Should I wait to lose all my extra weight before I start my cellulite treatments?

Should I combine weight loss with a cellulite treatment or not?

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  • Lose weight during your course of cellulite treatments, not before

  • Weight loss, cellulite treatments and lipolysis

  • How does it work?

  • Must I really lose weight for the treatment to work?

  • I am slim, I don’t want to lose any weight

  • How should I lose the weight, with diet or exercise?

  • Check our professional consultancy, for a masterclass in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Lose weight during your course of cellulite treatments, not before

Many people think that they have to “lose all the weight first” and only then start a cellulite treatment, because in this way they are “ready” to start treatment.

However, this is the opposite of what should be done.

The best thing to do is to lose any weight you may want to lose DURING your course of treatments - not before or after.

Weight loss, cellulite treatments and lipolysis

The reason is simple: when you are in a weight loss phase, more lipolysis (fat release) occurs in your body.

Cellulite treatments partially work due to stimulating lipolysis on stubborn hypodermal fat deposits (and partially due to stimulating skin firmness, breaking down fibrosis and boosting circulation).

When you have your cellulite treatments whilST losing weight, stubborn hypodermal fat deposit lipolysis is enhanced, and therefore the cellulite treatment is more effective.

If you lose weight before or after your course of treatments, this important synergy is lost.

How does it work?

If you are on a negative calorie balance (i.e. more exercise and/or less food), fat cells feel “starved”. This leads to lipolysis, which means fat release into the bloodstream. Consequently, this released fat gets oxidised (“burned”) in muscles and organs for energy. That’s how you lose weight.

  • If fat cells feel ‘starved’, they are more prone to release fat during and after a cellulite treatment, such as deep tissue radiofrequency/cavitation.

  • Conversely, if fat cells feel ‘fed’, most fat release from a cellulite treatment will be inhibited (so don’t go for a cellulite treatment after a pizza and half a bottle of wine for lunch)

Must I really lose weight for the treatment to work?

  • A good cellulite treatment will work anyway

  • However, if you help by losing weight it will work better

  • On the other hand, f you put on weight during your course of treatments, it will work less and you will get less return on the investment you made on your treatment

In all cases, for maximum results try to follow a healthy diet/exercise regime during your course of treatments, based on more protein, less carbs/fat and no alcohol/sugar.

I am slim, I don’t want to lose any weight

Most slim people can still lose 2-3 kg, which is all that is needed to maximise the results of 6-12 cellulite treatments over 3-12 weeks of treatment.

Then, if you really need to, you can always regain those 2-3kg very gradually over a few months (not in 3 weeks!), after you have achieved your goal of reducing stubborn cellulite fat.

Of course, if you are really skinny, then you should not lose any more weight and you should just have your cellulite treatments while following your usual diet/exercise habits.

How should I lose the weight, with diet or exercise?

A mix of diet and exercise is best, but if you prefer one or the other, so be it.

The main imperative here is to be on a negative calorie balance that will enhance cellulite treatment lipolysis.

Generally speaking, for more people it’s easier to lose weight with diet and maintain the weight loss with exercise.

Check our professional consultancy, for a masterclass in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

Do you want to deeply understand radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening? Attend a half-day, 1-day or 2-day or 3-day professional consultancy / one-to-one training and confidently offer your clients the safest, strongest and most effective treatment possible. Service available via Zoom or at our central London practice.