As I write this, snow is falling outside and the temperature in Boston is a “brrrr” inducing 28°. Welcome to winter — the season that just seems to drag on and on and on. This is the time of year where I find myself dreaming of Miami, where it’s a balmy 79° and sunny. If you are lucky enough to be heading south for spring break, Easter or simply a “stay sane” get-away, great for you. The sunshine will do wonders for your soul. However, for some patients, there is still the issue of getting bathing suit ready.
No other article of clothing seems to instill as much fear, panic and loathing as a bathing suit. And this is not just among my female patients. Men can be just as self-conscious about putting so much skin on display, particularly after a long, cold winter when many of us tend to let things slide. So, what can you do in just a few weeks to trim down the physique? Actually, quite a lot.
Diet & Exercise
Believe it or not, eliminating certain foods from your diet can make a big difference in your appearance and fast. Foods such as sugar, alcohol and simple carbohydrates (think white rice and bread) are known to cause inflammation in the body. And inflammation results in swelling. So, cutting out these foods for a few weeks before you don that bikini will make your abdomen, for example, look smaller. And if you add exercise to the equation, it will simply pump up your results.
It’s hard for many of my patients to maintain an exercise routine during the winter months, especially if you are someone who likes to run or bike outside. However, there are tons of fun classes out there that can get your heart revving while keeping your toes warm. And if you hate the idea of going to a gym then do an on-line body sculpting/cardio class. This is a fantastic, fun workout that you can do in the privacy of your own home. Breaking a sweat with cardio isn’t just a good way to burn calories. It’s a great way to flush your lymphatic system which will help reduce inflammation which, as you now know, will make you look slimmer. There are a bunch of classes available online. Go to YouTube to start….
SculpSure® for Stubborn Fat
While diet and exercise are always the best place to start, many people have fat that does not seem to budge no matter how “clean” they eat or how hard they workout. I term this “fit-fat”. Body contouring is one of my passions as a plastic surgeon. I love how taking even the slightest bit of fat from the exact right place can totally re-sculpt a patient’s body. However, when someone only has a few weeks before hitting the beach, surgical modalities like liposuction are not always an option. This is one of the many reasons why I love SculpSure®. It’s a truly effective non-surgical procedure for reducing fat anywhere on the body. And since there are no incisions, there is really no downtime. Most patients do best with two procedures spaced a month apart, but you can definitely see results after just one session. For women, the most popular areas are the:
- Abdomen
- Hips
- Thighs
- Back
And men like SculpSure® for treating the:
- Abdomen
- Flanks
Many men suffer from gynecomastia which is an excess of breast tissue. Men who suffer from this extremely common condition are often traumatized at the thought of being in a bathing suit. Liposuction and surgical excision are the typical treatment options, but some men with only a mild degree of gynecomastia may do quite well with liposuction alone. Kybella® is another option for small areas of excess fat such the bra roll, knees or around the belly button. It’s an injectable that melts and destroys fat in the treatment area. Again, minimal downtime (there is some swelling in injected area for a few days) so it’s a great option when you need to get fit fast.
Profound for Skin Tightening
However, looking good in a bathing suit is not just about smoothing the lumps and bumps. It’s also about making sure that your skin looks as good as possible since there will be a lot of it for people to see. I will often combine a non-surgical body contouring procedure such as SculpSure® with Profound which is an energy-based radio frequency (RF) treatment that tightens the skin by encouraging the production of collagen and elastin. Your skin begins to “age” starting in your early 20’s mainly because the collagen and elastin begin to break down. Stimulating your body to produce more of these two “fountains” of youth results in smoother, tighter, younger looking skin. And this makes you both look and feel better in your swim trunks or tankini.
So, this spring, there is really no reason for you to not look and feel your best in a bathing suit. And don’t forget the sunscreen. It would be tragic to do all this work to get your body looking great only to wreck it with a sunburn.
To find out more about Liposuction, SculpSure, Kybella and Profound with Dr. Sean Doherty at his Boston or Brookline office, contact us today or call (617) 450.0070 to schedule a consultation.