Lose the Big Belly

Ask anyone with HIV what they fear most, and you're likely going to get the answer, "I don't want to look like I have AIDS."  Often, friends and clients tell me, "I don't want to have the sunken cheeks, the skinny arms and legs, lose my butt, and have the protruding abdomen that looks like I have a basketball under my shirt."

Looking like you have HIV can be devastating and debilitating.  Some people may never notice or care, but to others, they have "the look."  It can hold you back socially and professionally.  It can keep you at home when you should be getting out with people.

For persons with this condition, diet and exercise, though recommended, do not usually reduce it much.  That's because the lipodystrophy (change in body fat) that I'm referring to is hard fat that surrounds your internal organs, not a layer of fat on the outside, like love handles.

This week I will be writing about a new treatment for excess abdominal fat inHIV-infected people with lipodystrophy.  It is called Egrifta or tesamorelin.  It's a daily shot that you give yourself which can reduce the belly fat significantly.  It is not a treatment for HIV.

Yours,
Bill