Spot Reduction: I Have Good News and Bad News

bodbuds
Feb 13, 2015
4 min read

Dear Body Buds,

I hear it all the time: "I like my body, I just want to fix _____ (insert unfavorable part of the body here)." I can't help but smile because I so dearly love these people who say this. You may be one of them.

I get it.

You just want your inner thighs to trim down. You will be happy if you can shave an inch off the part of your arm that jiggles when you raise your arms. You just wish you can take suck the fat out of the part of your waist that spills over your jeans whenever you put them on (hence the sweat pant and legging craze, right?). You wish you could just suck that "beer belly" in and make it stay.

The bad news?

There is no such thing as spot reduction.

The good news?

When you get that stubborn body part to look how you want, you will most likely have improved every other body part as well.*

Let's dive into the logistics of why you can't spot reduce, and what you need to accept if you're serious about making change in your body.

1. Fat metabolism: you do not get to decide from what part of your body fat is metabolized when you are in a caloric deficit. Yes, you need to be in a caloric deficit (meaning eating less in energy than your body is expending in energy).

The places your body tends to accumulate fat is mostly determined by genetics, but there is also a small percentage that is based on your lifestyle. I can often know what type of sports or worklife an individual has by the build and shape of their body. Underworked muscle groups tend to contribute to the accumulation of body fat (WHEN the body is in an environment for fat storage--just because you don't work out a muscle group doesn't automatically mean that location will accumulate fat.) This leads me into my next point, because now I know what you're thinking . . . AWESOME! I'll just go work that part out every day and see some significant change-!

2. Muscle "toning:" Sorry to burst your bubble, but toning, strengthening, growing (whatever you want to call it)--all of these fitness attempts to work on a muscle beneath that place you feel soft, loose skin will not drop the body fat. Yes, the muscle will improve its tone (tightness and conditioning), but it won't magically suck the fat away.

This is because you actually cannot lose fat simply by working a muscle group. If it were that easy, I would have solved my own problems the year they started (age 8) and The Power Foods Lifestyle nor Body Buddies wouldn't exist! Because, trust me, I was the heaviest-exercising, spot-reducing, muscle-toning hopefulist out there (yes, if you don't know me well yet, I make up words. Just listen to my podcast.)

In order to remove already stored body fat, you need to put your body in an environment for it to free itself from the storage. This comes through a caloric deficit and properly balanced meals in order to keep level blood sugar and increase energy. That energy will help you then make your exercise strategic to shape and sculpt the muscle. That muscle will then reveal itself once you unmask it by putting your body in that environment to remove body fat.

So how do we create that precious body fat-reducing environment in your body AND do it in a way that will taste good, not feel like deprivation, improve your health, increase your energy, and help you feel like a million bucks?

The Power Foods Lifestyle.

(dun, dun, dunnnnn)

It really is that simple. I wrote the book because I figured it out. I busted through the myths to find a simple structure that has changed over 1,000 people's lives. I'm humbled to share this message with even more.

Here at Body Buddies, my coaching team seeks to help people just like you understand that you DO have what it takes. ALL IT TAKES is learning the simple principles of the Power Foods Lifestyle (proper meal combinations, timing, portions, and exchanges to help you cope while dining out and enjoying snacks and indulgences), understanding of strategic exercise programming, and mindset training--the active effort we make in training our brains and reconditioning ourselves toward food.

* As your body is in an evironment for change, you will see that your overall body fat percentage drops. I have watched SO MANY people's bodies melt before my eyes as I view their week by week progress photos. I've seen enough of this to tell you that I have NEVER seen just one part of a person's body respond more than another. It's an OVERALL melting of the body. That's really the only way I can describe it. I don't even care what science or statistics say, I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN ON TOO MANY PEOPLE TO LET YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE DIFFERENT. Sooooo . . . that's the good news. As you are fixing that "problem area," you're actually making your entire body look even better! :) YEAHHHH, buddy! :)

My team is phenomenal at what they do--I have personally trained each one of them and seen their journey to discover the POWER of this lifestyle for themselves. Words cannot describe the joy, hope, and strength that this lifestyle brings into the lives of those people we are blessed to train.

We hope you will invest in this coaching for yourself and apply yourself to the learning that can occur as you tune into podcasts, watch the YouTube Channel, read the books, and actively participate in social media.

By the time you are finished with your coaching, you will know enough about food and the way it works in your body as a sculpting and health agent to see through the lies and myths in this $3 Trillion dollar industry.

Stop taking the Desperation Dive to creams, pills, and surgeries. Stop believing you are a lost cause. Your mind is the ONLY thing that limits you. You have the power to master yourself. We want to guide you on your journey and are cheering you on!

Love your bud,