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prettygirlhoward

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LorinaLynn

As someone who has changed the shape of her body... there's no such thing as spot reduction. I have a small waist and mostly flat stomach, but I hardly do any ab exercises. It's a full body approach. All the sit-ups, crunches and planks in the world won't flatten a stomach or trim a waist unless you get rid of the excess fat.

However, the "tricky" part is losing the excess fat without losing too much muscle. If you're cutting calories too much, if you're not getting adequate nutrition and especially protein, and/or if you're not getting resistance training, you're going to lose more muscle than you should. That was my problem last time I lost weight, five years ago. I got smaller, but my body shape stayed the same.

Even this time around, it wasn't until I added strength training that really changed my shape. But it wasn't a pick and choose sort of thing. It wasn't spot training and spot reduction. It was working the whole body, and working it hard.

Here's an example:

First photo is when I'd already lost about 20 pounds. Second photo is after losing another 11 pounds. At the time, I was running 3-4 times a week, and doing some body weight and 5 pound dumbbell work. I was smaller, I was lighter, but my body shape was pretty much the same.

The third photo is after 8 months of strength training (lifting heavy 2-3 times a week, running 3 times a week), with virtually no change on the scale.



Since then, I've gained another 5 pounds. I can't find it.



And that's why it's so frustrating when people say, "No machines or weights." Weights are the BEST tool to change your body composition. It's like asking how to paint a room without a paint roller. Sure, it can be done with just a brush, but it's going to be a lot harder and take a lot longer. Why limit yourself?