Love Handles (“Flanks”) → Emsculpt NEO + Hormone Review

Problem: Love handles, flanks, back bulge, muffin top, side waist fat. Solution: Emsculpt NEO + Hormone Review

Exion Body RF + Targeted Ultrasound bra fat removal at Pollard Preventative Los Gatos

Problem: Love Handles (“Flanks”)

Love handles — also called flanks, muffin top, or side waist fat — are one of the most stubborn fat pockets on the body. Even when a woman loses weight everywhere else, this area often sticks around.

Why?

Because flank fat is strongly influenced by:

  • hormones (especially insulin + cortisol)
  • fat-pattern genetics
  • slow-responding fat receptors
  • muscle tone around the obliques
  • GLP-1 medication changes
  • postpartum shifts
  • aging metabolism
  • stress patterns and sleep quality

Love handles are biologically designed to hold onto fat — making cardio, diets, and core workouts mostly ineffective for this area.

And when the flanks remain full, they can:

  • make the waist look thicker
  • shorten the torso appearance
  • blur hourglass lines
  • widen the silhouette from the back
  • make clothing fit awkwardly

To truly reshape the waistline, you must address the fat + muscle + hormonal drivers behind the flanks.

Solution: Emsculpt NEO + Hormone Review

A sculpted waistline requires two things:

  • 1) targeted fat reduction and
    2) structural support from toned oblique muscles.

Pollard Preventative combines both — and evaluates hormones when internal factors are driving fat storage.

Emsculpt NEO (Fat Reduction + Waistline Sculpting)

NEO is one of the only technologies proven to reduce flank fat while strengthening the muscles that define the waist.

NEO uses synchronized HIFEM™ muscle stimulation + RF heating to:

  • reduce stubborn flank fat
  • define the oblique muscles
  • narrow the waistline
  • enhance curves and symmetry
  • flatten the side waist area
  • support better posture and alignment
  • create a more cinched appearance from the back and front
  • increase core strength

While abs workouts hit the front of the core, NEO directly stimulates the obliques — the muscles that carve the waist. Emsculpt NEO Edge applicators are specifically designed for love handle flanks and apply RF heat directly to the love handle area for maximum targeted fat reduction.

Hormone Review (For Patients Who Need It)

Hormones play a major role in where your body stores fat — and the love handles are “prime real estate” for hormonal storage.

Hormonal triggers of flank fat:

  • cortisol → stress belly + love handles
  • insulin resistance → stubborn belly fat and love handles
  • estrogen changes → fat shifting from hips to waist
  • thyroid slowdown → overall fat retention
  • testosterone decline → lower muscle tone

When hormones are optimized, the waistline responds dramatically better to body contouring.

Hormone optimization is added only when appropriate, and never slapped on as a blanket recommendation..

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Exion Body RF + Targeted Ultrasound bra fat removal at Pollard Preventative Los Gatos
Learn More About Emsculpt NEO

How Emsculpt NEO Works to Reduce Love Handles:

  • Waistline + Flank Assessment: We evaluate flank fat pockets, oblique strength, muscle balance, posture, and hormonal influencers.
  • Emsculpt NEO Flank Sculpting: We deliver NEO energy across the side waist to reduce fat and activate the obliques that cinch the torso.
  • Hormone Review (If Needed): When internal imbalances are contributing to flank fat, we correct the underlying drivers.
  • Waist Redefinition: As muscle builds and fat decreases, the silhouette looks leaner, tighter, and more athletic.
  • Continued Improvement: Results continue to build over 8–12 weeks with peak definition around the 3-month mark.
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Why Choose Pollard Preventative?

Love handles rarely respond to diet or exercise alone because they’re deeply tied to hormonal and metabolic patterns. At Pollard Preventative, we use the perfect blend of targeted technology + physician-led hormone expertise to achieve noticeable, natural waistline reduction.

Physician-Guided Metabolic Support

If hormones are part of the problem, we address them for long-lasting, predictable improvement.

Waist Sculpting Based on Physiology, Not Guesswork

We target the fat, the muscles, and (when appropriate) the hormones that control fat storage.

Precision Contouring With Emsculpt NEO

We activate the obliques — the true “waistline-shaping” muscles — for sculpted, natural curves.

Frequently Asked Questions

Flank fat is strongly tied to genetics, hormones, and receptor density — not just body weight. You can be healthy, active, and lean everywhere else and still store fat along the sides of the waist. For certain body types, the love handle flank area is built for storage and very resistant to relinquishing that job.

Emsculpt NEO melts flank fat with RF heat while stimulating the oblique muscles underneath. This combination reduces bulk and defines the torso — something exercise alone can’t accomplish. The Emsculpt NEO Edge applicators specifically target this stubborn area by wrapping around the waist and applying the radiofrequency (RF) directly where needed.

Yes. High cortisol, fluctuating estrogen, insulin resistance, and low testosterone all encourage fat storage around the waistline. When these patterns are corrected, the body naturally becomes more responsive to fat reduction. Hormone optimization + Emsculpt NEO is a one-two punch that conquers love handles once and for all.

Most patients notice early smoothing and contour within a few weeks, with best results building over 8–12 weeks as muscle strengthens and fat reduces.

Shrink Love Handles at Pollard Preventative

Ready for a Slimmer, Sculpted Waistline?

You don’t have to live with stubborn love handles — especially when the issue is biological, not behavioral.

Let’s reshape your waistline in a way that’s natural, effective, and long-lasting.

Schedule your Body Sculpting Consultation at Pollard Preventative.

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