"How do I lose weight from..." The myth of "spot dieting"

Often members, particularly women, will talk to me about weight loss and their gym regime is having on weight their weight. Without doubt, THE most common question anyone asks me is,

"How do I lose weight from my... (insert word from below)"

- legs
- stomach
- hips
- arms
- anything really!

Problem! Unfortunately you can't REALLY "spot diet" for specific trouble areas of the body. You can improve pretty much every area of your body, but your DNA will account for where you store body fat, and where larger areas of body fat will subside rather than your choices of exercise.

The only other determining factor on body fat storage and body make-up is hormone levels; your hormone levels can have huge effects on areas in which your store body fat. From insulin to cortisol, they all play an important role in monitoring your body's storage and digestion of fats. However, for the purpose of this blog, I'm discussing the impact of specific exercises on body fat reduction/spot dieting.

You can improve, "tone up" and strengthen certain areas of your body through exercise. Likewise, you can look to avoid intensive training on areas which are susceptible to quick growth; but... doing a lot of abdominal work won't help strip down your stomach fat!

If you have areas of the body you want to reduce the body fat on, you will need to reduce your overall body fat and as a result, your "problem area(s)" should improve. It may take longer than other areas, or change may appear minimal as the rest of your body changes alongside it, but it's the only way.

I hear a lot of examples such as "I only want to lose weight from my arms, but I don't want to lose it anywhere else."

Sorry, same answer! It will simply be a case of reducing your overall body fat.

Don't view "fat" as a shameful word. Everyone has fat on their body! From single figure body fat readings to excessive levels of body fat, it's everywhere. So while you might not be viewed as "fat" in general, your body fat WILL need to decrease if you wish to lose fat from your troublesome areas.

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Health and fitness is a lifestyle, not a short-term effort...

In the last month alone I was approached by 3 different people all with weddings within the next month and ALL looking to "get in shape", "lose a little weight" or "tone up quickly".

I understand that people are busy, ESPECIALLY around their wedding time; but... this made me so frustrated!! Why do people seem to think that getting themselves in shape will be an overnight procedure!?...

Here are 5 reasons you should realise that "Health and fitness is a lifestyle, not a short-term effort..."

1- There are "gym regulars" - If getting fit was easy then why would there be gym regulars? Everyone would just pop in from time to time and look awesome!

2 - Were you born able to walk, run and drive a car? Then don't think of a gym as being any different - you still need to learn! You can't pick it up over night and master the whole "gyming it" thing. Understanding the gym, exercise and your body takes years to do correctly. It's unlikely that your first gym program will set you on a path to exceptional condition.

 3 - There are gyms popping up all over the place. If you could get fit/in shape quickly then gyms wouldn't survive. They would be seasonal and open for short periods each year for people to pop in and get "fit" in a week or two.

4 - How many "healthy food shops" do you know of? If it's so easy to get into shape why would the likes of GNC, Holland & Barrets etc survive? Again, people would just give a diet a dabble and all look brilliant.

5 - How long does it take to put weight on?.. If you're over weight or out of shape, think to yourself "How long did it take for me to become like this?" Being out of shape is a gradual process right? Well you can sure as hell work out that getting back in shape won't happen over night either!

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