and lost the same weight, consider waiting to get treatment until you can work with professionals who can help you maintain your weight for life.

Your Expectations About the Results Are Realistic

It is extremely important to have realistic expectations regarding the results of this treatment to be considered an ideal candidate. Remember, this is a body contouring treatment. It is not a weight-loss treatment. Thus, you should wait until you are at or near your ideal weight to consider this treatment. If you are happy with your weight or within 30 pounds of your goal weight, you should strongly consider this treatment to enhance your contours. Note, if you still have 30 pounds to lose, you may be considered a good candidate for this treatment. That said, the best candidate for this treatment is within 10 pounds of his or her target weight. Make healthy, sustainable weight loss your priority if you are over 30 pounds from your goal weight.

You Haven’t Been Diagnosed With an Autoimmune Disorder

Remember, the FDA has approved this treatment for most healthy adults. That said, if you have been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder, such as lupus, that results in excessive weakness or discomfort, you will not qualify for this body contouring treatment. Additionally, you will not be considered a good candidate for this treatment if you have a medical condition that makes you particularly sensitive to cold temperatures.

Achieve the Body You’ve Always Dreamed About

Today, CoolSculpting is the ideal non-invasive fat removal technique. One day, it may be seen as the gold standard in fat removal techniques. This treatment can eliminate between 1/5 and 4/5 of the fat cells in the treatment area depending on the size of the targeted region. As long as you can maintain your new body fat percentage, your contours will remain desirable. Schedule your initial consultation at Old Town Med Spa in Chicago, IL today to find out if CoolSculpting is right for you. We can’t wait to meet you and help you achieve the contours you’ve always dreamed of.