Diets and exercise programs may promise to eliminate unwanted fat from your belly, but it's almost impossible to lose fat from your belly without losing fat anywhere else. The concept of losing weight in one area of your body is called spot reduction. Many people think spot reduction is possible, but scientific evidence demonstrates that it is not.
Research
A 1971 study published in "Annals of Internal Medicine" and reviewed by Jack H. Wilmore Texas A&M University investigated spot reduction and examined whether tennis players had less fat in their dominant arms. If spot reduction were legitimate, a tennis player should have less fat in his dominant arm than in his nondominant arm, since he exercises his dominant arm much more. However, researchers found that tennis players had equal amounts of fat in each arm, even though they had more muscle in their dominant arms. In addition, a 1984 study published in "Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport" following a 27-day intense situp exercise program found no change in abdominal fat.
Weight Loss
When you do crunches, situps or other abdominal exercises, you build stronger abdominal muscles, which can give your belly a tighter and more toned appearance. However, building abdominal muscle doesn't reduce your abdominal fat or make you slimmer. You lose weight by burning more calories than you consume. If you lose weight, you will lose weight proportionally from all areas of your body, even if you burned calories and fat performing exercises that target your belly.
Fad Diets and Gadgets
Don't fall for fad diets or gadgets that promise to burn off or melt away stomach fat, either. No food or supplement targets weight loss in one area of your body. Gadgets or pills that promise to block the absorption of fat, prevent the digestion of starch, flush fat out of your body, suppress your appetite, stimulate acupuncture points or electrically stimulate your muscles are not effective and may be dangerous, according to the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General.
Effective Weight Loss Strategies
If you want to lose excess weight in your lower belly, reduce your diet by about 500 calories per day by eating smaller portions, eating less fried food and junk food and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. In addition, exercise for 30 minutes or more most days of the week. Losing weight at a slow, steady pace and permanently changing your diet and exercise habits increases the likelihood you'll keep the weight off.
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