Can you lose fat from specific areas of your body?

As a personal trainer one of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients is "How can I lose fat from my stomach and thighs". If I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question I could probably afford a new plane ticket to my next vacation spot. With the majority of my clients being women I can see why they would want to know if this is possible. Especially with photoshopped images running rampant on the internet with beautiful women with curves and with women with just the right amount of fat in all the right places. Women see these images and aspire to be like those women.

Sadly it always breaks my heart when I answer them that no, you simply can not lose fat from specific areas in your body. Belly and thigh fat are notorious for being the most stubborn and difficult to lose. If you or any of your friends are struggling with this then don't worry, you are not alone. Both men and women struggle with this problem. Even I struggled with this issue when I first started to work out and diet seriously. Luckily for me at that time I had a dedicated nutritionist and the help of one of top sports universities in Japan to help me. While it may be true that it is difficult to lose the fat from our midsection it is not impossible and I am here to enlighten my readers on how to get rid of their belly and thigh fat.


The types of fat that are stored in the body:

Let us first discuss the type of fats that are stored in the body and especially in the abdominal area. Normal fat accumulates under the skin and can be pinched. Have you ever looked at your stomach and pinched your fat well that fat is called subcutaneous fat. However that is just one of two types of fat we have around our midsection and the other one is actually more dangerous, not only to aesthetics but it is also dangerous to our health.

Part of the growth or bulge of our abdominal area is due to visceral fat. This is the fat that surrounds our organs, and lies beneath the abdominal muscles. That means you can't see this fat and you can't pinch it too.  This visceral fat is more harmful to our health than subcutaneous fat, it has shown links to heart disease, cancer and dementia.

Age and Fat

As we age we almost certainly put on more weight, specifically in our mid sections. The mid-section is the body's preferred storage for fat after all, so it makes sense that the bulk of our fat will be accumulated in that section of our bodies. As men age and our hormones change, in the age range of 30-40 years old testosterone declines and our body tends to store more fat. With women its either due to pregnancy or menopause. That is why as we get older we have to try harder to lose weight. I know many of you have seen younger guys get away with eating crap yet they still look shredded, that is because the hormones in their body give them a helping hand in staying lean. More testosterone means less fat given you are working out and dieting correctly.

Why is belly fat so stubborn.

As mentioned earlier many people get stuck with belly fat in their weight loss journey. This has been the reason many people stress eat or rebound after dieting because the depression that comes with seeing little change in the areas you want to see those changes occur can be really disheartening. The truth is belly fat, both visceral and subcutaneous are not any more difficult on a gram per gram basis. The mid section of our bodies is simply the preferred area of storage our bodies naturally gravitate towards. This is the case for many people but not all people suffer from this (rejoice of you are one of the few lucky ones). 

What this means is that you simply have to keep at it and not give up on your weight loss journey. Given time, your body will get rid of your abdominal fat. You just need to maintain a calorie deficit and exercise and you will have success.

The next question. Can specific exercises target specific areas of fat retention?

This is a common arguing point in many gyms. Can you target belly or thigh fat by doing more crunches or squats? Can you reduce arm fat by doing curls? What about losing weight in your thigh and butt area by doing lunges an squats. Oh if these were true how happy the world would be.

Unfortunately, the research shows that working out specific areas does not target fat loss in those areas. But now you might be saying "No. I've been doing crunches and I see my belly toning up". What targeted muscle exercise does is reshape and tone the target area. For example, want a more defined mid section, do more ab and midsection work, like crunches planks and good mornings. Want a better butt, then start squatting and doing stiff leg dead lifts.

Doing muscle targeting exercise helps reshape the areas we are working on. These efforts can often be confused for targeted weight loss. The reality is, defined muscles hide fat better.

So to sum this all up, targeted muscle exercise will not accelerate weight loss and fat burning to a specific area, but rather, will contribute to your overall weight loss and fat burning progress.

I hope this cleared up some of the misunderstanding many people out there have when it comes to losing weight form specific areas. Don't believe the hype, nothing beats hard work and dedication. Stick to your plan and you will see results.

Check out my other articles on tips to lose fat.