Summertime is the period of play, not of doing homework, or minding the children while they do theirs’. If you have prepared your body for summer by refining your contours with liposuction or with a tummy tuck, you may be thinking about “homework” more than you know. What often happens after body contouring is that a mindset of management sets in. This can be fueled by fear. “What if I gain weight?” “What will aging and stress and eating habits do to my body?”
The fact is, no cosmetic procedure provides a free ticket to a lifetime of beauty. We must do the work to maintain what we have achieved. The good news is that we know more about the body now than we ever have, and that means we know what it may respond to. This knowledge can allow you some freedom as you go about your life with a new and improved figure.
Drinking: Is it Taboo?
What we typically hear about alcohol is that it will lead to weight gain. It can, that’s true. However, if you can stick with a plan, you can have your cake and eat it, too. One glass of wine (5oz) or one 12-ounce beer gives you the taste you crave, allows you to socialize during happy hour, and has minimal effect on fat burning. The key is to stop at one and to pair that one drink either with no food at all or with a healthy dish low in carbs.
To Cardio or Not to Cardio
For many years, it has been thought that cardiovascular exercise such as Zumba or spinning is the ticket to melted fat. We now know that a better way to manage a sculpted physique is to strength train a few days a week. This doesn’t mean heavy lifting; it just means resistance. Where there is resistance, muscles are forced to work harder. The more muscle mass on the body, the more fat-burning that happens at rest.
The Daily Menu
Knowing what to can be the biggest challenge we face in our quest to stay fit. There is a feeling of deprivation that may happen if you try to cut all of your favorite foods out after body sculpting treatment. So don’t. Make incremental changes that will keep you from taking a huge tumble off your fitness wagon.
- Trade sugar for an alternative such as stevia.
- Add healthy, monounsaturated fats into meals in the form of avocado, olives, or even a tablespoon of safflower oil. Healthy fats keep you fuller longer and they also fuel fat-burning.
- Find stand-ins. For instance, roast cauliflower or use this vegetable as a stand-in for potatoes or rice.
The changes that you make to support long lasting results from body contouring may take a little time but will give you the reward you seek.
For information on body contouring, call 713-271-9000 to schedule a consultation in our Sugar Land or Houston location.