Can You Target Fat Loss or Is It Down to Luck?

No, you have very limited control over where your body loses fat. There is a theory in the fitness industry called spot fat reduction.

Proponents claim that this is an effective method to lose fat in a certain area by focusing on muscles in the same place.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, and there are no reliable studies that have been able to prove that it will actually work.

One of the main reasons for this is that weight gain and fat loss are dependent on age, gender, genetics, and hormone balances.

And even just looking at men and women reveals that fat cells react very differently [1].

For example, men will generally find that they gain weight around the belly. But for women, it tends to shift from the thighs to the belly depending on hormone balances, especially during menopause [2].

I’ll get to some studies on spot reduction shortly, but first, let’s take a look at how people believe it works.

The theory is good, but it’s all about evidence for me.

The theory around spot fat reduction is that exercising a certain muscle or muscle group can help with targeting fat loss in the same general area.

For example, women who have some excess body fat at the back of their arms are told that they can do triceps exercises to target fat loss in that same area.

That would mean doing some resistance training and high-intensity workouts like triceps extension or cable push-downs.

And I have to say that this theory sounds good.

Wouldn’t it make sense that muscles get their energy through targeted fat loss in the reserves that are closest to the muscle you’re training?

Unfortunately, that’s not how the human body and fat burning work.

While losing weight is all about doing high-intensity interval training or cardio, your body will metabolize fat from the upper and lower body no matter what part you're training. And it does this by transforming fat into fatty acids and glycerol [3].

So, whether you're doing cardio workouts or highly targeted upper body isolation exercises, it’s highly likely that your body will get energy from subcutaneous fat all over your body.

Science says that spot reduction as a tool for body fat loss doesn’t work.

For example, one study found that six weeks of highly targeted abdominal exercises didn’t result in significant belly fat loss [4].

That’s quite a damning result for anyone that might tell you you can get those six-pack abs by doing their body weight training for targeted weight loss.

And another larger study focused on women who did abdominal exercises for 12 weeks, and ultrasound imaging didn’t reveal increased weight loss around the abdomen compared to a test group [5].

“Spot-reduction (losing fat in one place) is not possible[1][2]. Your body distributes fat across the body. It is commonly said that "abs are made in the kitchen". By focusing on fat loss you will allow your abdominal muscles to be seen.”

- Kamal Patel, Co-founder & Editor of Examine.com

It almost seems like the body burns fat wherever it is easily available. In my opinion, it’s a lot more important to focus on finding the right intensity to burn fat reserves into free fatty acids.

See, your metabolism will primarily rely on carbs and fat for energy. And the more intense you train, the more it will try to process carbs and turn them into blood sugar [6].

This higher intensity will also increase your calorie burn rate and bring you to fat-burning processes sooner.

Most dietitians will tell you that 70% of fat loss could be achieved with a healthy diet.

You can have the most carefully planned and targeted exercise routine of cardio and lifting weights, but if you’re not eating healthy, it can all be a wasted effort [7].

Basically, you can’t out-train a bad diet.

And that means you need to look at the amount and the quality of your food to achieve weight loss [8].

If you’re eating more calories from simple sugary carbs, you’ll still cause blood sugar spikes that can result in weight gain.

This also means you need to burn more calories through exercise, which increases your effort and reduces success rates.

So, if you’ve been trying to shed a few pounds with no success, then start with the quality of your food. Cut out all the processed stuff and simple carbs, and then reduce your calories to a deficit level.

You’ll be surprised by how effective that approach can be.

“Depending who you talk to, these words are either dirty or sacred. There’s no doubt that they’re both vitally important to good health, but do they carry equal weight when it comes to losing weight? The Verdict: All the exercise in the world won’t help you lose weight if your nutrition is out of whack”

- Alia Hoyt, Writer at WebMD.com