Your BMI is well within normal range and from your photo you have a nice figure. With your history of depression, the FIRST thing to understand is that your body looks great and you should not be down on yourself or your shape! That being said, there are both surgical and NON-surgical approaches to the small redundancy under the navel. The most popular non-invasive approach now is probably CoolSculpting which uses intense suction on the surface of the skin - sucking the fat area into a treatment head that delivers cold energy. Fat cells are fragile and they fracture after about an hour treatment. Minimal downsides include a depression the shape of the treatment head as the fat destruction is significant and adjacent untreated areas can leave a small ring. Done properly the chance of this is low.

Possibly better is the new Ultrashape - ultrasound device that is painless and uses sound waves to disrupt a layer of fat about 3/4 inch in thickness uniformly with each treatment. This treatment is uniform in fat destruction so there is no chance of having a depression or "bathtub deformity" but doesn't remove as much fat with a single treatment. Combined with an RF technology, Velashape, that works to tighten the skin and very top layers of fat, we have seen results as good or better than liposuction.

Finally, you are a perfect candidate for liposuction as it is best used in focal areas of resistant fat and not as a weight loss tool. I have found the happiest patients have conditions just like yours, a small area of fat whether below the navel, love handles and to a lesser extent inner and outer thighs, that get the liposuction using a good volume of very dilute local anesthesia (tumnescent anesthesia). There have been several "add-on" technologies like ultrasound and laser that have not shown any substantial benefit in outcomes and may have higher side effects.

In short, you are a great candidate and whatever you choose you should look fantastic! Best Wishes.

The question is - is there fat there or do you have a muscle pooch from your exercise program??? Is your tummy hard or soft. If soft I would suggest CoolSculpt as a non-invasive way to reduce the fat volume. If hard, change your exercise routine to soften the muscle and get it to retract. Liposuction and CoolSculpt work well for fat deposits. I do not have enough experience with i-lipo to advise you.

Looking at your pictures, it appears that you have localized areas of fat. You appear to be pretty healthy and you may want to consider non invasive procedures such as Coolsculpting. Coolsculpting is a non invasive procedure that freezes the fat. It is an excellent option for those at or near their ideal body weight looking to get rid of localized areas of fat. The procedure can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours and there is minimal discomfort associated with it. Unlike surgical options, there is no downtime associated with the coolsculpting procedure. Clients can expect up to a 25% reduction in fat with one session. At Ethos Spa in NJ, we are seeing impressive results for clients such as yourself.

It is prudent to keep your options open. Laser liposuction may also be an option, but it is a minimally invasive procedure. With coolsculpting, there is gradual improvement over a period of 2 to 4 months.

It is difficult to fully assess your skin laxity from the photograph but it appears that you have a minimal amount of laxity and liposuction would probably work very nicely for you. Your body has different kinds and different layers of fat in different areas and this is an area that is often very stubborn and resistant to diet and exercise. This is due to a combination of genetic, hormonal, anatomic, and physiological factors. Any of the liposuction techniques should be effective at reducing the fat however the laser and ultrasound assisted techniques have at least a theoretical possibility of promoting a little more skin tightening while it is healing. I would recommend consulting with a couple of board certified plastic surgeons who have all of these different modalities at their disposal so that they can offer you the best possible solution, not just the only one that they have access to.

thank you for sharing your picture, i will say that for me the best procedure for you is to have a Vaser Liposuction wich will be thighening the skin to the muscle.

From your picture and history you would be a great candidate for liposuction. I prefer ultrasonic liposuction but i-lipo may work for you as well. One main factor is the elasticity of your skin. In general, if you are less than 40 y/o, your skin should retract when the undesired fat is removed. Be careful about "good deals." Make sure you understand all of the components of a good deal!

One of the important factors in liposuction results has to do with skin tone and skin elasticity. If you've lost more than 30 lbs at one time or you continually fluctuate in your weight or you've had one or more pregnancies, your skin tone may have been affected. Skin elasticity is part of what is responsible for a flat belly that you are seeking.

It looks like you had a slim physique and your bmi of 20 suggests you are in good shape. You are clearly doing all that you can do by eating less than 1500 calories a day and exercising 8 hours a week.

In general, I am not a big fan of the non-invasive lasers and I-lipo probably won't do much for you. If you really want to stay away from minimally invasive tumescent liposuction and/or laser liposuction such as smartlipo or slimlipo, you may consider Coolsculpting. But in general, if you are as motivated as you seem, I suggest that for the same amount of money and downtime, you can get tumescent liposuction or slightly invasive laser liposuction and that you will get better results than Coolsculpting.

If the issue is fat, you can achieve your flat belly.

If the issue is more of a lack of good skin elasticity, you may have some limits on how flat your belly will be. A consult with a plastic or cosmetic surgeon should give you a good indication of whether the issue is skin or fat or both.

Good luck and keep up the great job exercising and dieting!

It's best to see what type of lipo machine they will use. There are chances of burns with laser liposuction you describe.

The best thing to do is to see board certified plastic surgeon who does liposuction. There are all sorts of newer techniques, but none are better than good old liposuction. It can get rid of the excess fat quickly and well. All the others are variations on a theme and sound sexy but are not any better -- just more expensive.