Breathe Magazine

I’ve been doing crunches everyday, but I’m not seeing any results. How can I flatten my stomach?

Hoo boy, if I had a new pair of shoes for every time I heard that, I’d never leave my closet.

Unfortunately, you can’t shrink just one part of your body. Losing weight in one area is called spot reducing, and it’s impossible.

Wanting to lose weight in the stomach area, or the thighs, is a common complaint, and people try to do so by just focusing on working that one part of the body, usually in the form of resistance exercises, like crunches or lunges. These exercises are great for building muscle and providing a defined, toned look, but in order to see the benefits, you have to get rid of that fat that is covering them up. The only way to do this is through cardiovascular exercise (such as running, walking or biking) and eating healthy. A calorie deficit (burning more calories than you consume) will eat that fat right up and expose the muscle you have been working so hard for.

That’s not to say that you should skip the strength training and become a cardio addict.

Resistance training is going to build muscle, which burns more calories than fat at rest, so the more fat you replace with muscle, the more calories you will burn throughout the day. Those burned calories equal fat loss. Its important to strength train your major muscle groups at least three times a week to not only increase your strength but improve your bone density and reduce your risk of injury and disease.

We all have “trouble areas” that we wish we could firm up or shrink, but the only way to transform them is to get a consistent mix of cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and a proper diet.