Why Spot Reducing Fat Is Impossible

Most people have a ‘problem area’ they want to lose fat from. Mine is my butt and my thighs—wouldn’t it be amazing if we could just target that one area and make results happen? So for example, if you do loads of crunches, then boom you’ll get abs. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Sorry, guys.

Don’t get me wrong. Working your abs can certainly help you lose stomach fat—but no more than it will help you lose weight from the rest of your body. When the body resorts to burning fat stores, it doesn’t necessarily use the fat stores nearest the muscles being worked. Instead, fat from the entire body is burned.

Each individual’s body has a natural order of where fat accumulates or comes off—some people will lose fat from their stomachs first, while others get slimmer hips. I will 100 per cent always see weight come off my upper body and abs before it comes off my lower body—in other words, the area I want to lose it from. Typical!

If you want to lose fat from one area, you’ll have to lose weight overall. That means living a healthy lifestyle. Exercise regularly (at least three or four times a week) and focus on good nutrition. For fat loss, you’ll need to be doing a mix of cardio and strength training.

It would be amazing if spot reducing fat was possible, right? Looking good would be much easier, as you’d be able to target your problem areas. Sadly, that’s not the case. Don’t stress yourself out attempting to lose fat by spot reduction. Instead, focus on shedding fat overall.