You need to just say ‘fat’ as it doesn’t matter which area you’re talking about. It’s all going to be the same answer! Because having belly, thigh or abdominal fat is nothing to do with working out in particular ways. In fact it’s nothing to do with working out at all!
Working out is for fitness, function and health. In some cases to improve performance but not really the thing to do to lose fat; from whatever area of your body that is bothering you. This is because fat is to do with body regulation. Everything in your body is controlled by hormones or nerves or muscles that work in balance to another.
FAT REGULATION
The two hormones that will be the key to you losing belly fat are insulin (it signals the storing of fat) and glucagon (signals to the body to burn fat)
fat will be burnt across the body, there is no exercise that will target fat in one area.
There are exercises that will tone muscle in an area and give the appearance of better shape. For example your waist might look ‘‘the tighter” or clothes might become looser but that six pack will not be seen with a layer of fat on top. Only diet does that. Because what food you consume will be the thing that stimulates the two hormones mentioned earlier.
Fat is distributed around the body and where it accumulates is very much genetic and what kind of person you are. Highly stressed people have a lot of fat in this area due to how the hormones signal. You don’t mention if you are female or male or what age you are. All these factors play some role but there is one thing above all others that plays the biggest role in fat accumulation and that is the role of hormones in fat regulation,
Before I start
Looking at answers about belly fat and butt fat etc the answers often dished out are based on thinking from the 1960s that has long since been disproved.
You will have answers that involves simplicitic maths, ‘calories in v calories out’ and super hard workouts advice that really won’t ‘spot reduce fat.’
A really simple process of losing fat has become saturated with unproven-by-clinical-trials advice. Most of it makes no sense or in the case of calorie reduction ‘seems right’’ but in reality it just doesn’t work that way!
So to get rid of fat; you need to understand this.
How the body stores or burns fat.
This process is controlled by two hormones (insulin and glucagon) that work like scales. Too much insulin and you’ll store fat, no insulin and glucagon can do it’s job and burn fat.
The proof that hormones control fat storing and burning is common knowledge in the medical world and is not controversial. Yes there are hormones that control hunger and feeling full but in the end it’s all about being a fat burner or sugar burner.
Don’t eat refined carbohydrates, sugars and fructose
Yes without a doubt that’s all you need to do. It’s the most natural way the body works. The ketogenic diet works this way. High fat, low carb works this way and fasting (eating nothing for at least 16 hours per day every week or so) all work this way. They lower insulin levels and raise glucagon levels.
Those that say it’s unhealthy to try ketogenic seem to be promoting the current western diet that gives you a 1–3 chance of either high blood pressure, obesity or diabetes. So I think we can assume that the ‘normal’ way to eat is actually not that healthy! Anyway I digress…
To explain the Ketogenic diet in layman’s terms. Ketogenic comes from the word ketones, the fuel source the body uses instead of glucose.