WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – Many of us call it the battle of the bulge. In our constant fight against fat, we have more options than ever to lose weight and feel great. You can try new workouts, different meal plans, fitness trackers and fat killing machines. In a WWAY special report, we look at those technologies to give you a more in-depth look.
Working out has been a part of everyday life for Kristie Kane for more than 20 years. Now, she exercises at Wilmington Fit Body Boot Camp.
“I was just looking for something different,” Kane said.
“Our workouts burn twice the amount of calories in half the amount of time by utilizing a method called metabolic stacking,” said Wilmington Fit Body Boot Camp owner Paul Sabella.
Kane and the others rotate between stations with different exercises.
“Within 30 minutes, some people are burning between 400 and 600 calories,” Sabella said.
Sabella knows that because many of his members use fitness trackers.
“They make your workouts more efficient, they promote safety with your heart-rate,” Sabella said.
Sabella doesn’t require that technology, but Cory Gibson does for the similar workout he does. The members at OrangeTheory have to wear heart-rate monitors.
“You have the option of wearing it around your chest, or we just came out with the new option this past October with Link, it goes around your wrist,” Gibson said.
The personal trainer said those heart monitors are the ‘juice’ of OrangeTheory.
“You know you’re getting a workout by actually being able to see it on the screen,” Gibson said.
Everyone can see that screen above them in class as they do the high-intensity interval training at OrangeTheory. Gibson said that encourages members to work harder during the workout that he says can get your metabolism firing for 24 to 36 hours afterward.
As Kane gets used to a new kind of work out, she’s seeing new kinds of results.
“I’ve noticed a tremendous difference in my core,” Kane said.
“It’s exciting to someone get results,” Sabella said.
Those results come from not only working out, but also eating right. Vicki Allen, a registered dietitian at Dosher Memorial Hospital in Southport, helps people eat more healthy by showing them how they should portion out foods on a plate.
“You need to make sure the composition of the calories are appropriate, so that you can lose fat and preserve muscle mass,” Allen said.
Alled said technology can help her patients, too. She promotes apps like My Fitness Pal.
“When they track their progress, they’re more likely to adhere to the program,” Allen said.
So, maybe you use both fitness trackers and calorie counters, but you still have say a belly or a muffin top.
Sabella said no matter how much you diet and exercise, you simply cannot choose where you lose your body fat.
“It’s physically impossible,” Sabella said.
That is possible, however, with other new non-invasive or minimally invasive technologies.
Sabella doesn’t approve of them. He said he thinks those procedures are ‘bogus.’ However, Allen said they are fine to do if you’re within 15 to 20 pounds of your goal weight.
To help you do some research and find a reputable place, WWAY looked at three FDA-approved procedures that get rid of fat.
Dr. Fazil Mohamed does minimally-invasive SmartLipo at Wilmington Cosmetic Surgery.
“I like to use the analogy of traditional liposuction being over here and SmartLipo being over here with liposuction being like an 8-track cassette player, which can hold a few songs, and then you have a generation five ipod which can hold thousands of songs,” Dr. Mohamed said.
Dr. Mohamed uses smaller cannulas, a local anesthetic and triplex laser to melt and remove the fat then tighten the skin.
“Before with traditional liposuction, you don’t get that skin tightening,” Dr. Mohamed said.
Dr. Mohamed said he does the procedure outside of a hospital, and you can go home right afterward.
“You’re using much smaller instruments so it’s less traumatic to the tissue,” Dr. Mohamed said.
That allows him to sculpt you instant results.
If you want a non-invasive procedure with delayed results, you have options as well.
Dr. Pate at Biosymmetry does Sculpsure. It uses a laser to kill fat cells.
“It has a wave-length of 10,060. That wave-length causes an inflammatory process when fat cells are treated, the inflammation results in a person’s lymphatic system coming in and removing the inflamed fat cells,” Dr. Pate said.
Physician’s assistant Tracey McKinzie at Ideal Image does Coolsculpting. It uses cold to kill fat cells.
“It’s got a vacuum device that sucks the skin and the surrounding tissue into that applicator. Then the applicator gets very cold. It’s got cooling plates on either side. It gets the tissue down to just above the freezing mark which is what the adipose tissue requires for cell death,” McKinzie said.
Both Dr. Pate and McKinzie said there’s really no recovery time after either procedure.
“You can leave, walk on the beach, exercise. Do anything you’d like,” Dr. Pate said.
After each, however, there is waiting time for the results. You might have to wait up to 12 weeks because they say your body has to shed those dead fat cells.
“It does take time, so it’s not an instant result,” McKinzie said.
No matter which method you want to try, Dr. Mohamed, Dr. Pate and McKinzie all say you must do a consultation to figure out if it’s right for you.
“It’s always a risk-benefit that we look at. Hence why we have patients come in beforehand to determine if they’re a candidate,” Dr. Mohamed said.
They all add that you should not use any of the procedures for weight loss, because they said fat can come back just in different places.
“It’s more for body sculpting and contouring the body,” Dr. Pate said.
“We want all of our guests to continue with their regular diet and exercise,” McKinzie said.
That’s one reason Kane said she’ll continue with her diet and exercise every day, and skip any procedure.
“I think if you dedicate your time to the working out and the eating properly and in moderation then you should not have to go to those extremes,” Kane said.
As always, there are risks and costs involved with fat-loss procedures.
Dr. Mohamed said with SmartLipo, there is a risk for infections, and skin burns. You also might have to shell out up to $5,000 for the procedure.
After Coolsculpting and Sculpsure, Dr. Pate and McKinzie said you might have redness, swelling, bruising and pain in the treated areas. They added that the costs are lower than SmartLipo, however they vary so much per patient that they give each one a specific estimate.
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