Stubborn Fat
The pocket that survived every diet is a matter of genetics, not willpower, and it is exactly what CoolSculpting Elite at our Berkhamsted clinic was built for: a defined pad, gradually reduced, with no needles and little to no downtime.
At a glance
- Areas Abdomen, flanks, thighs, arms, under the chin, back
- Clinic Regents Park Aesthetics Berkhamsted
- Sessions 1 to 4 by treatment
- Best for Reshaping a defined pocket
- First step Pinch assessment
What it is and why it happens
Almost everyone who books this has already done the obvious thing. They have lost weight, or they have always been within a healthy range, and one specific area has never budged. That is not a discipline problem. Fat distribution is largely genetic, and so is the order in which your body draws on it, so some areas are simply last on the list and a great many people never get there on diet alone.
This is where contouring earns its keep. CoolSculpting Elite reduces fat in one defined area and changes your shape rather than your weight, so the scales may barely move while the waistband tells a different story. Where the goal is overall weight loss, our medical weight management service is the better fit and the team will guide you there. The other distinction is fat versus skin: pinch the area, and a distinct pad between your fingers is fat, while thin loose skin with little substance is laxity that wants tightening instead. Regents Park Aesthetics treats both at our Berkhamsted clinic, where Anna Stenekova has been contouring bodies for more than twenty years.
Treatments that address it
| CoolSculpting Elite Controlled cooling destroys fat cells in a defined pad, cleared by your own body over the following months. Around twenty to twenty five percent reduction per cycle, no needles and no downtime. £500 a cycle at our Berkhamsted clinic. | CoolSculpting Elite, Double Chin The under-chin pad is frequently genetic and present at a normal weight. Two cycles with the small applicator sharpen the profile over the following months, with no needles and nothing to hide afterwards. £900 for the pair. | Exion Radiofrequency For the pinch that reveals loose skin rather than fat. Needle-free radiofrequency tightens over six weekly sessions with nothing more than gentle warmth, then maintenance every two to three months. Quoted at your consultation. | Medical Weight Management Where the goal is weight loss rather than contouring, this is the right door. Bloods, prescription treatment where appropriate and monthly review with a prescriber. From £220. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| £500 | £900 | On consultation | £220 | |
| Explore CoolSculpting Elite | Explore CoolSculpting Elite | Explore Exion | Explore Medical Weight Management |
- £500
- £900
- On consultation
- £220
Compared side by side
How we assess and treat
We pinch the area, which settles the fat-versus-skin question in seconds and points the plan in the right direction from the first minute. We ask about your weight trajectory, because a shape that is still changing is best contoured once it has settled, and we ask what the goal really is. Someone describing a dress size is describing weight loss, and that conversation leads a good number of people to our weight management service, which is the smaller booking and the right one for them.
For a defined pad, Anna maps the area and quotes cycles up front, so you know the cost of the whole plan before committing rather than discovering it session by session. A single CoolSculpting Elite cycle is £500, the double chin takes two cycles at £900, and where the pinch reveals laxity rather than fat, needle-free Exion radiofrequency tightens the skin with nothing more than gentle warmth. Your clinician covers suitability, timing and aftercare at your consultation, and the team is a phone call away afterwards.
Can you treat it at home?
Spot reduction does not work, and it is the most persistent myth in fitness. There is no exercise that removes fat from one area, and abdominal work builds abdominal muscle without touching the fat over it. Overall fat loss works, and your body decides the order, which is the frustrating part: the area you care about is frequently last.
Resistance training changes the shape underneath, which changes how the area looks even when the fat has not moved, and it is the most under-rated intervention here. Sleep and stress genuinely affect where fat is stored, particularly around the middle, through cortisol, so they are worth attention even if they are not a quick fix. Creams, wraps and gadgets sold for fat reduction do not reach the fat beneath the skin, and a wrap that appears to shrink a measurement has simply moved water. For the pocket itself, the clinic is where the change happens.
Related concerns
Meet our team of experts
Body contouring at our Berkhamsted clinic is assessed and performed by Anna Stenekova and the skin therapists, with Kay Greveson or Dr Grace Adamson for anything injectable or prescription, including medical weight management.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fat distribution and the order your body draws on it are largely genetic. Some areas are last on the list and many people never get there on diet alone. It is not a discipline problem, and it is exactly what contouring is for.
No. CoolSculpting Elite reduces fat in one defined area and changes shape rather than weight, so the scales may not move at all. If weight loss is the goal, our medical weight management service is the right door.
Pinch it. A distinct pad between your fingers is fat, which CoolSculpting Elite clears. Thin loose skin with little substance is laxity, which is where needle-free Exion radiofrequency comes in.
For a defined, pinchable pad, yes, at around twenty to twenty five percent reduction per cycle. Results show from one to three months and keep improving for up to six.
Destroyed cells do not return. Remaining cells can enlarge with weight gain, so the result holds if your weight does.
No. Spot reduction does not work, and abdominal exercise builds abdominal muscle without touching the fat over it. Resistance training does change the shape underneath, which is why it pairs so well with contouring.
One to three months to see the change, because the clearing is done by your own lymphatic system rather than by the device, and the shape keeps refining as it goes.
CoolSculpting Elite is £500 a cycle at our Berkhamsted clinic, the double chin is two cycles at £900, Exion radiofrequency is quoted at your consultation and medical weight management starts at £220. Anna maps and quotes the whole plan before you commit.
If you are actively losing, yes. Contouring is at its best once your shape has settled, so the result is planned around the body you are keeping.
None with CoolSculpting Elite or Exion. You can drive home, go back to work and carry on with your day; the treated area may feel a little numb or tender for a short while.
No. Nothing applied to the skin reduces fat beneath it, and a wrap that appears to reduce a measurement has moved water.
Anna Stenekova, our aesthetic therapist with more than twenty years in body contouring, with the skin therapists at our Berkhamsted clinic. Medical weight management is led by Kay Greveson or Dr Grace Adamson, who is in Berkhamsted every Thursday.
113 High Street, Berkhamsted HP4 2DJ, a short walk from the station and a short drive from Tring, Hemel Hempstead, Chesham and Amersham.
