How to spot reduce body fat

The answer is super simple.

You can’t.

Day in and day out in this kind of job we hear the words “I just want this fat to shift from my hips”, “I just wish I could lose a little bit more from my thighs”, “Why can’t I get rid of this little bit of flab around my belly?!”.

The answer that we always give here at KM Fitness is “You can… over time”.

It is impossible to shift body fat from one area as opposed to others by choice. We can 100% reduce fat in those areas, but first of all you need to lose overall body fat in order to do this.

When you starts to lose weight, women especially, you will notice that it usually starts to come away top to bottom. That’s why you notice cheekbones, collar bones, the chest bone area looks flatter, your melons will disappear 🍉🍉👀, and then your tummy, legs and bum are usually the last to catch up. That’s because without going into too much technical detail about hormones, fat storage etc, those last body parts are the areas that fat typically tends to be stored.

So what can you do to reduce body fat all over?

1. Stop eating a ton of crap, sugar and processed foods.

Fuel your body with the right nutrition. Because food is fuel. If you didn’t put fuel in your car, it wouldn’t start. Why on earth would you think your body would be any different?! 

2. Don’t under eat.

If you think that eating like a bird is going to get you a flatter tummy, a six pack, that toned, defined, ripped, lean, shapely slim figure that you’ve always wanted. You have never been more wrong. If you under eat your body will start to eat into its own muscle. Less muscle means you are essentially left with bones covered in fat. Harsh but very true. And skinny fat would be the term that is used. A skinny person with no muscle but a bit of fat. Doesn’t sound appealing when it’s put like that does it. Eat more food.

3. Eat lots of protein.

Protein fuels your muscles. Muscles are more metabolically active and burn more fat so the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn.

4. Eat your healthy fats.

Eating fat burns fat. To put it simple, when you eat carbohydrates they release something that is called glycogen, your muscles can store this but they only have a certain capacity, so when they are full up and can’t store anymore the excess glycogen the  gets stored as fat. When you exercise your body will start to burn this off first by using it for fuel. Rather than existing fat. If you lower your carb intake and switch to higher fat….you will only be storing the excess. It then switches to using fat for fuel and burning fats for a living.

*(Disclaimer…your body does need carbs for certain goals before anyone pipes up and says they are the muscle builder… yeah they totally are and they are amazing….but we are talking fat loss here at number 4😃)

5. Exercise four to five days a week.

You need to work up a sweat. You need to enter the fat burning zone. To enter the fat burning zone your heart needs to be beating at a certain amount of beats per minute. This means working at roughly 65%-70% of your maximum heart rate. You won’t enter fat burning mode by having a steady walk and a chat to your mate on the treadmill 🙄. Get yourself out of breath. Break a sweat.

6. Lift heavy stuff.

For exactly the same reason as number 4. And also because lifting heavy stuff builds muscle….re read no 3. And it’s really bad ass too 😝💪🏼.

7. Excessive Alcohol = moobs and belly fat.

No two ways about it. It gets stored in your gut. Unless you give up your alcohol for a certain period of time, you can kiss your toned flat belly goodbye. And that’s a true story.

8. Cortisol: The stress hormone.

When you are stressed out your body releases said hormone. Said hormone level rises and stores in the stomach. What are you left with besides stress? A belly. This could be a reason that you’re not losing in this area if everything else is on point.

You can do all the ab exercises in the world, you can exercise until you go crazy, you can drive yourself mental wondering why you have stubborn areas. The above reasons are just a few examples of why we can’t shift the areas we would like to shift without losing overall body fat.

Focus on your body as a whole, not just one certain area. You wouldn’t mow your lawn and leave the weeding till next summer would you?! (Well I wouldn’t (Kell) even mow the lawn… not with all those insects, but you get the point!

Do your research. Ask for help. You will get there with patience and hard work.

Tomorrow is the start of a new week, you can also make it the start of the way you look differently at your body. Good luck 😊.