# Cutting the Fat
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-the-fat/176794
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 22, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-the-fat/176794 "2003-05-22T12:36:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-the-fat/176794/1 "2003-05-22T12:36:19Z")
I’ve been talking to a friend of mine lately about losing weight. My friend is frustrated and has occasionally made the comment, in jest of course, that he wished he could just take sissors and cut off his stomach fat.
Let me emphasize he’s only kidding and he would never do that. That being said, it got me curious: What would happen if someone did that? I’m guessing they would die from shock/trauma.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2003, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-the-fat/176794/2 "2003-05-22T12:51:19Z")
Doing that literally wouldn’t be a good thing! But that’s more or less what liposuction is, isn’t it?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [May 22, 2003, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-the-fat/176794/3 "2003-05-22T14:52:37Z")
Massive wound, bleeding and loss of fluids, scarring, severe pain, shock, infection…
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### Author:  [@j.c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j.c)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cutting-the-fat/176794/4 "2003-05-23T02:54:40Z")
It’s a common fantasy, if that makes you feel any better about your friend’s state of mind.