Fat loss treatments where you "lose inches rather than weight"

[singingsixpence82]

I can't seem to lose weight through diet or exercise for various reasons (medication being one) and while I can live with the weight that I am at the moment (I'm 5ft4 and 12 stone) I worry about what would happen if I were to have children. I might become obese with no way to get back to healthy-ish. I'm single so if that happens it won't be for a while but I'm currently looking into possible solutions so I know exactly what position I'd likely be in.

I have heard of various treatments like crystal, cool lipo and lipotherme (may all be the same thing) where you can either heat the fat or freeze it to kill it and while these seem to get quite high "worth it" ratings on realself.com (thanks mumsnetter for recommending this) the clinics I have written to for information say that you tend to lose inches rather than weight. I don't understand how this works. How can you lose inches without losing weight? I have read that this can happen with strenuous exercise regimes where you lose fat but gain muscle but as I can't see how you could gain muscle from such a procedure I don't understand how that could work. If I am genuinely losing something what am I also gaining? Or is it all just an illusion/placebo effect in which case why do so many people say these treatments are worth it? Do they somehow condense the fat and squash it into you so you're still the same weight but more dense?! (gross, sorry!)

[singingsixpence82]

And have any mumsnetters actually tried any of these things?

[singingsixpence82]

Nobody know? I emailed a clinic but they just reiterated that it was more inch loss rather than fat loss that could be expected and asked me to book an appointment to discuss which I'd rather not do as I'd have to pay £14 or so travelling costs even if it's a free appointment which I'm not sure it is.

[FaFoutis]

I have only seen them on TV and I think they just pull the meauring tape a bit tighter for the 'after' measurement.

Once you have paid for something it is in your own interests psychologically to think it was worth it.

[NattyGolfJerkin]

Normally the inch loss stuff is down to losing water and is entirely temporary. Utter guff.

[MoggyP]

I thought these were types of liposuction designed to improve the outline small areas of someone who is at target weight (but who has small pads of fat in places they don't want them).

It's not for weight loss really, or for large areas of the body.

So that's probably what they mean by inch loss - you could smooth a bit off some small parts of the body, but you won't be losing weight.