Tuesday, October 13, 2009

There are NO short cuts in this game.

Why You Can’t ‘Spot Reduce’ Fat

People have problem areas. Even people, who have achieved their ideal body weight, will still have problem areas. It could be the love handles, the flabby arms, the sagging skin or the hips. Consequently, this will lead you to find all sorts of products including creams, pills and applications to get rid of the fats to gadgets and machines to tone the arms, thighs and abs all in one!

However, there is one reality check you have to make. You cannot spot reduce. Any attempt to do so is not going to work, here’s why.

Why Can’t I Spot Reduce?

The market misinforms the public of the benefits that can be expected from their so-called revolutionary products when in fact there really are no revolutionary results to look forward to.

1. Healthy Diet Is Important
Diet is an important element to get rid of the undesirable body fat. The foods that you eat have calories that get stored in your body, probably amassing on those problem areas of yours. The diet is the main culprit for presence of fat.So no matter how much you depend on those gadgets in the market; it will remain defenseless if you keep indulging in sweets and fatty foods.

To start, begin spacing out smaller portioned meals roughly 3 hours apart throughout the day. This will create a fat burning furnace and you will begin burning rather than storing those extra calories in your fatty, problematic areas. You still want to focus on healthy balanced meals. Utilizing healthy, natural meal replacement shakes and bars can supplement your diet for those quick meals on the go. These help take away the excuse to eat badly of “I just didn’t have enough time to prepare…” That’s just laziness and it will not get you anywhere but a direct trip back to where you started. If you’re serious about getting in shape, start by addressing your diet and getting help form a qualified nutrition expert if needed.

2. Spot Reduction Is a Mere Myth
It is not healthy to believe what those people say about the productivity of spot reduction efforts. The products you see on the market require nothing but merely attach or apply them on the problem areas. What about your other body parts? What about the other requirements of the body?

In any healthy endeavor, you must be on the top of your physiology. You should know what it takes to achieve a goal. For example, if you want six-packs in your stomach, you have to know what it takes to get them.

Some people out there would claim that if you want to improve the look of your stomach, you simply have to concentrate on abdominal exercises or use the gadgets that will do the exercise for you. Again, you cannot spot reduce. You cannot achieve the goal with simply doing that one abdominal exercise or even worse by utilizing a tool that was three easy payments of $29.99 from some infomercial; that when used for three minutes for three days per week will yield mind-boggling, shredded sexy abs of steel!

(NOTE: anything that does the work for you and only takes nine minutes per week is a complete farce and is selling you false hope- DON’T FALL FOR IT!)

The fat can not just come off on its own by just using a gadget. Genetics has to do with it. Diet has to do with it. Lifestyle has to do with it. Period.

The truth is, before you can even aim for the six-packs on the stomach, you will have to take away the fat first.


So doing 500 crunches a day will only exhaust you and you still will not get your desired results. Only actual workouts focusing on full body, compound movements can address this. In these workouts, calories are burned one at a time, and not just in one area. This creates a more integrated system of reducing the fat in the body.

Furthermore, these types of workouts will also aid in gaining body mass, or muscle mass- which itself is more metabolically active than fat mass. (HINT: muscle burns more calories than fat and takes up less space in the body).

At this point, if you are following a healthy diet as well as performing calorie burning cardiovascular workouts too- you will in fact begin seeing those abs peek out regardless of how many or few crunches you do on a daily basis.

Only after surpassing the diet and cardio requirements should you focus on the abdominal exercises. This is the only proper time to really focus on working out for those sexy six-pack abs. Anything prior will not yield the ideal results, and will result in discouragement and eventual abandonment of your fitness program. Again, taking you no where but back to where you started.

3. There Are No Shortcuts
Miracle diets, pills and potions are mere shortcuts that will lead you to a dead end. If a healthy body is aimed, you have to work for it. You have to earn it.

We truly are living in a fast world with the advancement of technology, but your body still is very much natural. Thus you will still have to be grounded to what is naturally required by the body, healthy diet, regular exercise and considerable amount of time to develop that desirable state.

The supplement industry is a billion dollar industry and would rather spend its money on advertisements filled with steroid abusing body builders and models than focus on the research behind their products, so be wary. The FDA does not regulate what these companies market is in their products so what you may be ingesting may not be what is written on the label.

Your best bet to avoid any complications is simply stay natural, focus on whole foods and natural meal replacements, workout hard and rest hard. Don’t look for the quick fix, because believe me, there is none!

4. Health and Fitness Require Commitment
Your dedication to the health of your body is a lifelong commitment. Even if you achieved a good body now, it will not remain so forever if you abuse your diet and lifestyle. It needs to be loved and taken care of, regularly. Think of it this way- when you’re 65 or 70 years old do you want to feel like you’re 90 or 50 years old?

In other words, fitness doesn’t stop when you meet your initial goal of losing 10 lbs. or whatever. No, in fact, once you’ve met your initial goal, it’s time to update and make a new goal. This is an ever evolving process and will always give you something to work for so you continue to not only look better and live healthier, but also dramatically increase your quality of life for the long haul.

In Closing…Do It the Proper Way

With all these points raised, the bottom line is to simply get healthy the proper way. The saying still holds true. No pain, no gain. So do not be a victim of the misleading information and empty promises thrown upon you. Simply know the proper options. Take the matter into your own hands and enjoy the benefits of a healthy body.

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