Can you really freeze your fat off? Jonathan Cheban tries out “Coolsculpting” by Zeltiq

You can “burn” off fat cells through strenuous exercise, or you can just have it excruciatingly “frozen” through a new procedure and then have it gradually leave your body over a series of weeks or months.

Last week’s The Spin Crowd saw product publicist Jonathan Cheban of Command PR get his fat frozen off as retribution for pressuring an employee to get lip injections and flying off the handle when she only got temporary ones.

As part of a storyline possibly concocted by Kim Kardashian, Jonathan’s business partner Simon Huck persuades him to try a new procedure that actually freezes off your fat! He claims it doesn’t hurt at all (spoiler alert, it hurts A LOT!) and makes fun of Jonathan’s weight until he agrees and we get to watch!

What is this? How does it work?

What he actually had done is a new procedure called cryolipolysis (fat freezing) and is currently performed under the brand name Cool Sculpting by Zeltiq. First, a cool gel pad is placed on the skin, then a cooling and sucking machine sucks the area of fat into the device for cooling for about one hour. The temperature is cold enough to damage the fat cells and cause an inflammatory response. Then, over time the body eliminates the damaged fat cells from the body.

How does it feel?

Jonathan appeared to be in intense pain throughout the procedure, and but apparently the pain subsides and the area becomes numb. One patient told the OC Register that the area they had treated “felt almost like a sunburn” for a week or two after he had it done.

Marie Claire’s Jennifer Tung also had the procedure done and only felt pain when she coughed, and during the last few minutes when the device pulled on her skin. She said the area felt numb for a few days, and then “achey,” but she was pleased withe results and booked another appointment to get another little problem area done. Click here to read more about her experience.

The ideal candidate for fat freezing is someone who eats healthy and exercises, but has a problem area they can’t seem to get rid of. It’s a lot like liposuction in that fat cells are actually removed from the body, and once they’re gone they don’t regenerate, however if you do gain weight it will go to other areas of the body and may end up looking strange.

Here’s a before the procedure, and then after a few weeks  pics:

Cryolipolysis was created as an anesthetic for dermatological, but researches found it also had an effect on the fat cells of the body.