So, you've got cellulite. Who doesn't? Even if you're thin and totally fit, it's entirely possible to have a bit of orange peel skin on your booty and thighs, especially as you age. And it's not easy to get rid of, that's for sure.

But, short of lipo, what's a girl to do if she wants to ditch the cottage cheese butt? Can any of the products out there actually get rid of cellulite, or are they essentially just pricey lotions?

I had a chance to try out Elemis Body Sculpting Lip-Refining Serum and Elemis Body Sculpting Firming Cream, which are designed to work together to reduce cellulite. In fact, Elemis boasts that, in 2006, independent clinical trials showed that 96 percent of women experienced positive slimming results, and 92 percent of women found that the appearance of "orange peel" skin was reduced by up to six percent. And while that's all fine and good, what I really wanted to know was whether or not it would work for me!

Tired of that saggy belly? Want to get rid of that wobble in your thighs? The answer (well, the answer that doesn't involve diet or exercise, anyway) may be coming to the U.S.

The Utlrashape is an ultrasound device whose makers claim it can destroy fat cells, leaving surrounding tissue intact. One Montreal plastic surgeon, Dr. Arie Benchetrit, says that the Ultrashape isn't just another hyped-up fad. He's been using it since 2007 and calls it the "the first real device" to eliminate pockets of fat.

Don't pull out your passport for that trip to Canada just yet. Other doctors have reservations. "Is this a good procedure?" asks Michael McGuire, head of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. "I would say the main risk to this procedure is disappointment and spending a lot of money for very little gain."

Whether the Ultrashape works or not, it's not for significant weight loss. Patients need to have a normal or overweight BMI. It's also not a replacement for liposuction; instead, it's for contouring parts of the body affect by small pockets of fat.

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Liposuction is a quick -- if not entirely easy -- way to get rid of the belly fat. But while lipo might help you slip effortlessly into that itty, bitty bikini just in time for spring break, it won't do much to improve your health.

Belly fat isn't just unsightly, it's also dangerous. But the belly fat targeted by lipo sits just under the skin, while the stuff you really want to get rid of hangs out around your internal organs. Studies show that while lipo can reduce waist circumference, a risk factor for weight-related diseases, it doesn't appear to impact inflammation in the body.

There's only one way to banish that kind of blubber once and for all, through good old diet and exercise. Lipo can get rid of the fat, but changing your lifestyle once and for all prevents you from ever putting it back on again ... and that trumps instant results any day.

Put a new notch in your belt this month with AOL Health's Shrink a Size, and don't forget to check out how much our readers have already lost!

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Tara Reid admits her body has some flaws -- she's living with scars on her stomach from a 2004 botched liposuction, for one. But she's had quite enough of the Internet attacks, and she's telling everyone that she's fine with the body she's got. Now stop picking on her. Hey, we don't think she looks all that bad.

"I've been a media target for years now," says the 32-year-old. "It does hurt my feelings, but what can I do? I have to move on." Which is exactly what she's doing.

She may have battle scars and her abs may be uneven, but that doesn't stop Tara from feeling good about herself. Nope, the star keeps busy with her clothing line Mantra. Why the name mantra? Because "red is for love, green for luck, white for peace – everything gives you a mantra of the day," Tara says. "I made this line about feeling good about yourself."

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Excess belly fat is a particularly dangerous risk factor for future health problems. So, if having a big belly is a bad thing (health-wise, at least) couldn't you just reduce your risk by having liposuction? No, say the experts. Liposuction removes subcutaneous fat that lives just under your skin. The fat that can seriously harm your health actually resides under the abdominal wall, next to your internal organs.

Reducing the number of calories you eat and increasing the number your burn is still the best way to get rid of that pesky abdominal fat.

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Plastic surgery ... hmmm...what's your take on it? We've all heard the horror stories about people who have gone under the knife, only to later find themselves worse off than when they started. Then again, there are also plenty of success stories, with people finding great emotional comfort with their new physical self.

Nevertheless, where there is money to be made, there will always be an entrepreneur looking to improve upon existing standards and, of course, make a few bucks in the process. Such is the case with a new procedure called Lipoabdominoplasty; a surgery that combines the tummy tuck and liposuction, while supposedly offering less pain, swelling, bruising and downtime.

Evidently, the blood vessels in the nerves remain intact with this new procedure, whereas with the traditional tummy tuck, this was not the case.

I'm not really sure where I stand on the whole plastic surgery issue, so I'll leave the opining to you guys.

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If I could opt for one elective surgery, I'd choose something that would erase the loose post-pregnancy skin hanging from my tummy. I know it's been four years since my last 10-pounder was born but it seems no matter how fit or lean I get, the jiggle remains. A tummy tuck or liposuction would be ideal. I'm not sure I'd ever go through with these procedures, though. Something about choosing to have surgery for a non-medical reason makes me a little nervous. If it weren't so controversial, maybe I'd hop on the lipodissolve bandwagon.

Surgery is not required for lipodissolve. All it takes is a few injections of a chemical found in lecithin, the food ingredient derived from soybeans. Shots are given right into bulging body parts where they dissolve fat cells. Lipodissolve is becoming quite the rage, despite the fact that the FDA has not approved the compound used in the shots.

Lipodissolve just hasn't received much clinical study. Besides the possible pain, nausea, diarrhea, elevated liver enzymes and lumps at the injection site, who knows what long-term side effects of this treatment might surface. Lipodissolve is such an unknown that the state of Kansas has banned the marketing and sales of this quick fix.

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These days, there are so many ways to shed those unwanted pounds, and though there are certain healthy living standards, each person must do what will ultimately work for them. So I found this article on five different approaches to weight loss pretty fascinating. It follows five women, their different approached to weight loss, and what the pros and cons of each approach are. One did gastric bypass, one did liposuction, one modified her diet only, one took up weight lifting and one became a runner. Each has her reasons for choosing the path she did, and each was successful in the journey.

So my point is that no matter what you hear from friends or family or even some of the experts, in the end you need to figure out what works for you and do it. For me, I have a mostly healthy diet but I don't like to cut things (particularly cheese and pasta) out of it so I workout harder to make up for it. But for you, cutting something out of your diet might be easy. It's up to you how to figure out how to have a healthy life because it's the life you have to live with.

So, what works for you?

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13-year-old Brooke Bates is the subject of some major controversy these days. The teenager recently had surgery to have a gastric lap band placed over her stomach, helping keep her from over-eating. But wait, that's not all -- when she was 12, she got liposuction and a tummy tuck, which helped the 220-lb girl drop 40 pounds. She gained most of it back, hence the gastric lap band. She's lost 15 lbs so far and is hoping to lose 50 more. Brooke days that after her first round of plastic surgery, she went from being the "big, fat girl to the popular girl." Plastic surgery is only available to adults in the US, so Brooke traveled to Mexico for the surgery.

I think this is absolutely appalling. Obviously, quick fixes aren't working (she gained almost all of the weight back after her first one, after all) so have her parents ever heard of teaching healthy habits? How about diet and exercise? There's no reason why a healthy 13-year-old shouldn't be able to lose weight the old fashioned way, Furthermore, why are her parents reinforcing the belief that she needs to be thin to be happy?

I think this is so wrong on so many levels. What do you think?

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Women who have undergone mastectomies may someday have an option for remodeling their breast tissue in a procedure that could be done on their lunch hour. Cytori Therapeutics has devised a method of mixing stem cells from a woman's fat into a concentrated mixture than can be placed in a cartridge and placed in a woman's breast. The stem cells encourage new tissue to grow.

A trial of 19 Japanese women found that the treatment worked with few side effects, but health experts say that further testing needs to be done. For instance, nothing is known about the long term health effects of the tissue growth for women with a history of breast cancer. In addition, no one knows how long the new breast tissue will last, since former attempts to use fat from one part of the body to reconstruct another have often led to the fat simply being reabsorbed.

Celution -- as the procedure has been coined -- may also someday be used for cosmetic surgery, but it's likely that if it ever happens, it's a long way off.

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Would you ever turn to Liposuction for a quick fix to your unwanted pounds? My answer is a resounding 'no', based mostly on the fact that I am too practical to spend thousands on something I can do for free. But does it seem like a miracle fix to you? Keep this in mind:

Liposuction may get rid of the fat, but it doesn't improve your health. The high blood pressure, high cholesterol and blocked arteries are still going to be there, and you'll still be at risk for all those diseases that obesity is a risk factor for: Cancer, heart disease, etc.

So while you might be over weight, at least without liposuction, your weight can be an indicator of your health. Your weight can also inspire you to make changes that are good for you health -- lipo seems merely to be the lazy way out. What do you think?

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They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this artist's masterpiece came from another body part. Marco Evaristti, a Chilean artist, had fat liposuctioned from his own body, then used it to create meatballs which he then put on display in an art gallery.

The piece, which Evaristti and 12 friends eventually ate, was meant to draw attention to modern-day people's obsession with food and with weight loss. Evaristti says:

"You eat, and when you're fat, you go to a clinic, have an operation, have your fat removed and you start to eat again."

The artist is no stranger to shocking displays. In 2004 he painted an iceberg red, and in a different display he filled blenders with water and goldfish and invited visitors to make their own "fish soup."

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It's a sign of the times. With oil prices constantly creeping upwards, we've started looking for alternative sources of fuel... sources that up until now may have been going to waste. But how would you feel knowing your car was cruising down the highway powered by human fat? A Norwegian businessman wants to take the approximately 3,000 gallons of human fat per week that's available from Southern Florida liposuction clinics and turn it into 2,600 of biodiesel.

I posted a harmless photo of a traffic with this story, but if you like seeing the gory details behind science like this, check out the photo posted along with coverage of this news on AutoblogGreen. It was almost enough to turn my stomach.

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