Can I lose fat from just the areas I want?

Key points in 30 seconds

1. You can't pick and choose which areas lose fat.
2. Exercising one area only builds the muscle there.
3. That said, posture and swelling can greatly change the lines you see.
4. The area that bothers you most is often the last to slim down.
5. If only one side is thicker or swollen, another cause needs to be checked.

What we often hear

• "I just want to lose some belly fat. Is that possible?"
• "My upper arms bother me the most."
• "I'm losing weight, but not where I want."

Can I lose fat from just the areas I want?

No, you can't. Fat decreases across the whole body together, and which areas shrink first follows an order you were born with. No method is known to change that order.

We often hear, "I just want to lose belly fat," or "I just want slimmer arms." So many people focus on exercising that area, but that exercise only builds the muscle there. It doesn't make the fat in that spot go first.

So is working on specific areas pointless?

It's pointless for reducing fat, but it does matter for changing how you look. Muscle shape, swelling, and posture greatly change the lines you see on the outside.

At the same weight, how much your belly sticks out depends on your posture. When the pelvis tilts forward, the lower belly looks rounder, and when the back is hunched, the sides fold over. This is something we can work on.

Swelling is the same. On the calves and face, swelling shapes how you look more than fat does, so you can look different even when your weight stays the same.

Why do some people lose belly fat first and others lose it from the face first?

The order in which fat is gained and lost is influenced by your inborn constitution and hormones. In general, the last place fat was gained tends to be the first to lose it, but this varies from person to person.

So the area that bothers you most is often the last to slim down. If you judge success by that area, you may feel you're failing even when you are actually losing fat.

What are the limits of this assessment?

"Spot reduction doesn't work" is a widely accepted explanation, but we have not checked the supporting literature ourselves and attached it to this article.

One more note. If one arm or leg is noticeably thicker or swollen, it may not be fat but something else. It could be a lymphatic or blood vessel problem, so that needs to be checked first.

We don't promise to slim down just one area. But because the order in which fat comes off is set for each person, we can tell you that order in advance.

If you've been frustrated that the area you want to change hasn't budged, come see us. We'll tell you what in your body is likely to change first.

The order and speed of fat loss differ from person to person depending on inborn factors.