Why Won’t My Love Handles Go Away?

Is your midsection the first place you start to notice weight gain and the last place it seems to disappear from as you burn fat during weight loss? You’re in good company. In fact, most adults find themselves dealing with unwanted abdominal fat at some point, and that extra fat often seems extra resistant to the usual effects of diet and exercise.     

So, what is it about midsection fat that makes it so stubborn?

If you’ve worked hard to shed weight but just can’t seem to shrink your love handles, our expert team at Physicians WEIGHT LOSS Centers Pompano Beach can help. Here, we provide insight about — and solutions for — the all-too-common “belly fat” conundrum. 

Factors that promote midsection fat

The factors that make midsection fat accumulation most likely fall into two categories: those you can’t change, and those you can. In most cases, fat accrual along the abdomen, flanks, and hips is typically due to a combination of factors from both categories: 

Fixed factors

Genetic predisposition, female gender, and older age are the top three “belly fat” factors that can’t be controlled or changed. A “pear” or “apple” body shape may run in your family, or your genes may simply promote easier weight gain. 

Women are more likely to have more midsection fat at an earlier age because female sex hormones encourage fat storage in the belly, flanks, hips, buttocks, and thighs. 

Most adults, including men, can expect to gain midsection weight with age, as shifting hormone levels begin encouraging muscle mass loss and easier fat storage — a phenomenon known as “middle-aged spread.” 

Modifiable factors 

Certain lifestyle patterns and habits — all of which are modifiable — are strongly linked to increased midsection fat. You’re more likely to deal with stubborn abdominal fat if you:

• Don’t get enough exercise
• Eat too many daily calories
• Consume too much sugar 
• Smoke or vape tobacco 
• Drink alcoholic beverages

High stress levels are also linked to stubborn midsection fat. How? Chronic stress triggers the release of a hormone called cortisol, which promotes low-grade systemic inflammation and increased abdominal fat storage.  

Why midsection fat is harder to lose

The very factors that make midsection fat gain so easy are also what make it so stubborn and challenging to lose. For most people, persistent abdominal fat is caused and perpetuated by multiple factors — the strongest of which (i.e., genes, gender, age) can’t be altered.   

Fortunately, the “belly fat factors” you can change offer a way to take control, at least to some extent. While you can’t specifically “spot-reduce” your love handles through diet and exercise, there’s no doubt that healthy eating patterns, daily exercise, stress management, and limited alcohol consumption can still help you shrink pinchable pockets of midsection fat. 

A slimmer, trimmer belly can be yours

Healthy living can go a long way in helping you reduce midsection fat, but sometimes, diet and exercise don’t minimize specific “problem areas” as completely as you’d like. 

That’s where body contouring with Lipo Laser can help. 

Also known as laser lipolysis, this noninvasive treatment uses heat energy to destabilize unwanted fat cells in a targeted area, so they no longer function. As your lymphatic system gradually flushes the damaged cells away, you’re left with a slimmer, trimmer physique.   

By “spot reducing” unwanted fat that remains despite your best efforts, Lipo Laser can: 

• Flatten your lower belly
• Sculpt your waistline 
• Shrink lower back rolls
• Eliminate love handles 

In short, Lipo Laser can help you shed any extra “midsection padding” you want to eliminate in just a few short sessions — with no downtime or recovery needed. 

If you’re close to your target body weight but still have unwanted pockets of stubborn midsection fat, Physicians WEIGHT LOSS Centers Pompano Beach can help. Schedule a visit at our office in Pompano Beach, Florida, today.