No Such Thing As Spot-Reducing!

“Ten tips to lose belly fat!”
“Foods that you should avoid to get rid of belly fat!”
“The 10 minute belly fat buster.”

UGH!  These ads pop up everywhere.

Here is the thing-

There is no way to “spot reduce.”

Yet many companies out for a quick buck give you a stream of gimmicky advice on how to get flat abs.

It could be foods to eat or not eat, supplements or specific exercises.  The exercises may make you feel accomplished because you feel sore.  You may even strengthen your core.  And that is fine..

But,  they do not reduce your waist!  If anything, ab work can make your abs stronger, which may mean bigger,  (depending on your body’s tendency to put on muscle) which means your good intentions to get a smaller waist turn into a larger one.

Ah! Do not fall prey to those ab busting myths!

The way to get a smaller waist, or flat abdomen is:

Get to your ideal weight range.

Why?  Because absence of body fat around  your middle allows your ab muscles  to show.  That is what muscle definition is. You don’t need to build abs to see muscle, you need to reduce the fat lying on top of them.

Unless you do surgery or liposuction, which I am not suggesting, the only way to lose belly fat is to lose body fat in general.  And again, I am not pushing you to do this.  I am simply telling you that it is not logical to go on specific abdomen shrinking programs because they do not work.   Again, you can spot build, you cannot spot reduce.

Moral of the story?

Once again, your best bet for a happy, healthy body, and a stress-free relationship with food is to reconnect eating with hunger.

As you return to your ideal weight, your abdomen will become smaller in proportion to the body good ole Mother Nature gave you.  Maybe you have great legs and carry extra in your mid section.  Hey, that is just you and that is fine.  Or maybe your body holds more weight in your legs, and your abs are flatter.  Well that is fine too!  Accept that because you cannot change your body type, like my other most recent blog described.  You can, however, enjoy the full potential of your body by matching eating with hunger.

And there is nothing more attractive than a person who is happy in their own skin, and fully participates in all of life’s pleasures.  Including eating!

And when you connect eating with hunger, you can be your ideal weight, enjoy your body type, and eat foods you love.

Ta Da!  Yes, it really is that simple.