Can anyone contradict "you can't spot reduce weight"?

Posts: 74 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Obviously in order to lose weight you have to be creating a calorie deficit on a consistent basis.

And all the advice you see online is that 'you can't spot reduce weight'

But surely there are ways to 'encourage' the inches to come off my belly and not elsewhere? My core is my problem area and I really need to get rid of a couple of inches there.

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  • Posts: 55 Member
    Unfortunately no you cannot spot reduce, and I also had issues with belly fat that I never thought would come off! But, it finally did over time- you just have to keep on weighing food, logging, and counting calories- I did have to be especially strict when I got closer to my goal weight.
  • Posts: 72 Member
    katie1234 wrote: »
    Obviously in order to lose weight you have to be creating a calorie deficit on a consistent basis.

    And all the advice you see online is that 'you can't spot reduce weight'

    But surely there are ways to 'encourage' the inches to come off my belly and not elsewhere? My core is my problem area and I really need to get rid of a couple of inches there.

    Nope, you can't choose where the fat comes off. You can choose where you build muscle and tone up, but you don't choose where your fat comes off at all. Not even a little bit.

    Fat loss works genetically. Your DNA decides that. Let's say, for example, your DNA (your body's blueprint) says "when we start gaining weight we will first gain on the thighs, then the butt, then the arms, then the belly" then that's what will happen you you start to gain weight. When you start to LOSE weight, it'll happen in the opposite order that you gained if. So "belly, arms, butt, thighs". This is obviously an incredible simplification, but this is the general idea. There is no way you can choose where fat comes off your body and there are no exercises that will make you lose fat on your belly but not the rest of your body. All this will do is lead to general fat loss and strength of the area you are working. Hope this helps!! :)
  • Posts: 35,719 Member
    katie1234 wrote: »
    Obviously in order to lose weight you have to be creating a calorie deficit on a consistent basis.

    And all the advice you see online is that 'you can't spot reduce weight'

    But surely there are ways to 'encourage' the inches to come off my belly and not elsewhere? My core is my problem area and I really need to get rid of a couple of inches there.

    Nope
  • Posts: 373 Member

    I wouldn't get too put out about being woo'd half of MFP thinks it means woohoo.

    Oh! :D
  • Posts: 6,252 Member
    Although you can't spot reduce, for me, at least, strength training makes a profound difference. Back when I first stuck with it consistently, I was shocked by how positive the results were and wished I'd done it years earlier.

    This is absolutely true. What you're touching on is aesthetics e.g.minimize the appearance of a large waist by increasing chest size. Body builders do this to develop symmetrical perfection...or as close as they can.

    You cannot spot reduce fat loss, but you can build muscle as an aesthetic offset, which will also aid fat loss, although by a very small margin.
  • Posts: 12,344 Member
    Nope. You can't spot reduce, period.
  • Posts: 2,187 Member
    Only way to spot reduce is liposuction.

    Alternatively, muscle development will help the area appear smaller. Fat that gets to hang from muscle looks way better than fat that just hangs there. Muscle development will require a different nutritional plan calorie-wise than fat loss.

    Fat typically follows a LIFO (Last In Fire Out) approach. So, if your tummy got fat and then your arms got fat, the first fat to go will be from the arms.
  • Posts: 18,343 Member
    Can anyone contradict "you can't spot reduce weight"?

    No, because it's the truth. Not only can you not contradict it, there are studies which show it's not possible:
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21804427
  • Posts: 57 Member
    edited March 2018
    Liposuction?

    hahah this.

    also +1ing the people who mentioned weight training, you cannot spot reduce (without liposuction) but you can add muscle to a specific area which can improve the look of that area and make it appear leaner.
  • Posts: 202 Member

    Oh! :D

  • Posts: 14,360 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    Wow, I have 144, I'm extra woo-ful. To be fair, I have posted a lot in threads about the woo button, where we all prove it's silly by wooing all the other posts in the thread :grimace:

    Ha! I might get jealous as my woo factor is rapidly approaching Diane's!!! :cold_sweat:
  • Posts: 8,753 Member
    I have 226. I win!
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