What Are Saddlebags, and Are They Easy to Remove?

The extra fat deposits on your outer thighs are known as saddlebags. They often are why jeans fit too tight, or trying on new clothes becomes a burden rather than enjoyable.

Saddlebags are not considered an anomaly, as they are quite common in women. Excess fat that develops on the body tends to accumulate on the thighs, butt, and hips. That is just how we are genetically wired!

Yet, we all know that fat is easy to gain, but getting rid of it is a separate story. This post will review what causes outer thigh fat and how to lose saddlebags with lifestyle changes and cosmetic procedures.

What Are Saddlebags?

As famed cosmetic surgeon Dr. Aaron Rollins explains, saddlebags refer to fat midway up the outer thigh.

The before and after image featured above demonstrates how this pocket of body fat is located roughly in line with the bottom of the buttocks. Unlike hip dips, saddlebags are found below the pelvis.

The Causes Of Saddlebags

Saddlebag fat is more prevalent in women because of the size of their pelvis. Estrogen triggers the accumulation of thigh area fat, especially during pregnancy.

Another main reason why you may have saddlebag fat is your lifestyle choices. Not eating healthily and having a sedentary lifestyle is a direct pass to accumulating unwanted fat if you gain weight.

Keep reading to understand how you can make changes and what options are available to get more defined thighs with the silhouette of your desires.

How To Reduce The Appearance of Saddlebag Fat

While the results will not appear overnight, you can eliminate saddlebag fat if you're more conscious about your improving your overall health. Little changes will have a profound impact on your health if done consistently. 

However, no matter how you exercise or eat healthy, you cannot tell your body where to lose fat. To tone the hips and thighs, targeted exercise and avoiding processed food will only get you so far. Genetics ultimately dictate where stubborn accumulations of fat will remain. Thus, even if you lose weight and get close to your ideal level, it can be challenging to get rid of saddlebags if you are genetically prone to storing fat in that part of the body.

Undergo a Healthy, Balanced Diet

The central aspect is to work on your diet. While the thought of dieting is generally met with much disdain, you don't have to view it as a process where you must sacrifice all your favorite foods. We know very well that nothing works in extremes.

To begin, make sure that you eat at a caloric deficit. This can be achieved with any form of diet, and it is all about eating fewer calories, not different food.

For instance, if you wait to lose weight, make the goal of eating 500 fewer calories per day. That will equal 3,500 over the week, equivalent to burning a pound of fat per week. Essentially, make the daily goal of consuming fewer calories than needed to maintain weight. This can be made much easier with an active lifestyle that expends significant amounts of energy.

Cardiovascular Exercises Will Burn Fat

As we reviewed above, you cannot choose where the fat loss occurs. Our bodies work in a seemingly random manner, but we have the genetic tendency to hold onto fat in the lower body the longest due to it being used as an energy source. 

Therefore, do cardio exercises to get your whole body moving, which will boost your heart rate and effectively burn calories to help you maintain a caloric deficit.

Cardio is a good exercise to help get the body into a deficit, but it also helps tone the lower body. Running and biking are great ways to grow leg muscle and burn fat at the same time.

Outer Thigh AirSculpt® Offers Permanent Saddlebag Removal

Outer Thigh AirSculpt® is a minimally invasive procedure that will permanently reduce saddlebags and define your legs without using a scalpel, needle, stitches, or general anesthesia. 

The procedure is much safer and more comfortable than other surgeries like traditional liposuction thanks to the delicate, patented AirSculpt® fat removal approach. Patients can stay fully awake and experience minimal discomfort as their saddlebag fat is removed for good. Treating the saddlebags can also help accentuate your curves and deliver the much-desired hourglass figure, a key benefit our patients love. 

Call the closest body contouring center near you to book a free consultation and begin your saddlebag removal experience today.