We are led to believe that fat loss is simply a question of enough exercise and the right diet. Yet so many of us stick to a good exercise regime and a healthy eating plan and still can’t get rid of stubborn fat around the tummy, thighs, hips, arms, double chin and etc. Why? The real reason you can’t shed away stubborn fats is pretty simple – the fat cells in problem areas are different to cells elsewhere and less adept at releasing fat.

It all comes down to what are known as receptors – the chemicals in your cells that trigger the release of fat. Receptors in stubborn fat cells aren’t as good at releasing fats as other receptors – and that means that the exercise and food that helps you lose weight elsewhere often won’t have the same effect around your tummy, hips, thighs, arms, double chin and etc.

Most of us Don’t Understand the Process of Fat Loss

If you ask commoners the following question:
When you lose weight, what happens to the fat cells in your body?
1. Fat cells are burned off and destroyed
2. Fat cells are turned into muscle cells
3. Fat cells are flushed out of your body as waste matter
4. Fat cells get smaller
5. Fat cells leave the body through sweating and breathing

The correct answer is number 4!

If you don’t understand what happens to fat cells when you lose weight, you are not alone.
Misunderstanding some fundamental basics of how fat cells work means we expect ourselves to be able to shift stubborn fat and lose weight easily without thinking about the biological facts. The sad outcome is… we could never achieve specific spot reduction.

The Science Behind Stubborn Fat

What happens to fat when you lose weight?
The process of losing fat from your fat cells is called lipolysis. When you lose weight you don’t destroy fat cells, instead the fat cells shrink.

Imagine a fat cell as a beach ball – if you only fill it up with a little bit of air, the ball will stay small. If you blow in a lot of air it will expand. Fat cells work like this, adjusting to the amount of energy that your body creates in the form of fat.
When your body needs energy it sends out signals to your fat cells to release this energy via hormones. When the fat cell receives the message from the hormones, triaglycerol (the scientific name for the fat in your cells) is released into the blood stream to be transported to the muscles and organs that need the energy.

If your body isn’t getting all of this energy from your food, then it calls on your fat reserves.

Why are some fats more stubborn than other fats?

Fat cells are not created equal.

The part of the fat cell that receives the hormone message to release fat is known as a receptor. There are different types of receptors at work in fat cells. In simple terms, beta receptors are better at releasing fat than alpha receptors. Fat cells around the hips, stomach and thighs have a higher density of alpha receptors than other fat cells, the exact areas where most people have stubborn fat. So the physiology of these cells means it is much harder to actually shift that fat.

The exercise and food choices you are making may well be triggering the right hormones to tell these fat cells to release triaglycerol, but the receptors receiving the message aren’t very good at hearing it.

This is why exercising and healthy eating can get you so far, but why some areas just seem to stay the same size. This doesn’t mean it is impossible to lose that stubborn fat! So, what are the options? How to shift stubborn fats?

Non-invasive Fat Reduction (CoolSculpting^®) Surprisingly, the idea behind freezing fat came about in a most interesting way. Two Harvard doctors found an interesting study published in 1970 showing that children who ate a lot of popsicles developed dimples in their cheeks. This phenomenon was called Popsicle Panniculitis. Ten years later, another study was published called Equestrian Cold Panniculitis, nothing that horse riders experienced fat reduction in their thighs when exposed to cold during winter months.

So where do the fat cells go once they die? The body naturally disposes them through apoptotic changes. As this occurs, the treated area begins to decrease in size over 2-3 months. This is how CoolSculpting^® safely and effectively reduces stubborn pockets of fatty tissue for good.

In 2010, CoolSculpting^® was approved by US-FDA and as of mid 2017, over 4 million treatments have been done all over the world. Additional treatment applicators have been developed, expanding the areas that can be efficiently treated for the permanent reduction of localised fat tissues.

Clique Clinic is one of the Key Opinion Leaders of CoolSculpting^® in Asia Pacific, and the CoolSculpting^® centre in Malaysia that offers a full and complete range of treatment applicators, specialising exclusively in CoolAdvantage™.

With DualSculpting by CoolAdvantage™ applicators, one can get 2 treatment areas done in just 35 minutes!

Josh Chua of Clique Clinic shares his 5-year experience and thoughts dealing with patients and friends who are pursuing body contouring treatments at Clique Clinic. For more information on CoolSculpting^®, please visit Noninvasive Fat Reduction.