Can I lose weight / fat with radiofrequency?

Is there such a thing as radiofrequency fat reduction, RF fat melting or RF slimming?
Local fat/cellulite reduction vs weight loss with radiofrequency
How many kilos / pounds / stone can I lose with radiofrequency or other non-surgical treatments?
“Liquefying the fat which is then naturally removed via the lymphatic system into the urine”
Looking for “radio frequency fat melting before and after pictures”? Don’t bother…
When fat can be literally melted, but in a very, very bad way
What treatments do is help you locally release fat from a specific stubborn area. But that’s it. No fat burning occurs with a-n-y treatment.
What about the radiofrequency lipolysis I have read about? Surely that must break the fat?
If RF fat melting doesn’t exist, why do I need treatments then?
Only two options for weight loss
When radiofrequency can help

Is there such a thing as radiofrequency fat reduction, RF fat melting or RF slimming?

Can I lose weight with radiofrequency or any other non-surgical fat reduction treatment? Does radio frequency kill fat cells? Is there such a thing as a fat burning machine?

These are common questions we hear at the clinic and there is quite a lot of misinformation on this subject, mainly due to absurd marketing claims, so we will do out best to clarify everything.

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Local fat/cellulite reduction vs weight loss with radiofrequency

There are quite a few treatments that claim to reduce fat and/or cellulite, such as HIFU, radiofrequency, ultrasonic cavitation and laser lipolysis, among others.

Deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and high-power ultrasound cavitation are effective in cellulite fat reduction, if provided by a well-trained, experienced and knowledgable therapist (unfortunately most RF/ultrasound operators only receive one day's training - and zero training in the science of cellulite).

But neither of these two treatments nor the other ones mentioned above can efficiently reduce deep fat / subcutaneous fat.

If no treatment can help you lose topical fat how can they possibly help you lose overall body weight?

How many kilos / pounds / stone can I lose with radiofrequency or other non-surgical treatments?

Our instant answer to this common question is:

None. Zilch. Nada. Not a single gram. Forget about it. It ain’t happening. Ever.

Sorry to disappoint you but weight loss with a non-surgical treatment only belongs to the alternative reality of unscrupulous practitioners and marketers.

No non-surgical procedure, including ours (deep tissue, high power radiofrequency, high power ultrasound cavitation), can help you lose any weight, whatsoever.

If you have read elsewhere - anywhere - that you can see a reduction on the weight scales with a treatment - any treatment - that was a lie. It is biologically impossible to lose weight (as in weight on the scales) with any treatment.

If at a salon or clinic you have been promised that you can achieve weight loss with a treatment, you have been lied to or they haven’t got a clue what they’re talking about.

Sorry for the brutal honesty but you deserve the truth.

“Liquefying the fat which is then naturally removed via the lymphatic system into the urine”

Claims that a non-surgical treatment removes fat from the body, by first "melting the fat which is then removed from the body via the kidneys and the urine" are utterly false (pure lies, basically) and have absolutely no physiological basis.

Of course nothing melts your fat cells and makes you pee them and then you lose weight. Claims such as these are as ridiculous as they sound.

Fat, for example, is liquid inside fat cells, nothing needs to melt. And no-one has ever urinated fat cells. In fact, no-one urinates fat unless they have kidney damage.

Any scientist would laugh at such statements, but unfortunately most people are not biologists and easily fall prey to such verbal garbage.

Looking for “radio frequency fat melting before and after pictures”? Don’t bother…

In fact, there is so much misinformation around that a lot of people actually ask us for ‘before and after pictures’ depicting fat “melted” and “removed” with radiofrequency, which is absurd.

We have been doing radiofrequency treatments with the most advanced and potent equipment for over a decade and let me tell you: radiofrequency is not even an effective subcutaneous fat reducing technology - let alone a weight reducing treatment.

Radiofrequency (and ultrasound) does help release a little bit of subcutaneous fat but it is not worth all the hassle and expense.

And the same applies to any other non surgical treatment available today: they are not efficient enough to make sense financially or time-wise.

When fat can be literally melted, but in a very, very bad way

Having said all the above, there is indeed a case where you can lose local fat: as an adverse reaction of a destructive skin tightening treatment, which is usually in the form of extreme intensity RF / HIFU / RF microneedling treatment.

In this case the treatment causes severe damage (necrosis) to the deep tissues, including fat and the surrounding connective tissue, leaving an indentation/gap, deep fibrosis, visible superficial scar or all of the above.

Believe me, you do not want to lose local fat as a side effect of having your skin and deep tissues burned and damaged beyond repair…

But even those destructive treatments do not remove the fat stored in those fat depots, so you still don’t lose weight with destructive treatments. Fat just moves to another area of your body, unless you burn it with diet and exercise.

What treatments do is help you locally release fat from a specific stubborn area. But that’s it. No fat burning occurs with a-n-y treatment.

What treatments do is help you LOCALLY release fat from a specific stubborn area (such as the thighs, stomach, arms, cellulite fat etc.), thereby leading to the minor slimming of that area or to the reduction of cellulite.

However, this mobilised fat has then to be oxidised (burned) for energy in your body in order for it to be eliminated and for you to see a weight reduction on the scales.

Some treatments do not only release fat but also help reduce the number of actual fat cells in the area but that does not mean that the fat found in those fat cells is out of your body.

Fat contained in your fat cells needs to be released out of them, be transported to muscles or other organs and then be oxidised for energy in order for it to be eliminated by the body - something that can only happen via diet and exercise.

Otherwise, it stays in your body. Forever.

What about the radiofrequency lipolysis I have read about? Surely that must break the fat?

Radiofrequency lipolysis (or any other lipolysis) refers to releasing fat from stubborn fat cells, not eliminating the released fat.

The released fat stays in the body and still has to be burned for energy, something that can only happen via diet and exercise.

If RF fat melting doesn’t exist, why do I need treatments then?

Local fat/cellulite reduction treatments are necessary to release fat from stubborn areas (those which are unaffected by diet and exercise), which you can then burn yourself with diet/exercise.

Without the topical treatments you would still have cellulite or stubborn fat deposits in those difficult areas, no matter how much exercise you did or how healthily you ate. This is the benefit of non-surgical treatments for cellulite fat reduction.

Cellulite treatments are generally more effective (the very few ones that work), while spot fat reduction treatments are largely ineffective.

Only two options for weight loss

For fat to be eliminated from your body (and consequently for you to lose weight) there are only two options: diet and exercise (i.e. spending more calories than you ingest every day) or liposuction.

Diet and exercise is natural and healthy and helps you lose large amounts of weight, but it can not be targeted (you can not focus the weight loss on a specific area by exercising the muscles of that area, hence the need for RF/cavitation treatments)
Liposuction, on the other hand, can only help you lose a limited amount of weight but can be targeted. However, it is an uncomfortable surgical procedure, accompanied by pain, swelling and quite often by fibrotic (scar tissue) lumps.

When radiofrequency can help

If you wish to have a quality cellulite/skin tightening treatment, the deep-acting, high-power radiofrequency and deep acting, high-power ultrasound cavitation technologies are the most effective.

However, if you want to lose overall weight (or even localised fat), non-surgical treatments cannot help you and we suggest you start exercising/dieting and/or visit a good plastic surgeon.

And finally, if you think you know better because you have read somewhere that at the XYZ clinic or salon you will help you lose pounds with a non-surgical cosmetic treatment (many people fall prey to such claims), then be prepared to lose sterling £££ pounds, not weight pounds...

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Radiofrequency lipolysis for fat reduction and weight loss: does it work?