Localized fat is the most difficult to eliminate, even with sport and good nutrition. We all want to improve our body, but to do so we need consistency with physical exercise, nutrition and a lot of patience.
Occasionally. the area where we want to reduce volume is the last to shrink and the first to put on weight when we lower the level of exercise or ease up on our diet.
On the other hand, with diets aimed at eliminating stubborn areas of fat, muscle tone is lost, increasing flaccidity.
What does fat accumulation depend on?
To know why we store fat in our body, we must understand how our body works and learn a little biology.
Fat is the natural way to store excess energy. Adipocytes are fat-filled cells where more than 75% of their volume is composed of triglycerides.
The energy accumulation mechanism produces triglycerides, composed of three fatty acid chains and a glycerol molecule. It is a very stable way of accumulating energy inside the adipocytes.
Types of fat
The fat that you can pinch or grab is the subcutaneous fat. And the one we don’t see is visceral fat. The function of the latter is to protect our organs, but in excess it can be a problem, as it can increase the risk of suffering cardiovascular diseases.
The areas of the body where most fat accumulates is the belly. In men, it also accumulates around the abdomen and lower back. This is what we know as the float.
In women, on the other hand, fat usually accumulates in the hips and thighs, although in this case it is usually related to their nature and hormonal changes.
- Brown fat. It is intended for heat production. It is activated with cold, but with generalized cold. If we spend more time in the cold, we burn more fat and the body allocates more fat to brown fat and less to subcutaneous fat.
- Visceral fat. It is the most dangerous fat, typical of men, which accumulates around the organs and can interfere with their functioning.
- Subcutaneous fat. It is found under the skin and generally represents the highest percentage of fat in our body. The distribution of subcutaneous fat in the body depends mainly on your genetics and sex.
Causes of fat accumulation
Keep in mind that fat accumulation increases as we get older, as we are not able to burn fat in the same way and consume less energy.
In any case, other factors come into play in the accumulation of fat:
- Genetic: the genetic inheritance we receive influences the shape of our body and is something we cannot avoid. That is why it is key, when you want to lose fat, to turn to specialists who can perform an analysis. I’m sure you know someone who can already eat throughout the day, who is not fattening. Well, this is genetics.
- Historical: the diet and the type of life we have led have repercussions on the amount of fat that has accumulated in certain parts of the body. And this fat will be the most difficult to eliminate as an organic matter, since the body is not made to burn fat. That is why it is so important to take care of health from an early age. Naturally, fat is an essential component, both as an energy reserve and as an organ protector.
- Biological: it has been shown that anxiety and stress act contrary to the fat burning process by increasing cortisol levels.
Why is there localized fat?
Adipocytes have membrane receptors, in this case we are interested in alpha 2 and beta 2 receptors, responsible for fat accumulation and fat release.
In a standard adipocyte we would have an equal amount of alpha 2 and beta 2 receptors. However, there are adipocytes with more receptors of one type than another, making fat loss sequential.
Lipogenesis, which is fat gain, is regulated by the hormone insulin. It activates Alpha-2 receptors causing the adipocyte to accumulate fat.
While lipolysis, which is fat loss, is regulated by catecholamines, adrenaline and noradrenaline. It activates Beta-2 receptors causing the adipocyte to release fat.
If both hormones are high, insulin wins. Thus, as long as insulin remains high, fat will remain.
Eliminate localized fat
Before continuing, it should be clear to you that localized fat is very difficult to eliminate, even if you follow a balanced diet and do a lot of sport. Therefore, before starting this process you must understand that it is long and obeys the natural behavior of the body.
You can make progress and suddenly not be able to reduce it any further. When this happens, you must remember that this fat may have been stored for a long time or genetics play a role.
The best way to burn localized fat
Sport, without dietary control, will not help to reduce localized fat. However, by combining the two, what we achieve is to mobilize it and eliminate it through the body’s natural processes.
In any case, as we have seen, even with this it will be very difficult to eliminate stubborn fat. This requires perseverance, and sometimes even that won’t work. This is why many people opt for aesthetic treatments.
In liposuction, which is an invasive procedure, cannulas are used through the skin to aspirate stored fat. This is the only cosmetic procedure that actually removes fat effortlessly, although nothing can ensure that all fat or the same level of fat is removed in all areas.
Treatments to eliminate localized fat
When diet and sport fail to eliminate localized fat, the only way left is surgery and certain aesthetic medicine treatments.
Liposuction, already mentioned, requires going into the operating room, while the following are non-invasive procedures that require effort on the part of the person seeking to remove fat. The results are visible in a few sessions if they are accompanied by constancy, both with exercise and diet. They should only be used when the accumulation is not excessive.
- Radiofrequency: low frequency ultrasonic waves destroy the adipocyte releasing the fat. And high-frequency ultrasonic waves stimulate the production of noradrenaline, generating induced lipolysis. The shock waves open the lymphatic capillaries, draining the released fat.
- Cavitation: cavitation, although not so fashionable anymore, is one of the most effective aesthetic treatments for the reduction of body fat. By means of pressure, it breaks up fat cells, which are then eliminated naturally.
- Electroporation: with electroporation we can introduce active ingredients into deep layers of the skin, without the need for injections, with different objectives. In the case of localized fat loss, we can introduce active ingredients such as Coleus Forskohlii Root Extract, which enhances lipolysis of body fat. At Sisneo, we also add draining active ingredients, such as Fucus Vesiculosus Extract, ivy and caffeine, which help eliminate swelling caused by fluid retention.
- Cryolipolysis: this procedure, whose methodology consists of eliminating fat cells with cold, has recently become fashionable. If this were true, if we go to Sierra Nevada in January, we could lose weight by simply taking off our coats.
