- Thu Sep 08, 2011 1:33 pm
#17118
You'll see advice all over the internet telling you to do this or that, or take this pill, in order to reduce fat or cellulite in a specific place. In other places, you'll see commenters who are absolutely sure that spot reduction isn't possible, and that the only way to lose fat in a specific place is to lose a lot of weight. If your spot doesn't reduce, you'll just have to lose more and more weight until your body burns up the last of its reserves.
That seems pretty cruel, if it is the truth. Some people are genetically prone to holding a little weight in the abdomen, for example, and will literally get down to skin and bones everywhere else before burning off the stomach fat. Who wants to be skin and bones? Many people would prefer to be a nice healthy weight, but with a flatter stomach! What about people who weigh a healthy amount all over but still have a fat face? Life can seem pretty unfair.
Well, it's true that you won't reduce the fat in a specific area unless you lose some weight, of course. The good news is that a healthy diet, combined with targeting the area of interest with exercise, and help direct your body to shed weight from that area sooner. For example, losing weight in a healthy way while focusing on ab exercises can help your body to burn some fat from the abdominal area, rather than taking more from your already-slim legs. There's only so much you can do to beat your genetics, but you can spot-reduce to a certain extent if you put in the effort. Of course, toning the underlying muscles can improve the appearance of an area even without a noticeable weight loss, so what have you got to lose?
That seems pretty cruel, if it is the truth. Some people are genetically prone to holding a little weight in the abdomen, for example, and will literally get down to skin and bones everywhere else before burning off the stomach fat. Who wants to be skin and bones? Many people would prefer to be a nice healthy weight, but with a flatter stomach! What about people who weigh a healthy amount all over but still have a fat face? Life can seem pretty unfair.
Well, it's true that you won't reduce the fat in a specific area unless you lose some weight, of course. The good news is that a healthy diet, combined with targeting the area of interest with exercise, and help direct your body to shed weight from that area sooner. For example, losing weight in a healthy way while focusing on ab exercises can help your body to burn some fat from the abdominal area, rather than taking more from your already-slim legs. There's only so much you can do to beat your genetics, but you can spot-reduce to a certain extent if you put in the effort. Of course, toning the underlying muscles can improve the appearance of an area even without a noticeable weight loss, so what have you got to lose?
