Freezing the Fat Away

The other night, I and a few girl-friends attended a cosmetic surgery party. For those of you who don't know what this is, plastic surgeons host a party with free food and booze to give wealthy women spiels as to how young they could look (or what kind of better body you can have) if they just invest in some surgical or non-surgical procedures. After the spiel you get to leave with a goody bag of high priced anti-aging lotions and potions and coupons for discounts on various services.

I usually go to these parties mostly to hang out with my friends. There's usually a period of time prior to the spiel where you can hang out drinking Champagne with your friends as the doctors, their assistants and various cosmetologians etc., mingle. Plus it's always fun to hear about the latest and greatest ways you can supposedly look younger or thinner if you're willing to part with some of your money.

Now, I have to say, I've always been very suspect of anything that sounds too easy or too good to be true. Injecting some foreign substance into your face now may make you look a little more "refreshed" but twenty or thirty years from now what negative consequences will we discover can arise from these "simple non-surgical" procedures?

I've also been suspect of liposuction being the cure all for being overweight, and I have to say that most of the surgeons I've dealt with will say point blank it isn't. All it's supposed to do is spot remove stubborn pockets of fat that don't respond to diet or exercise.

Being that I have the post-pregnancy, post menopausal "muffin top" going on, I have to admit I've always had a little liposuction fantasy going on for a couple of years now. I dream of suctioning the muffin top away.

But the expense, downtime and fear of complications as always stopped me from making my fantasy a reality.

However, at the "party" I heard of a new "fat burning" technique for those muffin tops. It's called "cryolypolysis" and goes by the trade name Zeltiq. Essentially, what they do is "freeze" the fat cells which die and then you lose approximately 20% of the fat in a given area. There's no surgery, and you can resume your normal activities immediately. Essentially, you can drive in, do the freeze, then drive away and resume your normal chores.

Of course, this sounded too good to be true, so I did a little Googling, and thus far haven't seen anything suggesting any major negative side effects. Here's the Wikipedia article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryolipolysis. Another good article is here: http://www.healthiertalk.com/cryolipolysis-freezing-away-fat-2624.

But, it is a relatively new procedure, so I would say "wait and see" is still prudent. The data only goes back months, and I don't think that's a significant period of time.

It's not a substitute for getting off processed foods, and exercising, but when you reach a certain age and can't get rid of your "pooch," it certainly does appeal.