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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2021-02-02, 21:34

Never believe anyone who claims they can "spot reduce" or "target" something like belly fat. They're selling snake oil. I didn't watch any farther after reading the (clickbait?) title of that video. That's not to suggest he may not have anything else useful to add — there is often good advice mixed in with the bad, and I suspect people are often just parroting misinformation they learned and never questioned — but do be wary of bro science.

Your body metabolizes calories from its stores of fat cells relatively equally across your body. Generally the last place you gained fat will be the first place you lose it, and the first place you gained it will be the last place you lose it, because that's how it was easiest for your body to store the fat in he first place. Biology tends to take the path of least resistance here; this whole process is trying to conserve energy after all. The unfortunate truth (which doesn't sell well) is that it doesn't really matter if you exercise your core or glutes or whatever or do a thousand crunches a day. It's all just "calories in calories out" when it comes to fat loss. Training a specific area of the body may strengthen and build muscle there, which can contribute to a healthier look and is still increasing the "calories out" part of the equation, but it doesn't really make your body choose to prioritize the fat cells in that area.

It might also help to think about what "burning fat" really means at a physical/chemical level. A fat molecule stores energy in a chain of hydrogen and carbon atoms (the "hydrocarbons" you've probably head many times), and the process of breaking that chain bonds the carbon and hydrogen atoms with the oxygen from the air you breath to produce… carbon dioxide and water! Yep. You literally breathe out most of the mass (~80%) from lost fat, and you pass the remaining water as urine, respiration, or perspiration. When you are in a calorie deficit, whether by under eating or over exercising, your endocrine system adjusts hormones so that fat molecules start breaking down, get carried through your blood stream, and usually finish decomposing and converting to other molecules in the liver. This process is pulling molecules from throughout your body, and that's why the fat comes off relatively evenly across the body, despite any "targeting" hype from trainers across the globe.

(This chemistry explanation is a little simplified and skips a few reactions, but I think the gist of it is still accurately represented.)

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