This Is Why You Lose (and Gain) Weight First in Different Parts of Your Body

When I was younger, my mother and I had a discussion about how our bodies go through changes, particularly when it comes to our weight. “My face always thins down first,” she observed, which prompted me to ponder if her observation was accurate (pardon the pun) or whether the change there is merely more noticeable since the face is more prominent than, for example, the stomach. When I acquire weight, it is almost always in my stomach and thighs before it shows up anywhere else. In turn, I am finding it increasingly difficult to lose weight in certain areas, and as a result, the weight that I do lose tends to come off in unexpected places, such as my upper body, while my thighs and stomach remain largely unchanged. The capacity of the body to change itself is both interesting and irritating, and the more I thought about it, the more I required an answer to the following question: Why does the body not lose and gain weight in a more consistent and less site-specific manner, or is that not the case at all? Is it possible that this is only an illusion?

In the following section, fitness professionals put an end to the argument and reveal where you lose (and gain) weight initially and the reasons behind it.

Where Do People Notice the First Signs of Weight Loss?

“In terms of loss, it may be easier [depending on the individual] to shed fat in the trunk and ab area as opposed to the leg and gluteal area, which is why it appears that men lose weight/fat faster than women,” says Lisa Wheeler, who works with Apple Fitness+. “In terms of loss, it may be easier to shed fat in the trunk and ab area as opposed to the leg and gluteal area.” According to Wheeler’s findings, women who carry most of their weight in their torso and abdominal region appear to shed pounds more quickly than women who carry most of their weight in their glutes and legs. That is to say, whereas men and women tend to lose and gain weight in different ways, these processes can also vary widely from person to person.

Which Parts of Your Body Are More Likely to Gain Weight?

The adipocytes, also known as fat cells, can be found all throughout the body; however, they are more abundant in the hips, butt, stomach, and thigh area for women, and in the stomach for men. This is the reason why you gain weight so quickly in your midsection as opposed to other parts of your body, such as your calves and forearms. Tanya Zuckerbrot, MS, RD, the creator of the F-Factor and the best-selling author of The F-Factor Diet, says that women may be more prone to accumulating fat along their hips, thighs, butt, and stomach because of something she calls the “Factor.” “the stubborn fat that “serves as an energy reserve for the demands of pregnancy and lactation,” also known as “sex-specific fat.” Because your body tries to save as much of it as possible to ensure it can meet the energy demands of childbearing, this is often the last spot you will lose weight “It is clarified by her.

According to her research, there is no “evolutionary purpose” for males to carry harmful amounts of visceral fat, better known as belly fat. This form of fat is dangerous because it surrounds your organs and is associated with metabolic disorders. The positive aspect is that according to Zuckerbrot, in general, it is the type of fat that is easier to lose because it breaks down more quickly. According to research, increasing your fiber consumption can help you lose this potentially harmful visceral fat.

Wheeler asserts that genetics play a significant influence in the process by which we accumulate fat, and he identifies four basic patterns of fat storage as follows:

A uniform distribution across the entirety of the body
The torso and the abdominal region (predominantly men)
The torso, the legs, and the buttocks (predominantly women)
The region of the abdomen solely

A Look at Some Potential Influencers on Weight Loss

Losing weight is essentially the result of expending more calories than are taken in, and according to most estimates, a caloric deficit of about 3,500 calories will result in a loss of one pound of fat. Having said that, your metabolic rate and the resultant amount of weight you lose are affected by a number of factors, including the following:

Age
Sex
Degree of Physical Effort
Diet
Genetics
Medications
Drinking of alcoholic beverages
The Amount and the Quality of Sleep You Get
Stress Levels
Taking Care of Your Thymus
Particular Disorders of the Human Body, Such as the Metabolic Syndrome
A Healthy Hormonal Balance

Is It Possible to Lose Weight in Certain Areas of the Body?

Elixirs marketed as being able to target abdominal fat and “melt” it away are not going to work as advertised. The same can be said for the meals that you consume. Zuckerbrot notes that while studies have shown that increasing fiber intake can help reduce the amount of visceral fat in the abdominal region, subcutaneous fat, which is the type of fat that is found immediately under the skin, can only be reduced by a reduction in overall body weight. In addition to eating whole, fresh foods rather than processed fat and sugar, creating a caloric deficit, often known as eating less calories than your body burns, can assist in the reduction of overall fat storage in the body.

In a perfect world, the key to reducing fat is through exercise; nevertheless, you should be aware of the following fact: you cannot eliminate fat in different places of your body by engaging in focused workouts. Although you can certainly tone these regions and, as a result, possibly burn more calories due to the growth of your muscles, there is no exercise that will “blow” fat from your stomach or buttocks. Instead, you should focus on developing a comprehensive strategy for your fitness. Amanda Butler, a personal trainer certified by the NASM, adds that doing entire-body workouts will help to reduce total body fat, while strength training will tone up and build muscle that will then define sections of your body. “Doing total-body workouts will assist to reduce total body fat,” she says. This can be accomplished by engaging in high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and lifting weights to build lean muscle. Both of these activities lead to an increase in your metabolic rate, which in turn aids in the loss of overall body fat.

These comments are echoed by Jeffrey Gladd, MD, a member of the Care/of Scientific Advisory Board. [Citation needed] When it comes to working out, he advises against concentrating on certain parts of the body and notes that “taking a holistic approach to shedding fat will likely be more beneficial.” In the same vein as Butler, he advises against focusing on certain body regions, such as the abs, because doing so wastes time that could be “far more wisely spent on big muscle groups,” which, according to him, “provide the biggest bang for your dollars for total fat loss.”

How Much of a Drop in Weight Is Considered to Be Safe?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that a rate of weight reduction of one to two pounds per week is considered to be a healthy and sustainable rate for the majority of people. Anything more aggressive has the potential to be both dangerous and ineffective in the long run. In addition, you run the risk of losing an excessive amount of lean muscle mass if you choose the way of an extreme diet and exercise rather than something that is more realistic, which will cause your metabolism to slow down. You should focus on shedding adipose, or fat, tissue rather than muscle. And just like many of the best things in life, this needs a certain amount of patience as well as a slower, more calculated approach.

The Most Effective and Beneficial Methods to Assist in Weight Loss

Some people believe that readjusting the levels of hormones in your body is a useful supplement to a weight loss program. According to Charles Passler, a nutritionist who works with models like Bella Hadid, an estrogen imbalance may be the cause of an individual’s difficulty to lose weight or, alternatively, their propensity to gain weight very quickly. “When levels of estrogen are regular, it helps insulin perform its job to regulate blood sugar,” he continues. “Normal levels of estrogen.” When estrogen levels drop, the body transforms into a fat-storing machine, which can be quite unhealthy.

The remedy may be as simple as changing your eating habits, even though it may sound like an impossible task to regulate your hormones. According to Passler, “eating carbohydrates causes a spike in your blood sugar level.” “Insulin works to reduce blood sugar levels by depositing sugar in three distinct locations throughout the body. When insulin levels are just right — neither too high nor too low — this hormone directs a tiny amount of glucose to be stored in the liver, a significant amount of glucose to be used as fuel by the muscles, and very little or none of the glucose to be stored as fat. When everything is in check, your body will create the appropriate amount of insulin in order to keep the sugar levels in your blood from being out of whack.” However, according to the information provided by our specialists, when estrogen levels are high, the cells in the body that are responsible for producing insulin are unable to carry out their normal functions, which can lead to insulin resistance. When insulin is insulin-resistant, it is unable to deposit glucose into the liver and muscles, which causes sugar levels to rise and causes glucose to be stored as fat. According to his explanation, “the fat that is frequently deposited in the hips is tied to an estrogen imbalance.” This is an example of a classic pear-shaped body type, and it illustrates why women are significantly more likely than males to have a pear-shaped body type.

Consuming foods that suppress estrogen levels in both men and women, such as cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower), green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, apples, and flaxseeds, can help prevent the storage of excess fat, according to Dr. Passler. In contrast, he advises avoiding foods that can boost estrogen levels, such as those containing soy-based ingredients, sugar, red meat, any item that has hormones added to it, cow’s milk and other dairy products, and foods and liquids stored in plastic that contains BPAs. He also warns against consuming foods and liquids that are stored in plastic that contains BPAs. According to Passler, another way to lower estrogen levels is to reduce stress, increase physical activity, and increase the amount of time spent sleeping.