Many people want to get rid of fat in certain areas of their bodies, but you can’t target specific spots for fat loss. Image by Debra Roby

It’s Week Three of our four-week series, and this time around we’re re-visiting a topic that has been touched on in the past. This one merits review because it is a stubborn myth that just won’t die: spot-reducing fat. From ab rockers to electric belly belts to balance boards that have you twisting the night away–the flood of workout equipment that targets fat deposits on specific areas of the body confirms that, no matter what research and reality proves, people desperately want to believe they can burn fat from their “problem” areas. That doesn’t mean you can’t get rid of the excess baggage around your midsection or the ample acreage in your back 40. You just need to understand what works best to reduce fat, but it helps to have patience, too. 

Not To Bust Your Bubble…

If you’ve got time and the energy to do crunches for 2 hours, you might be able to lose a miniscule amount of belly fat.

If you’ve been desperately searching for proof that you really can spot-reduce, you may have come across the study published in the American Journal of Physiology which found that, in certain cases and with specific exercises, spot reduction of fat can occur. HOWEVER, the loss was minimal–Train Magazine compared it to trying to reduce the amount of sand on a beach by removing a few grains. The part of the research to latch on to is that increasing blood flow seemed to be the key to kicking up fat burning in certain spots. In the study, researchers did that by having the subjects perform one exercise for 2 hours. Don’t have that kind of time or willpower? We have a solution for you in just a second… 

How Your Body Burns Fat

When you kick into fat-burning mode, your brain will pull fat resources from all over your body rather than one specific spot.

The liver is your body’s go-to source for energy, according to Bodybuilding.com. It stores glucose which it dispenses into your blood stream throughout the day to supply the energy your body needs to function and to perform every physical activity you do. When you burn more energy than your liver has stored, your body has to tap into excess energy that has been stockpiled elsewhere, i.e.: fat deposited on various parts of your body. Yale Scientific points out that you can’t control where your body takes that fat from. Rather than burning fat from your abs, if you’re doing 100+ crunches for instance, your brain will flood your bloodstream with hormones that will tell fat cells all over your body to release a bit of what they’re holding, kind of like passing the hat for contributions. 

An Effective Fat-Burning Plan

Include resistance training as part of your “spot reducing” plan–the muscles you build will encourage fat loss from your entire body and they’ll look great once the layer of fat is gone.

Earlier we stated that you can reduce fat from your problem areas if you have patience and a plan, so here it is: cardio, sculpt, and adjust your eating habits. Cardio exercises–particularly ones performed in high-intensity intervals–are an effective way of increasing the amount of energy your body burns, and fine-tuning how and what you eat will help ensure you burn more calories than you take in to perpetuate the process. You don’t even have to go on a crash diet, especially if that type of plan hasn’t worked for you in the past. Start with small adjustments like ditching soda and drinking more water, switching to skim milk, and eating more fresh vegetables and fewer pre-packaged foods, then continue to adjust from there. 

As for sculpting, the Huffington Post points out that resistance training will tone the muscles beneath the fat you want to get rid of, so they’ll be strong and sculpted even before the fat comes off. However, resistance training serves another purpose, too. According to WebMD, muscle burns more calories than fat does, even while you sleep, so your body will become more efficient as you build your muscles in preparation for bringing them out from beneath the fat.