While many women choose tummy tucks following pregnancy to regain a toned and tightened look, women are not the only ones who can benefit from the procedure. For many men, a tummy tuck offers a solution for firming up loose abdominal muscles or resolving excess skin and tissue that remain behind following rapid weight loss.
The Evolution of a Beer Belly
Men may notice that their belly becomes more prominent as they approach middle age. While it’s easy to blame this new “spare tire” on a few too many nights out with the guys, the reality is a little more complicated.
In a way, alcohol does actually contribute to packing on those extra pounds around the middle. Any extra consumption of calories in your diet gets stored as fat, including calories from alcohol. When you drink, the liver focuses on eliminating alcohol from the system rather than burning fat, so drinking more also affects your body’s ability to maintain a lower weight.
Hormones are another major contributor to your beer belly. As men age, their hormone production levels change, and the body starts storing weight in a new distribution compared to their younger years. That’s why so many middle-aged and older men have noticeable fat deposits around the belly, even if they’re in pretty good shape otherwise.
Although diet and exercise are the best route for slimming back down again, this approach alone may not be enough.
How a Tummy Tuck Helps
A male tummy tuck is not a solution to lose the extra pounds around your belly. However, if you’re closing in on your target weight and notice that your stomach still looks like you haven’t lost a thing, your belly might have more to do with lax abdominal muscles than your caloric or alcohol intake.
A tummy tuck also helps Tampa men who have recently lost a lot of weight very quickly. For men who have lost a lot of weight, the skin often can’t keep up with the rapid changes in the body as the weight is lost. This means that even though you’ve hit your target weight, you may still notice lots of excess skin and tissue around the belly. Plastic surgery is the only way to resolve this issue.
A tummy tuck begins with an incision that runs from hip to hip. Through this first cut, your cosmetic surgeon can surgically repair and tighten abdominal muscles that have lost their firmness. Next, the skin is redraped over the muscles, and any excess is removed. In many cases, liposuction will be incorporated at the same time for even more comprehensive results.
The results of your tummy tuck are permanent, and you can expect to maintain a slimmer abdomen as long as you keep up with your existing healthy diet and exercise routine. A paunch caused by loose muscles will be smoothed out, and any excess skin remaining from extreme weight loss will be eliminated. You should be able to see an improvement in muscle tone without the excess tissue covering your muscles as well.
Despite all the discussions about the societal pressures placed on women to meet a certain standard of beauty, the truth is that those standards exist for men as well. Working with a cosmetic surgeon can help restore more masculine lines to your abdomen and waistline, and emphasize your existing muscle tone.