Have you been struggling with belly fat most of your adult life? As we age, we tend to start gaining weight. However, an area that begins to look more noticeable on your body is your abdomen area.
What is belly fat?
Belly fat is the unhealthy fat that has accumulated around your abdomen. There are two types of body fat, visceral and subcutaneous body fat. The fat that is deep inside your body is called visceral fat. This type of fat surrounds your organs and is often called “hidden” fat because it hides in the liver, intestines, and other organs. About 10% of your body fat is visceral fat. You may have a flat stomach but still have visceral fat.
Visceral fat is more dangerous than the other fat, called subcutaneous fat. It’s more difficult because it increases the risk of severe health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, asthma, Alzheimer’s, colorectal and breast cancer, and stroke.
Who gets visceral fat?
Both men and women can get visceral fat. More men get visceral fat, but that changes after menopause in women. Women who have given birth also tend to get more visceral fat. As we age, we tend to put on more weight and more fat. The fat you gain depends on several factors, including genes, hormones, and birth weight (underweight babies will tend to gain more belly fat later in life).
How to measure your visceral fat?
An image scanner such as a CT or MRI can accurately measure the visceral fat you have. But if you do not have access to these devices, you can measure your waist, calculate your BMI (body mass index), and get your hip-to-waist ratio. A waist size of 35 inches is a sign of visceral fat for women. For men, it is 40 inches.
What is Subcutaneous Fat?
Subcutaneous fat is the outer layer of fat you see around your abdomen. About 90% of your fat is subcutaneous fat. When you squeeze your skin, the jiggly loose soft tissue is subcutaneous fat. Women have more subcutaneous fat than men. That is why when they gain weight, they tend to get more fat all over their bodies, including their arms, legs, buttocks, thighs, and abdomen.
Which type of fat is harder to lose, Subcutaneous belly fat or Visceral belly fat?
When you go on a diet or exercise program, visceral fat is the first type of fat you will lose. So, the good news is that you will see your belly area lose in inches first. But after you’ve achieved a leaner look, you will notice that some of the subcutaneous belly fat stays there and is the last to disappear.
There are 5 FDA approved body contouring treatments today on how to reduce belly fat:
- Radiofrequency Fat Removal: This body contouring treatment emits radio frequency waves for deep heating.
- Temperature-Based Fat Reduction: This body contouring treatment freezes and destroys the fat cells.
- Ultrasound Cavitation: This body contouring treatment uses sound waves at a particular frequency to target the fat cells.
- Cold Laser: This body contouring treatment uses a cold laser to burn away the fat cells
- High Intense Electro Magnetic Therapy (HEIMT): The newest trend on how to lose belly fat is a body contouring procedure called HIEMT.
In this article, we will focus on HIEMT. This is a superior treatment for belly fat reduction because it can BOTH decrease body fat and increase muscle, the only five treatments that can do that.
How to Lose Belly Fat with HIEMT Body Contouring?
Doing one HIEMT 30-minute treatment is like doing 20,000 sit-ups. It gives you a very intense workout in a brief period. To lose belly fat, we place two paddles on your abdomen.
The treatment is comfortable, and there is no pain. You relax during the 30-minute treatment. The body contouring treatment is ideal for losing belly fat and can be done on the arms, thighs, and buttocks.
Are you looking to try the HIFEM body contouring procedure? Laser Skin Clinic and At Body Contouring Clinic have four clinics in the GTA, Mississauga, Brampton, Toronto, and Richmond Hill.