If you feel like you could lose a few pounds around the middle, you aren’t the only one. About three-quarters of American adults are overweight according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and about 43% are obese.
Many people with excess belly fat are frustrated because losing weight in the abdomen can be particularly hard. Luckily, Leslie Forrester, APRN, and her team at Wrinkle Fairy help men and women get the body they want with CoolTone®.
With offices in Arlington Heights, Gold Coast Chicago, Oakbrook Terrace, and Naperville, Illinois, we have you covered. Take a moment to find out about belly fat and how we can smooth your figure at Wrinkle Fairy!
There are two types of fat that are stored around your abdomen. Subcutaneous fat is the word for fat stored just beneath the surface of your skin. You can grab and pinch this type of fat.
On the other hand, visceral fat is stored deep inside your abdominal cavity. There, it surrounds your organs. Most people who have extra weight in their stomach area have an excess of visceral fat.
Visceral fat is dangerous to carry. Compared to subcutaneous fat, visceral belly fat increases your risk of getting the most serious health issues. These include:
The reason visceral fat is more dangerous is that it leads to heightened production of certain chemicals in your body, according to recent research. These chemicals cause inflammation in your organs and can narrow your blood vessels, raising your blood pressure.
There’s more than one reason why it’s difficult to get rid of belly fat. Most reasons relate to lifestyle factors. Here are some questions to ask yourself if your belly fat isn’t budging:
Though sit-ups, crunches, and planks are good for your core and strengthen abdominal muscles, they don’t burn off deeper layers of fat.
Increasing the intensity of your exercises is better to help you lose stubborn belly fat. Perform cardiovascular exercise at a moderate-intensity level for at least half an hour each day, five days a week. This will help shed stubborn belly fat.
Hormone imbalances can often cause weight gain around the middle. If your thyroid is underactive, for example, your metabolism slows, and you don’t burn off the calories you consume. These extra calories can get stored as fat around your belly. For women, menopause or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can cause imbalances, which trigger an increase in fat in the abdomen. For men, low testosterone can do the same.
When you don’t get enough sleep each night, your body goes into a state of stress. This increases the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, leading to the storage of more visceral fat.
Additionally, recent research shows that individuals who sleep less also tend to eat more. This means a higher intake of calories, which, if not burned off with exercise, get stored as fat.
One of the fastest ways to add to visceral fat is by eating refined sugars. Refined sugars are high in calories, and the unused energy is stored as fat when your body doesn’t burn the calories right away.
Alcohol is included, as it is not only high in empty calories and sugar, but also reduces your ability to burn fat. Alcohol can also make it more difficult to keep your motivation up to exercise and interfere with sleep.
A new innovation in body contouring, CoolTone is a noninvasive, FDA-cleared treatment that helps your muscles get stronger and firmer. This means a helping hand with toning your tummy!
Using Active Magnetic PulseTM technology, CoolTone penetrates layers of skin and fat to trigger strong muscle contractions. These contractions are stronger than what you could perform naturally.
Your muscles become stronger, firmer, and toned in response, and at a much faster rate than they would with standard exercise. Each session lasts about half an hour, and most patients see results they love after four to eight sessions over two to four weeks.
It’s best to start treatments once you’ve built a starting point of muscle and maintain a healthy diet. Many patients also combine CoolTone with CoolSculpting®, a therapy that freezes fat cells in trouble spots. Minimizing the fat over your muscles lets your CoolTone results stand out!
If you want to learn more about belly fat or if you think CoolTone might be for you, set up a consultation by scheduling an appointment online or over the phone at the Wrinkle Fairy location nearest you.
