Although there is no substitute for regular exercise, adequate amounts of rest and a healthy diet, taking these steps doesn’t always produce the slimming figure that some women and men desire. In fact, there are people who do numerous sit ups, walk for miles and keep their weight down but who have been unable to flatten their stomach. For these people, a tummy tuck may offer a solution.
Reasons why people struggle to get a flat stomach include consuming too much salt and consuming too many calories, especially right before working out. By consuming too many calories before a workout, adults force themselves to have to expend lots of energy to burn off the calories they recently consumed, rather than to start to work away at fat that they’ve been carrying for weeks or months.
A tummy tuck might be a person’s last option to flatten and smooth their abdomen area, especially if the person eats a lot of salt, making it hard for them to lose water weight. After all, retaining water can make a person appear to be heavier and thicker than she actually is.
Gas, constipation and food allergies can also cause a person’s stomach to swell. However, most of all, the problem may be due to simply carrying too much fat. If strenuous exercise doesn’t correct the problem, a tummy tuck may offer the support a person needs. Results from a tummy tuck could also encourage a person to continue to take steps to eat healthier, exercise regularly and live an improved lifestyle.
Although people can lose several inches after undergoing a tummy tuck, the average amount of weight clients lose after getting a tummy tuck is five pounds. Yet, they may appear as if they lost 15 pounds in their abdomen area. Furthermore, it generally takes two to five hours to perform a tummy tuck. The specific amount of time the procedure takes depends on the client and how much fat the surgeon has to remove.
On the other hand, it can take less than two hours to perform a mini-tummy tuck. During the surgical procedure, a plastic surgeon will make small incisions in or around the abdomen area. Traditionally, an incision is made near the hipbone or above the pelvic area. Another small incision is made near the naval cavity.
After excess fat is removed from the body, a plastic surgeon will stitch the incisions closed and apply sterile medical gauze dressings over the area. Drains may also be placed near areas where incisions were made to drain excess blood and liquids from the body.
Clients who undergo a tummy tuck can expect the recovery process to take several days, perhaps a week or longer. During this time, they may experience soreness. If they experience intense pain or other unexpected discomforts, they are encouraged to contact their plastic surgeon. However, it’s always good policy for clients to keep in touch with their surgeon until they have fully recovered.
In addition to losing up to five pounds, adults who get a tummy tuck will also lose several inches. It’s not uncommon for clients to drop an entire dress size following the surgery.
This was written by Lily Weaver. Lily had a successful tummy tuck at New Look New Life in Brooklyn, New York. However, she had a friend that did not have a great tummy tuck success story from her plastic surgeon in NYC. Lily advises that you always do your research, read plastic surgeon reviews, and make sure that a tummy tuck procedure will work with your body type.