How To Maintain Liposuction Results: What to Do After Lipo
Originally published January 12, 2018 Updated on January 28, 2025.
One of the most effective and popular body contouring methods, liposuction, is a safe method eliminating localized fat pockets from the body. Through liposuction, a skilled physician can immediately reshape the contours of the body to improve its overall appearance.
Many patients share one common misconception: that fat removed via liposuction can never come back. Unfortunately, fat can return post-lipo… if you let it. A patient who gains a significant amount of weight (over 10% of their body weight) following their procedure will develop new fat cells throughout the body, including the treated areas.
In order to maintain results of a liposuction procedure, patients must maintain their post-liposuction weight. If a patient weighed 140 pounds prior to their procedure and 10 pounds were removed, fat cells will continue to stay away if the patient maintains a weight at or below 130 pounds.
For many, this means some long-term lifestyle changes when it comes to diet and exercise. Here is a very basic list of do’s and dont’s for maintaining your liposuction results:
Remain at Your Post-Liposuction Weight
Maintaining your post-liposuction weight is the single most important factor in ensuring your results last. After liposuction, gaining weight can lead to the remaining fat cells in the treated areas increasing in size, leading to fat accumulation. In some cases, fat may also accumulate in untreated areas, altering the body contouring achieved through the procedure.
One key factor to consider is minimizing circumstances that could lead to significant weight gain. For example, pregnancy after liposuction may result in fat redistribution or excess weight gain that could affect your results. That is why it is important to discuss with your surgeon if you are planning to get pregnant after the procedure.
To maintain your post-liposuction weight:
- Watch your calorie intake: Use this simple calorie calculator to determine the number of calories to maintain your post-liposuction weight. Then focus on meeting (not exceeding) your daily caloric needs. The process of counting calories can be very helpful as it increases your awareness of what you eat and drink.
- Avoid bad foods: Eliminate processed foods and limit sugar-packed drinks, such as sodas and juice, from your everyday life. Limit your intake of sugars, simple carbohydrates, and saturated fats. Saturated fats are primarily found in animal fats from pork, beef, poultry with skin and dairy products such as butter, cheese and milk. A common guideline is to limit calories from saturated fat to 5% to 6% of total calories ingested daily.
- Eat healthier foods: Instead of trying a short-term fad diet, focus on eating a nutritious, balanced diet. Replacing foods high in saturated fats with foods high in monounsaturated and/or polyunsaturated fats can help with a balanced diet. A few suggestions include replacing some of the meat you eat with beans or legumes and incorporating more fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains into your diet. Focus on a balanced diet rich in lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid sugary snacks, fried foods, and other high-calorie foods that can contribute to weight gain.
- Eat smaller, more frequent meals: Instead of eating 3 daily meals, shoot for 5-7 smaller meals spread throughout the day. Eating several smaller meals can help boost your metabolism, maintain energy levels, and prevent hunger that may lead to unhealthy food choices.
- Drink plenty of water: Hydration is key. Drinking water not only supports bodily functions but also helps you feel full, reducing the urge to snack on calorie-dense beverages like sodas or sweetened drinks. One study showed that drinking water before meals can reduce calorie intake, which supports weight maintenance.
Follow Post-Operative Care Instructions
Adhering to your surgeon’s post-operative care guidelines is crucial for optimal healing and ensuring long-lasting results. One of the most important aspects is wearing compression garments as instructed. These garments help to reduce swelling, support the body’s new shape, and ensure that the skin reattaches smoothly to the underlying tissue.
Equally important is attending all follow-up appointments with your surgeon. These check-ins allow the surgeon to monitor your recovery, address any concerns, and ensure that your body is healing properly. Skipping these appointments or neglecting the surgeon’s advice can lead to suboptimal results or complications during recovery.
Exercise Regularly
Regular physical activity is vital to maintaining your liposuction results long-term. Exercise helps burn calories, manage your weight, and tone the muscles in treated areas, which enhances the appearance of your body contour.
- Safe exercises post-surgery: In the initial weeks following surgery, gentle activities like light walking or stretching can help with circulation, reduce the risk of blood clots, and aid in overall recovery. Walking also helps minimize swelling and prevents weight gain.
- Gradually resuming intense workouts: After getting approval from your surgeon, you can gradually reintroduce more intense forms of exercise, including cardio (such as running or cycling) and strength training. These activities are essential for burning calories and building muscle tone, particularly in the treated areas.
- Targeted exercises: Once you are fully recovered, you can incorporate targeted exercises to strengthen the areas treated by liposuction. For example, if you had liposuction on your abdomen, exercises like planks and core-strengthening routines can help maintain a toned midsection.
Boost Healthy Lifestyle Habits
In addition to diet and exercise, a healthy lifestyle plays a significant role in sustaining your liposuction results. Some key factors to consider include:
- Stress management: Stress can negatively impact your body, causing weight gain through increased cortisol levels, which promotes fat storage. Incorporating stress management techniques such as yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises can support emotional well-being and help you avoid emotional eating.
- Adequate sleep: Studies show that lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain by disrupting hormone levels that regulate hunger and appetite. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to maintain a healthy metabolism and body weight.
- Avoid smoking and excessive alcohol consumption: Smoking can impair healing after surgery, while excessive alcohol consumption adds empty calories and can contribute to weight gain. Limiting these habits will benefit your overall health and help you maintain your post-liposuction figure.
Consider Undergoing Periodic Non-Surgical Cosmetic Treatments
For some patients, non-surgical treatments can enhance or prolong the benefits of liposuction. These treatments can target areas of loose skin or provide additional fat reduction, keeping your body looking sculpted and toned.
- Skin tightening treatments: Procedures like radiofrequency or ultrasound-based skin tightening can help firm up loose skin after liposuction, particularly in areas where elasticity is a concern. These treatments stimulate collagen production, improving the skin’s firmness and texture.
- CoolSculpting: This non-invasive treatment uses controlled cooling to target and destroy stubborn fat cells that may remain after liposuction. It is particularly effective for patients who experience small pockets of fat that resist diet and exercise.
- CoolTone: This muscle-stimulation treatment can enhance muscle definition in areas like the abdomen or thighs. It works by inducing muscle contractions to strengthen and tone, complementing the contouring achieved through liposuction.
Liposuction offers dramatic results, but maintaining them requires ongoing effort. By staying committed to a healthy lifestyle — including managing your weight, following post-operative care, exercising regularly, and considering non-surgical enhancements — you can enjoy the long-term benefits of your procedure.
While liposuction is life changing, it’s not magic. Patients who return to old (unhealthy) habits after their procedure can lose all the enhancements the procedure allowed. So, make an investment in yourself! Choosing a healthy lifestyle will keep your new silhouette around permanently.
Dr. Malini Fowler is a Board Certified Dermatologist that completed her undergraduate studies and graduated summa cum laude from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. Dr. Fowler enjoys providing medical, cosmetic and surgical dermatology at our new San Antonio office.
You make a good point that drinking water will help you control your hunger. I weigh a lot more than I’d like to, and I can’t seem to get rid of it. I think that I’ll need to find someone who can do liposuction for me then use your tips to keep it off.
A good friend of mine was looking into getting a liposuction surgery the other day. She was interested in learning how to keep the results on and stay healthy. She would love knowing to drink lots of water to create a high metabolism.
Thanks for this advice for maintaining the results of a liposuction. It’s good you should try to make sure you count your calories and be aware of what you eat and drink. It also could be a fun way to try eating new foods you hadn’t considered before while meeting your calorie count.
You make a good point that drinking a lot of water can help you control hunger and keep your lipo results. I weigh a lot more than I’d like to, and I can’t seem to get rid of it. What do you think of back to back lipo procedures? Should I go see my surgeon to discuss?
Hi Amanda,
Thanks for reading our post and submitting our excellent question. It may be possible to undergo additional liposuction treatments, however you should always talk this over with your surgeon. They will be able to advise you on the potential results of additional procedures and/or if you actually would benefit form a different treatment.
Thanks,
WD Staff
I appreciate your advice for liposuction. My wife is looking at getting this done, and I’m sure she’ll appreciate these tips. She does like her Coke, but I’ll tell her that sugary drinks aren’t good.
Here’s a tip that helped me: Drinking a lot of water can help to control hunger as well as maintaining the results of a liposuction.
I am considering lipo after years of trying to lose weight. The exercise just hasn’t been enough to get the results I have wanted. These seems like great tips to maintain the results after I do go through with it. I will start trying to cut processed foods now to prepare.
I have belly fat and I have done many tricks to lose but in vain. As i learned Liposuction treatment is permanent solution to remove extra fat. Thanks for post!
You mentioned that we should avoid sodas and juice.
Sodas should be avoided surely, however, I am not too sure about juices. Can I continue to have sugarless juice of citrus fruits like fresh lime, mousambi, watermelon and pineapple
Hi Nikunj,
Thanks for reading our post and submitting this great question! I want to say that we are not an authority on nutrition, so we would encourage you to consult a certified nutritionist, they will be in a better positioning to provide any diet related counseling.
With that said, I personally think juices of that nature are great. I think the author was referring to highly processed juices which have a ton of added sugars.
The main point is to continue a healthy lifestyle – both eating a well balanced diet and regularly exercising. That will ensure you maintain liposuction results for the longest period possible!
Thanks,
WD Staff
Cosign with limiting the number of sugary drinks you consume after having liposuction to maintain your results. Soda’s and juice are the one of the main reasons people gain weight in first place
I love your tip about drinking a lot of water as it helps control hunger and maintain metabolism levels.
I appreciated your recommendations to get rid of processed foods and sugary drinks from your diet and eat 5-7 smaller meals a day instead of 3 big ones. Will use that in our practice