Spoiler alert: When a medical device is marketed as part of a “miracle” system, beware. That’s the case with the tummy tuck belt, touted as part of the Tummy Tuck Miracle Slimming System advertised as an alternative to tummy tuck surgery.
Let’s dig a little deeper into those claims.
What Is the Tummy Tuck Belt?
Sometimes called the “10-Minute At-Home Tummy Tuck Method,” the tummy tuck belt starts with a “fat-burning” cream—what its manufacturer dubs a “thermal accelerator”—that you put on the skin of your belly. Next, you strap on an elastic girdle and do 2 minutes of standing ab contractions to trigger a “thermal fat-burning effect.”
For the next 8 minutes, you go about your normal routine while keeping the belt on. When time’s up, you take the belt off. This is supposed to be completed twice daily. Whether you incorporate exercise or changes to your diet is up to you.
Does the Tummy Tuck Belt Work?
If you believe the product’s manufacturers, people using the tummy tuck belt will see their waistline shrink by a half-inch after a week and 1 inch every month after that without making any changes to their lifestyle. Sounds enticing, doesn’t it?
Despite what you may read online, however, according to an independent consumer watchdog group, tummy tuck belt reviews and critics alike “were pretty much unanimous in their panning of this product, and we were unable to locate a non-paid person that said it works and they’d recommend it.”
Medical professionals agree, with one doctor calling the product a “glorified girdle.” Even many of the people promoting the tummy tuck belt recommend using the belt while restricting your calorie intake and exercising regularly. That’s likely because there really aren’t shortcuts to slimming your waist.
Get Transformative Results With a Tummy Tuck
What’s especially deceptive about the tummy tuck belt’s marketing is the name itself. A tummy tuck doesn’t remove fat, although I often combine it with liposuction to produce a firmer, contoured midsection. A tummy tuck transforms the midsection by:
- Removing loose, excess skin
- Repairing separated abdominal muscles (diastasis recti)
- Reshaping the bellybutton opening
I never mislead patients about the potential results of a procedure, and it’s essential that you have reasonable expectations before scheduling plastic surgery. That being said, my tummy tuck before-and-after photos demonstrate the remarkable outcomes that a tummy tuck (also called abdominoplasty) can produce.
Can You Benefit From a Tummy Tuck?
A good candidate for a tummy tuck:
- Is at or near their desired weight
- Maintains a stable weight
- Doesn’t smoke
- Has loose, sagging skin from pregnancy or weight loss
- If female, has finished having children
If you’re interested in getting dramatic body contouring results, surgical procedures such as liposuction and tummy tuck surgery are usually the best choice. In some cases, a mini tummy tuck might be the correct approach, as I wrote about in a previous blog post. Additionally, a mommy makeover can treat multiple areas of the body for extensive rejuvenation.
Choosing an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon you can trust is an essential step in getting the results you want. I welcome you to request a consultation using the online form or call my practice at (818) 500-0823 to schedule an appointment.
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