Everybody is different. I’ve preached that often enough in this blog, but it’s an important detail considering the topic of today’s post. The reality is that a diet that works well for one person may not be as effective for another. There are a number of reasons behind this including metabolism, lifestyle, body type and a bunch more… The same can be said for workouts. Even though doing 30 minutes of fast, pulse-racing cardio may be the ideal workout for one person to reach their goals, the next person may require weights, or some other form of fitness that you may not even consider. This is why losing weight can be so difficult for some, but easy for others.
Fat is a particular beast, because the accumulation and loss relates directly to your metabolism, your genetics and the diet and fitness regiment you follow. Contrary to popular opinion, you can’t focus WHERE you burn fat. That means all those late-night infomercials where the dude and his girlfriend are randomly standing by a pool and both of them could crush walnuts with their abs because of this ONE machine they do for a few minutes a day? Impossible.
You CAN’T choose from which area of the body you’ll burn fat. You CAN choose to increase muscle mass in specific areas. That’s the difference most people don’t understand. If you perform hundreds of crunches a day, your abdominals will become developed and strong. No doubt about it. But there’s no guarantee that it will burn fat around your gut.
According to a post by HealthLine.com, “[…] one study in 24 people who only completed exercises targeting the abdominals for six weeks found no reduction in belly fat.” Further, the article goes on to say, “Another study that followed 40 overweight and obese women for 12 weeks found that resistance training of the abdominals had no effect in belly fat loss […]”
There have been plenty of other studies, most with the same result. Here’s the article, if you want to give it a glance: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/targeted-weight-loss#section3
Your body stores fat as a spare source of energy. Targeting one specific area of the body not only won’t guarantee trimming that area’s fat, studies have shown it’s unlikely. Generally speaking, the only way to burn fat is a combination of intense physical conditioning combined with a proper diet that ensures your getting good, healthy calories.
It’s not all bad news; you can still burn fat, you just can’t focus where it’ll melt first. Toning down will be pretty much universal and consistent throughout your body. Fat burning and proper body toning is especially important for Type-1 Diabetics. ☯
The Blogging Buddhist 