Concern

Stubborn Fat Removal

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INTRODUCTION

Stubborn Fat Removal

Stubborn fat refers to the excess fat that tend to accumulate in areas such as the mid-section, thighs and arms, as well as bulging bra fats for women.

Even with weight loss, stubborn fats are hard to shed in these areas. Studies have shown that neither diet nor exercise can achieve spot reduction of stubborn fat—this means that you are unable to target fat loss in a specific area of your body.

You may wonder why certain fat, such as belly fat is so stubborn to shed—the science behind that shows there are 2 types of fats around the waistline: subcutaneous fats and visceral fat.

Subcutaneous fat refers to fat accumulated right below the skin, while visceral fat is the deep internal fat that surrounds our organs and comes with increased health risks. High levels of visceral fat pose a range of health risks, such as vascular disease, high cholesterol, and liver disease.

The right treatment for fat reduction begins by assessing the correct type to fat to target in the area.

CAUSES

What Causes Stubborn Fat and Why is it So Hard to Lose?

Many factors can contribute to the accumulation of stubborn fats, with genetics playing a big role in determining the areas that retain these fats. You may be surprised to know that our number of fat cells stay the same for the rest of our lives. Even when we lose weight, the fat cells merely reduce in size while the number stays the same, this means that when we gain weight, the stubborn fat is quick to return to the same area again.

The lack of physical activity and poor diet are commonly known factors that contribute to fat gain. Other key factors include:

Genetics and location of the fat
Where we accumulate fat is determined by genetics. For example, individuals who are genetically predisposed to accumulate fat in their lower body, may not be able to lose fat in the thighs even if they are already at their ideal weight and BMI. Hips, thighs and the abdomen tend to have a higher concentration of both Alpha-1 and Alpha-2 receptors. The more Alpha-2 receptors a fat cell has, the more predisposed someone is to lose fat as this receptor signals to the cells to store fat for later use.
Stress and lack of sleep
When you experience stress, your body releases cortisol. Elevated levels over a prolonged period can lead to increased fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area. Cortisol can also increase appetite and cravings for high-calorie and sugary food. Chronic stress and high cortisol levels can result in insulin resistance, a condition in which the body’s cell becomes less responsive to insulin. This leads to an increased fat accumulation as excess blood sugar is stored as fat in people with insulin resistance.
Gender/hormones
Due to estrogen hormones, females tend to have higher levels of fat deposit on the hips and thighs, which can be tough to lose even with diet and exercise as any weight gain tends to go straight to these areas. On the other hand, men tend to hold more visceral fat in their belly, giving the appearance of a pot belly.

To sculpt the body is to remove fat by performing spot reduction treatments, while retaining fat at the right places, such as the chest for women. Therefore, fat loss should not be confused with weight loss.

EVIDENCE-BASED METHODS

Fat Loss Treatments for Stubborn Fat Removal

At Veritas, we offer a full suite of body contouring and fat loss treatments that helps with reducing stubborn fat pockets in specific areas of concern, that is not possible to target specifically with diet and exercise alone. While weight loss reduces the size of your fat cells, the number of fat cells remain the same and grows back in size when weight is regained. With fat reduction treatments, the fat cells are destroyed and the number of fat cells in the treated area is permanently reduced, getting rid of your stubborn areas for good.

CoolSculpting is a non-invasive fat reduction treatment that uses cryolipolysis or fat-freezing to freeze and destroy fat cells at sub-zero temperatures. The device uses controlled cooling to target fat cells underneath the skin without damaging the skin and surrounding tissue. While there is a myriad of fat freezing options in the market, Coolsculpting stands out for its track record in safety and consistency in body sculpting technology, with over 11 million treatment cycles performed globally.

Each fat freezing session sees up to 27% permanent fat reduction in the treated area.

CoolSculpting Elite

As opposed to freezing fat cells to death, TruSculpt ID uses monopolar RadioFrequency to heat up and destroy fat cells permanently in the treated area.

The treatment offers hand-held devices for smaller fat areas that are harder to reach, such as armpit fat. making TruSculpt ID a highly customisable treatment for any pocket of fat and any patient size. Each session sees a average fat reduction of 24% and comes with the added benefit of tightening up loose and saggy skin.

TruSculpt ID

Being skinny is often coveted. Yet oftentimes, skinny individuals find their body far from ideal due to having a skinny fat’ physique, that is, having a body with too little muscle mass relative to body fat. The lack of muscle mass thus gives off a soft and flabby body appearance.

Trusculpt Flex+ comes with 3 different modes that simulate different workouts at an accelerated intensity and constantly challenges the muscles at an intensity and duration that is higher than regular exercise. A 15-minute session is equivalent to doing 54,000 crunches!

Aside from achieving a shapelier and toned physique, building muscles mass improves the body’s basal metabolic rate such that more calories is burned even when the body is at rest.

TruSculpt Flex+

ReduStim is the only treatment available for reduction of deep visceral fats surrounding our internal organs and offers numerous additional health benefits for both men and women, such as improved lymphatic drainage and lowering cholesterol levels.

The treatment is suitable for overweight or obese individuals, assessed to have a high percentage of body fat, as well as for individuals with high abdominal fat (pot belly). As Redustim helps with lymphatic drainage, this treatment is also suitable for shedding water weight in individuals with excess water retention (edema).

Redustim is clinically proven to reduce visceral fat and reduce waist circumference by 6cm on average over a course of 12 treatment sessions.

Redustim

BLADELESS protocol uses a combination of lasers and energy-based devices to remove small pockets of fats such as for the double chin and undereye, while simultaneously tightening lax skin.

BLADELESS Protocol

Rebound fat gain is not uncommon as losing fat doesn’t necessarily improve your metabolic flexibility. When your mitochondria doesn’t function optimally, your body stores food as fat instead of burning it for energy. Pulsed electromagnetic treatment promotes healthy mitochondria and improves metabolism to make it easier to lose fat and maintain results. This makes it a good complementary treatment to other fat loss treatments and delivers several holistic benefits for improved health.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Treatment

Weight loss medications are suitable for those who have not seen desired results through lifestyle interventions alone. As opposed to targeted fat loss treatments, medications help with losing overall weight. For obese individuals, certain weight loss medications such as GLP-1 drugs may be prescribed to help with appetite suppression, blood sugar regulation and reduce insulin resistance – a condition commonly associated with obesity.

Weight Loss Medications

Unsure of which treatment works best for you? Schedule a consultation with our doctors at Veritas Medical Aesthetics for a detailed body assessment and personalised body contouring treatments tailored to your needs.

FAQ

How do I know whether my belly fat is subcutaneous or visceral fat?

Do I need to go on a diet or exercise for the treatments to work?

What are the different areas suitable for fat loss removal?

OUR DOCTORS

Dr CY Chua

10+ years of medical experience
10,000+ cases of aesthetic treatments
Known for unique treatment protocols from years of experience
Speaker and Trainer at American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine
Regional Trainer for Ultraformer 3 HIFU, ProYellow Laser, Ellansé, AGNES RF, etc
The only official trainer for Fotona Lasers in Singapore