Why Spot Reduction Doesn’t Work
One common question we get at Flow is how to lose fat in a specific area. We hate to break it to you — but it’s impossible to spot-reduce fat. So you can stop doing endless crunches to melt belly fat, or eternal tricep dips to slim your arms. Instead, focus on overall fat loss through a healthy balance of nutrition and exercise.
Nutrition is crucial to fat loss. It’s simple math: To lose body fat, you need to eat less than you burn each day (known as being in a “caloric deficit”). Keeping a food journal is a great way to track what you’re eating, which keeps you honest and focused on your goals. When meal planning, make sure your plate has a good balance of protein, carbohydrates and fat. This will roughly look like:
- A palm-size serving of protein.
- A fist-size serving of carbs.
- A thumb-size serving of fats.
- …and, of course, a large handful of veggies for each meal.
Aside from what you eat each day, make sure you’re drinking enough water. Water helps flush out toxins while keeping you hydrated, which is very important when thinking about fat loss.