Getting rid of unwanted butt fat

Posted: Jan 23 in Nutrition, Weight Management Strategies by Dr. Lazarus

Okay, okay – so I am a physician and you expect my posts to be serious. However, sometimes humor is the best medicine, and yesterday, I learned a valuable lesson from none other than my 4 year old son on how to lose butt fat, tummy fat, or fat in other areas.

Most people I work with at Clinical Nutrition Center (near Denver, Colorado) see me for weight loss. But often, people want to lose weight in specific areas – the tummy, butt, thighs, neck, etc. People spend tens of thousands of dollars on things like Cool Sculpting™, lasers and liposuction to lose belly fat and fat in other targeted areas.

But for many, losing 5 or 10 more pounds would do the trick. Many people suffer because they have trouble giving up one or two specific foods. Everybody seems to have a vice – chocolate, alcohol, ice cream, peanut butter, soda, chips…

But my 4 year old has solved the problem!

Even though I try to be healthy at home, we do give our children dessert now and again. A few months ago, we let them try Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. I jokingly referred to it as “Butt Fat.”

Yesterday, again we offered dessert, and my son asked me, “Daddy, can I please have some Butt Fat?”

This gave me an amazing idea. After laughing for at least 10 minutes, what if I fixed the label? Would the Chocolate Hazelnut Spread still have the same allure to my family if instead of showing a delicious chocolate hazelnut spread, was labeled “Butt Fat.”

What’s your vice? Chocolate? Cookies? Soda? Why not make some labels. Ideas could include:

• “Butt Fat” (I’m putting this on the Chocolate Hazelnut Spread)
• “Tummy Fat” (Okay – I love peanut butter – so our peanut butter gets this label)
• “Rat Poison” (my favorite – I am labeling any sugar sweetened beverages with this one)
• “Heart Attack” (for trans-fats like margarine)
• “Diabetes” (for high sugar / carb foods)

Next time you have a late night craving that may lead to unwanted butt fat or unwanted tummy fat, see if you choose the food labeled “Tummy Fat.” Or, maybe it just won’t sound as good as you thought… It costs nothing, and the first fat you lose is visceral fat – that’s the fat around organs that can lead to heart disease and diabetes. (Cool sculpting™, laser and lipo offer none of these health benefits).

One caveat – if you are at your best weight, the procedures listed above can be very helpful dealing with problem areas.

Would love comments on whether or not this strategy is helpful for you, and on which foods / labels work the best!