Stuck with stubborn fat? Many of us are familiar with some areas of fat that just will not budge despite doing our best to eat right and exercise. This can be frustrating! So, what causes fat to be so stubborn, and what can you do about it?
What Causes Stubborn Fat?
Everyone has fat. As a matter of fact, it is estimated that the average adult has about 40 billion fat cells in their body! Fat cells serve the body as a storage system that gives you energy. This energy allows you to digest food, perform normal body functions, and helps you to be active and mobile. When the cells of the body collect fat, they increase in size, and thus so does your body, oftentimes at your midsection, thighs, or butt. If you increase your calorie consumption, the cells don’t only grow, but your body also produces new fat cells, and you gain weight.
Getting rid of fat is harder than growing fat cells. Fat is harder to lose than gain because once you gain weight, your body adjusts to having extra fat that it views as storage and energy, and holds on to it for later use. Where fat is stored is genetically predetermined, but hormonal fluctuations can also contribute to how we gain (and lose) weight. This means that even with a disciplined exercise routine and healthy diet, your body could hold on to pockets of fat.
6 Ways to Lose Stubborn Pockets of Fat
1. Get Into the Right Mindset
It’s important to be realistic and honest with yourself about losing fat. Losing stubborn fat requires losing overall fat. You cannot and will not lose weight without a change in your habits and behaviors. Accepting that you need to make changes is the first step, and it’s a mental one. If you’re not willing to make changes, you’re going to have a difficult road ahead.
When it comes to your personal weight loss journey, it’s crucial to be patient with yourself. Losing fat doesn’t happen quickly, and it takes a lot of work. Set realistic expectations, and understand that maintainable changes are more achievable to start versus extreme changes that will be difficult to sustain.
2. Increase Your Exercise and Build Lean Muscle
It’s a fact: exercise requires energy and burns calories. Regardless of what form of exercise you enjoy best, increasing the amount of exercise can help you to lose fat.
Resulting from exercise, building lean muscle is one of the best strategies for losing fat. The more lean muscle you build, the easier losing fat will be. Having lean muscle not only boosts your metabolism which promotes far burning, but provides other benefits such as stronger bones and overall better physical function.
3. Create and Maintain a Calorie Deficit
You’ve likely heard the saying “calories in, calories out.” This saying refers to the most important — and most simple — truth to weight loss: you must consume fewer calories than you expend. To put this into figures: one pound of fat equates to 3,500 calories. So, to lose a pound of fat, you must consume 3,500 fewer calories than you do now. It’s helpful to think about that as approximately 500 fewer calories each day for a week. The same math factors in for weight gain too: if you eat 3,500 additional calories, you’ve gained a pound. That’s pretty eye-opening to think about!
It’s important to approach a calorie deficit with moderation. The math is the math, but creating an extreme calorie deficit (we’re looking at you, crash diets) will cause you to lose fat, but also lean muscle. Stubborn fat is called stubborn for a reason — it takes time and consistency. Moderation is sustainable, but extreme diets are usually not.
4. Reduce Stress
There is scientific proof to the phrase “stress eating!” As we mentioned earlier, fluctuations in hormones can also contribute to weight gain. If you’re maintaining a consistent calorie deficit and exercise routine and you’re still having a hard time losing stubborn fat, stress may be the culprit.
When you’re stressed, your body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. This is the fight-or-flight response, which motivates your body to look for fast energy — such as sugary foods, or indiscriminately any food at all. Basically, stress causes hunger. If you are stressed all the time your cortisol levels will stay high, meaning your hunger and motivation to eat will remain high.
Managing your stress can help your fat loss goals, but also is incredibly important to your overall health.
5. Get Enough Sleep
Along with managing stress, getting enough sleep also affects our entire body and is extremely vital to our health. The way sleep affects your fat loss goals is simple: the less sleep you get, the higher chance you have to gain weight. When you don’t get enough sleep, your brain’s frontal lobe activity is dulled, which in turn dulls your decision-making and impulse control. On top of that, your brain’s reward center is looking for a quick win, making it harder to resist cravings. Too little sleep also can cause an increase in cortisol, which we covered in the previous point.
Simply put, getting enough sleep is an important habit for your health and any weight loss plan.
6. Consider a Fat Loss Procedure
Stubborn fat is called stubborn for a reason! If you’re not achieving the results you want through diet and exercise, and feel like you’ve exhausted your options after all these lifestyle changes, a fat loss procedure may be right for you. Fat loss procedures such as liposuction are a great option for targeted fat removal from specific areas, like that stubborn fat that just won’t go away despite your best efforts. It’s important to note that with a targeted fat loss procedure such as liposuction, you’ll want to maintain your results by continuing to eat a healthy diet and get regular exercise to enjoy your new figure long-term.
SmartLipo Liposuction: A Solution for Unwanted Fat
You can get rid of stubborn fat with SmartLipo Laser Liposuction from Innovations Medical. SmartLipo is a targeted body shaping technique using an innovative form of liposuction that requires only a tiny incision. SmartLipo not only removes stubborn fat but also helps tighten the skin by picking up the body’s collagen production. The result is a shapelier physique and a more toned look.
Contact Innovations Medical to Get Rid of Stubborn Fat
If you’re looking to get rid of stubborn fat, Innovations Medical is here for you. Our skilled professionals help you decide which treatment is best for you – keeping you informed and confident in the next steps. We’ve been helping our patients look and feel their best since 2005, and even our most advanced procedures are often minimally invasive.
To find out if SmartLipo is right for you, and to learn how Innovations Medical can improve your life, call us at (214) 643-8665 or schedule an appointment.