It’s Hard for Women to Lose Mid-Section Fat
Getting Rid of Stubborn Belly Fat
Of course, diet and exercise are still essential for maintaining a healthy weight, but if it’s a slim tummy you’re after, you may need a little extra help. Dr. Alexander Gross offers several options to help eliminate resistant belly fat. Ironically, women are under the most pressure to be thin and fit and yet a woman’s body is less predisposed to let go of extra fat! Talk about setting you up for failure.
The Battle of the Bulge
One reason it’s hard for women to lose mid-section fat is that it’s considered an “active fat.” Unlike some fatty tissue that simply sits “dormant,” belly fat releases hormones that can have an impact on your health — and your ability to lose weight, especially in the waist and abdomen areas. In fact, hormones and belly fat are so intertwined that some researchers suggest that the fat acts like an “extra organ” or gland.
As a result, losing belly fat often takes hard work, especially if you’re in your 40s or older. That’s because your hormones and your belly fat affect each other, and as your hormone levels change during middle age, fat around your midsection tends to accumulate faster than it does in other areas.
Other than age, other factors also contribute to stubborn belly fat:
Metabolism & Hormones
By nature, women tend to have a lower metabolic rate than men. This means your body uses fewer calories (units of energy) to fuel normal body functions like breathing, thinking, and circulating your blood. The leftover calories are stored as fat.
A woman’s body contains a complex mixture of hormones that regulate how much fat is stored. Estrogen tells your body to store fat, and testosterone tells your body to burn it. Women have more estrogen than testosterone, so naturally, estrogen wins out. Women are also more likely to have underactive thyroid glands, which regulate metabolism— too little thyroid activity can inhibit weight loss and even cause weight gain.
Body Composition.
Women’s bodies just naturally contain more fat than men’s bodies, giving them not only the potential nutrition for a fetus, but also creating that softer, curvier appearance that defines femininity. The normal body fat percentage for an adult woman is 21 to 31 percent, but it’s only 14 to 25 percent for men. While muscle requires more energy just to exist, fat just sits there. That’s why men, with their higher muscle mass, have an easier time burning calories.
Mom Syndrome.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding are a time to focus on your baby and the nutrition you’re providing for him or her. Even long after the pregnancy and breastfeeding ends, the life of a mother is filled with weight gain triggers. With the focus on family, work, and home, mothers often put themselves last. Stress, lack of sleep, lack of time to exercise and child-friendly meals can all contribute to weight gain.
Alternative Fat Reducers
Liposuction or non-surgical body shaping both have their benefits, but which is right for you?
1) Tumescent Liposuction
Liposuction can be an attractive body contouring option for individuals who have maintained a healthy weight through diet and exercise but still have some resistant pockets of fat. It is less invasive than a tummy tuck and can address a variety of body areas.
You may also be a good candidate for traditional tumescent liposuction, a minimally invasive outpatient procedure that liquefies excess fat for easy removal. Tumescent Liposuction is ideal for small fatty areas, especially for the facial, neck, and chin area. Results should be seen within a week after treatment, and skin will continue to improve months after the procedure is completed.
2) Exilis
After much research, Dr. Alexander Gross at Georgia Dermatology is convinced on the effectiveness of Exilis. If you’re looking for a non-surgical solution and are a good candidate, he may recommend Exilis™ for you.
Why Exilis? Exilis uses radiofrequency energy to heat the deeper tissues and to ramp up the metabolic activity of the fat cells, causing them to shrink. The patient satisfaction rate is high, with circumferential reductions ranging from 4 cm to 15 cm of volume loss after 4 treatment sessions spaced at 2 week intervals. All of this occurs in a safe, painless, and quick 20 minute office procedure with no downtime or limitations on regular activities.
3) Vanquish Body Contouring
The other option for people who want to be able to get rid of fat during their lunch breaks is Vanquish. Vanquish is quickly becoming a popular option among people looking for body contouring using a non-surgical method. This innovative technology uses radio frequencies and heat to penetrate fat layers. One of the big perks of Vanquish is that it is capable of targeting specific areas of the body. What’s more, Vanquish is capable of tackling fat located in several parts of the body at once.
Patients often feel a warm sensation while this pain-free procedure is being done. It does typically take several sessions for full results to be seen from Vanquish. However, many patients begin seeing results after the first session. This is a great option for anyone who doesn’t mind having a little bit of patience when it comes to seeing results. The results of Vanquish are permanent. Many of our clients here at Georgia Dermatology Center choose Vanquish because they are trying to deal with stubborn pockets of fat that are not being resolved through diet and exercise. Vanquish is viewed by many as an upgraded alternative to CoolScuplting.
Contact Olansky/Georgia Dermatology today to schedule a consultation that takes you one step closer to removing your unwanted fat before the spring season.
Georgia Dermatology Center has now partnered with Olansky Dermatology & Aesthetics. This partnership gives our patients added confidence and convenience when choosing the right source for their skin-related medical needs.
Our acclaimed providers, staff, and top-tier level of service will remain the same, Dr. Gross will be here to lead the charge at our Cumming office. We will continue to provide our patients with the same quality care and excellent service that has made us the “Best of Forsyth” for eight years in a row.
Georgia Dermatology Center’s suite of services will be increased by several additions. These include Mohs surgery, an advanced surgical procedure that removes skin cancer effectively using only local anesthesia. Additionally, this partnership will allow our patients to take advantage of a larger group of accepted insurance options. This widens the scope of patient access without incurring out-of-network fees.
The end result of this merger will only heighten patient care, and that is our primary mission.
