Other ways to lose weight

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A little more than half of the adults in the United States are overweight. Statistics show that an incredible 65.2 percent of the U.S. population is considered to be overweight or obese. I believe that those figures proportional apply in a great many other countries also.

There are weight loss plans being sold on the market however I never used any of them, despite the fact that in 2010, I weighed as much as 315 pounds (142.8 kilograms) and my waist measurements were 52 inches (132 centimeters). I ate two meals a day and really didn’t exercise except I suppose walking up stairs at least ten times a day could be considered some form of exercise. I am a couch potato spending 7 hours every day sitting at my desk in my study writing and four hours a day sitting in the family room watching TV.

However, during an eighteen-month period, I lost as much as 75 pounds (34 kilograms). I then weighed only 246 pounds (111.5 kilograms). That came to approximately a monthly loss of 4.1 pounds. During a six-week period in July and August 2012, I lost 6 more pounds (2.7 kilograms), thereby reducing my weight to 240 pounds (108.8 kilograms).

At the time of this writing, I weigh 215 pounds (97.5 kilograms) and my waist circumference has been reduced by 11 inches (27.9 centimetres)   

Now considering the fact that I eat two regular meals each day and don’t skimp on anything and was what people refer to as a couch potato, how was this possible?

Well, to begin with, I was initially suffering from what is medically referred to as congestive heart failure brought about by problems with my heart. There was too much fluid surrounding my heart thereby causing it to have to pump even harder to get the blood to circulate around my body. As a result of this illness, the body also becomes overloaded with fluid and swelling (edema) of the ankles and legs and/or abdomen occur. This additional water adds a considerable amount of weight to the human body.  

This form of illness is a frequent and common killer of people around the world.

Many famous people have died from congestive heart failure such as Dana Andrews, (film actor) John Pershing (American general) Gene Barry (TV actor) Ginger Rogers (film actor) Roy Rogers (film actor) Max Steiner (film composer). Hundreds of thousands of Americans died of this illness. Millions around the world have also died of this illness. Even the very rich perished from this illness. Their money couldn’t save them.

I only became aware that I was suffering from congestive heart failure when after months of having difficulty in breathing because of the access fluid around my lungs and heart. I went to see my doctor who immediately suspected that I was suffering from congestive heart failure. An hour later while in the emergency room of a nearby hospital, several quarts of access fluid was drained out of my body. As the months went by, the medicine given to me to lower the excess fluid in my body reduced not only that excess fluid but it also reduced my weight. That is why I dropped 75 pounds (34 kg) during that 18-month period.

What this means is that some people who are overweight should have a cardiologist examine their hearts to see if they too are suffering from congestive heart failure. They could have this disease for years and only be aware of it at the last stages of that illness when they are having difficulty in their breathing. If they are suffering from that illness, much of the excess fluid can be removed and subsequently, over a period of time, (by taking the appropriate medicine) they will lose a considerable amount of excess weight from their bodies.

But how, you may ask, did I lose 6 pounds (2.7 kg) in six weeks? Well, not only did I lose those pounds during those 6 weeks, I also reduced the size of the fat cells in my body thereby bringing about a reduction of 7.86 inches (19.9 centimeters) overall in various parts of my upper body. Let me explain how this happened, but first, I will give you particulars about human fat.

An adult man tends to carry body fat in his chest, abdomen and buttocks, so that his body is an ‘apple’ shape. An adult woman tends to carry fat in her breasts, hips, waist and buttocks thereby her body takes on a ‘pear’ shape.

There are two layers of human skin all over our bodies. The top layer is called the epidermis and the lower layer is called the dermis. It is in the subcutaneous part of the lower layer of skin that the fat cells are also located.

A typical fat cell is generally 0.1mm in diameter (.00394 of an inch) which is half the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Some are even half that size. The fat stored is in a semi-liquid state while in the fat cells and is composed primarily of triglycerides and cholesterol ester. White fat cells secrete many proteins acting as adipokines such as resistin, adiponectin and leptin. An average adult has 30 billion fat cells which weigh on average 30 pounds (13.5 kg.) If excess weight is gained as an adult, fat cells will increase in size about fourfold before dividing and increasing the number of fat cells present thereby adding more weight to the person’s body.

Fat cells are the cells that primarily composed of adipose tissue, (white fat) that is used in storing energy as fat. In healthy, non-overweight humans, white adipose tissue composes as much as 20% of the body weight in men and 25% of the body weight in women. Its cells contain a single large fat droplet, which forces the nucleus to be squeezed into a thin rim at the periphery. White adipose tissue is used as a store of energy. White adipose tissue also acts as a thermal insulator, helping to maintain body temperature.

People who have been fat since childhood generally have an inflated number of fat cells. People who become fat as adults may have no more fat cells than their lean peers, but their fat cells are larger. In general, people with an excess of fat cells find it harder to lose weight and keep it off than the obese who simply have enlarged fat cells.

The problem that I had was that my fat cells were larger than they should have been. Even though I lost weight because of being able to reduce the fluid content in my body, it didn’t have any noticeable effect on the size of my individual fat cells.

It was in June of 2012 that I learned about ‘ZERONA lipolaser treatment’ that reduces the size of the fat cells. Let me say firstly that the treatment doesn’t make you lose weight although over a period of 18 sessions, (3 sessions a week) I did lose 6 pounds however, I don’t know if that was because of the treatment or because of my water reduction pills I was taking. I am however inclined to believe that it was because of the lipolaser treatment because prior to the treatment I had more or less reached the plateau of my weight which was 246 pounds (111.5 kg) . After the treatment I was down to 240 pounds (108.8 kg).

The ZERONA Lipolaser machine is unique because it produces a cold bright red laser beam. You don’t feel anything when the beams are crisscrossing your abdomen. The laser photons penetrate into your fat cells, causing them to open and empty out its fat materials.  As a direct result, fat cells lose their volume and shrink causing the area of where the body is treated to reduce in size. The ZERONA Lipolaser emulsifies fat and causes the fat cell’s membrane to become temporarily porous. That is how the fat leaks out of the cells and into the interstitial spaces between the cells where it's passed out of the body via normal channels such as urine and via the lymphatic system. The ZERONA Lipolaser does this consistently.

The procedure is totally painless and takes just 40 minutes to complete each session. (during the last six sessions, the procedure was increased to one hour each) You lie on the hospital bed while the five laser beams above you literally scan your body in circles. You wear special glasses to protect your eyes. When finished after each treatment session, you can return to your usual daily schedule immediately after the treatment is done without suffering from any after effects. The invariable results are the reduction of inches from your body's measurements. It works great on your stomach, thighs, waist, love handles, buttocks, arms and even your double chin.

I paid (Canadian) $2,488 for 18 sessions, three times a week for 6 weeks. The sessions cost me $138 a session. Then later during the treatment at least once a week, some sort of device was rubbed over my belly that was quite warm for at least twenty minutes each time. This was done to prevent the skin on my belly from becoming loose and hanging. I also had to wear a pressure T-shirt so that the skin on my belly would remain tight. That special shirt cost me $80 and I had to buy it elsewhere.

The results were incredible. Here is a breakdown of the results in inches—

My neck was 17.3 before and 16.3 after, thereby reducing the circumference by 1 inch. My right tricep was 15.3 before and 14.5 after, thereby reducing it by .08^th of an inch.  My left tricep was 15.5 before and 14.7, thereby reducing it a tad more. My upper chest was 44.5 before and was reduced to 43.3 after thereby reducing it by 1.2. My mid chest was 44.7 before and was 43.3 after thereby reducing it by 1.4. My stomach was 50.0 before and 47.3 after thereby reducing it by 2.7. My waist was 47.7 before and 43.3 after thereby reducing it by 1.4. This meant that I had to put another notch in my belt. Overall, I lost 7.86 inches and lost 6 pounds.

Admittedly, this is an expensive procedure but how else could I reduce the areas of my body that much in only 6 weeks without incurring any risks to my health?

The ZERONA Lipolaser based treatment will not reduce the number of the fat cells in your body but rather the treatment will cause them to open, letting the fat material to leave it first and then be removed out of the body. The result of the treatment is that you will then have smaller fat cells that will shrink by the end of the treatment. That is what will cause you to lose the inches. It is applicable on almost every part of your body in a safe and easy way.  This is the easier way of weight reduction and body sculpting, without a cannula (a hollow tube) and aspirator (a suction device) being inserted under the skin of your body, a technique called Liposuction.

In the conventional liposuction procedure, the surgeon will break the fat cells that are located under the skin then pump them out of your body. The result is that you will then have an area inside your body that is without any fat cells. Despite that, your body will still manufacture fat material. This material will look for a new location to settle in it, so let's say you pumped some fat cells out of your lower abdomen—it is very likely that you will get some other fat cells growing around the butt area. That is because the fat material will simply seek a new place to settle down and will accumulate there.

Since the incisions done by liposuction are small, and the amount of fluid that must drain out is large, some surgeons opt to leave the incisions open, so that the patient's body’s excess fluid will leave the body on its own. They find that the unimpeded departure of that fluid allows the incisions to heal more quickly. Others suture them only partially, leaving space for the fluid to drain out. Others delay suturing until most of the fluid has drained out during about 1 or 2 days. In any case, while the fluid is draining, dressings need to be changed often. After one to three days, small self-adhesive bandages are sufficient. Doctors disagree on the issues of scarring by not suturing versus resolution of the swelling allowed by leaving the wounds open to drain fluid.

The procedure may be performed under general, regional, or local anesthesia. The safety of the technique relates not only to the amount of tissue removed, but to the choice of anesthetic and the patient's overall health. It is ideal for the patient to be as fit as possible before the procedure and not to have smoked for several months.

With any type of cosmetic surgery, including liposuction, complications may arise, but not necessary predominant. Some dangers of liposuction include infection, a reaction to the anesthesia, blood clotting, and fluid loss. Less severe liposuction risks include bruises and scars, a numbing of the skin, and moderate problems such as changes in skin pigmentation. More severe complications associated with liposuction are rare, but should be taken into consideration when deciding whether liposuction is right for you. Severe complications include adverse reactions to anesthesia, cardiac arrest, cardiac arrhythmia, internal blood clots, excessive bleeding, severe drug interactions, allergic reactions to medication, permanent nerve damage, seizures, and brain damage from the use of general anesthesia.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, one in every 54,459 plastic surgeries results in the death of the patient. With more than 10 million procedures performed annually, doing the math implies that each year, in the US alone, more than 180 patients opting for elective plastic surgery die as a direct result of the operation. Most of the deaths are caused by the incorrect administration of anaesthesia, inadequate post-operative care, or complications, i.e. infections.

The ZERONA lipolaser based treatment is obviously the better way. There are dozens of certified ZERONA lipolaser clinics available in North America and several worldwide. With the popularity of this device rising each year, soon it will be available in all major cities.