Many patients make the mistake of thinking about a potential facelift surgery without considering how their weight, or changes in their weight, may affect the outcomes. Could 10 or 15 pounds truly influence the way your face looks? What about that new exercise routine you’ve just started a few weeks before your facelift surgery date? While your overall health is critical to the success of your surgery and recovery process, facelift patients need to be aware of the manner their results might be influenced by last-minute changes in weight. Even the way your improved face looks after surgery could be affected by weight gain and weight reduction.
Facelift Surgery and its Ideal Candidate
The facelift procedure incorporates a multi-layer approach to improve the contour of the face and firmness of the skin. Your doctor may tighten the facial muscle, remove or redistribute fat from the jaw and chin, tighten the underlying soft tissue of the lower face, or remove any extra skin. When the procedure is complete, the end results typically sweep 10 years from the patient’s appearance. For the right candidates, facelift surgery can be a successful and life-changing operation. Read here for more details about the standard facelift procedure and mini facelift procedure.
So who is a good candidate for facelift surgery? Ideally, you should be in good health, not smoke, and have realistic expectations for your facelift results. You should also be experiencing some of the signs of aging around the lower portion of the face, including the formation of jowls, the presence of lines and wrinkles, and the drooping of the skin. It is also important that you are close to your ideal weight in order to encourage proper healing from surgery and long-lasting results. Weight gained or lost from the face too closely before or sometime after surgery can impact the outcomes.
When to Lose Weight Before Your Surgery
During your facelift consultation, the issue of weight change may come up, especially if you are planning to lose a significant amount of weight before your surgery. For patients with weight loss goals, our doctors may encourage them to lose the weight and come back for a re-evaluation. This probably won't be the answer you want to hear, but there’s a good reason. Dropping weight can affect the face’s appearance in unexpected ways and your doctor doesn’t want to be taken by surprise in the operating room. Instead, by scheduling a second consultation, your doctor is giving you the chance to lose the weight and be seen again for a new evaluation and an updated surgical plan.
With regards to pre-surgery weight loss, timing is everything. Don’t try to make dramatic changes between the dates of your consultation and surgery. You may wind up with results you didn’t expect, since you could change the very nature of what is being corrected by surgery. Rather, plan your weight loss and complete it before meeting with a our doctor. If you begin at or close to your ideal weight, your doctor can have a clear idea of what changes should be made to achieve your desired results.
To lose weight at a steady, healthy pace, it’s very important to eat a well-balanced diet rich in vitamins and minerals and to exercise regularly. Avoid carb-free, fat-free, crash, or fad diets of any kind, as these won’t provide the safe and sustainable weight loss you need. You might even gain more weight back and end up heavier than when you began. A proper diet and exercise regimen is a good habit to have for good weight loss; there are no shortcuts. Being at a healthy weight will help your body heal faster and without complications, something that can only benefit you after surgery.
How to Lose Weight After the Facelift
As previously mentioned, the ideal time to lose weight is before your consultation, but sometimes the timing just doesn’t work. If you’re close to your ideal weight, you may be eligible for a facelift. After the surgery, don’t be tempted to rush into a crash-diet or intense exercise routine. Even losing 5 to 10 pounds right away might affect your facelift results in an unexpected way. Of course, you want to achieve that ideal weight, but you’ll have to be careful with the timing.
Significant weight loss at a fast pace is inadvisable following any surgery, even a facelift. Your surgery will already have removed fat from the face, so losing more at a rapid pace could change your new look. If you’re trying to work off any amount of weight after surgery, you should always wait until your recovery is complete and you are cleared by your doctor to start exercising again. Keep your weight loss moving at a slow and steady pace. Discuss your plans for weight loss with your doctor before your facelift to get his or her opinion. The doctor might schedule a follow-up to see how your results are doing after that weight finally comes off.
If you decide to lose weight, remember that it doesn’t have to come off all at once. Many healthy weight loss successes took months and years, with their trimmed-down forms lasting a lifetime. Follow these tips to keep yourself motivated, on pace, and looking good after your facelift surgery:
- Target a slow rate of weight loss. The doctor-recommended 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week is a safe way to achieve lasting results.
- When you hit each 5-pound milestone, check the appearance of your face. Some people may see initial weight loss from the chin and neck area that can change the appearance of facelift results.
- Be prepared to try something new if you do experience unwelcome change. Your doctor can guide you through various techniques for adding volume back to the face if you find your look to be too skinny and severe, such as fat transfers and dermal fillers.
- Managing your weight loss after a facelift surgery is not only possible, but essential to your success. Remember that your doctor is there to help you throughout the facelift process, especially with personal issues like weight loss that could affect your surgery. Be honest about your plans for weight loss and take your doctor’s advice seriously for weight loss results that don’t sacrifice your facelift results.
Discuss Your Facelift Today
If you are suffering from aging and sagging skin and it is becoming noticeable, we invite you to contact Korea Facelift Center today. You can find the answers to the most frequently asked questions here. Your doctors in Korea will provide a comprehensive medical history and facelift analysis that will allow them to provide each patient with an accurate diagnosis so that a patient-specific treatment plan can be put into action. Contact us now.
