Alright so do you think those old fitness infomercials are as ridiculous as I do?
What’s the real reason why 93% of women never lose belly fat?
BECAUSE IT’S REALLY…
REALLY…
REALLY HARD!
And because when we feel like results aren’t snowballing,
when we don’t see changes happening on the scale, we feel like the effort doesn’t equal the outcome…
And we QUIT.
But to lose from those oh so stubborn areas…To lose that last little bit…
We often NEED to keep going past the point we want to quit.
We need to stay consistent, be precise with our nutrition and workouts and not give up just because it feels like nothing is happening.
Because the simple fact of the matter is…
It’s not easy to reach a new level of leanness…especially for the first time.
And stubborn areas are stubborn for a reason.
Literally we may see fat being lost from EVERYWHERE else FIRST before we shed that final bit.
We may not see the scale change at all as we are actually getting leaner.
But we will only lose that last little bit of stubborn belly fat if we don’t quit or let little inconsistencies and 1% deviations from our plan start to add up.
We’ve got to embrace the suck of doing something hard and outside our comfort zone.
Which is easier to do when we remember that what you do to reach a goal is not what you’ll do to maintain it.
While we don’t want to sabotage our long-term success with fad diets or crazy 2 a day workout routines, we do need to recognize that not everything we do will feel sustainable.
There is a hard we have to push through before we then transition into maintenance and more of a lifestyle balance.
So now that I’ve sold you on still pursuing your goal of achieving abs so you can be in that 7%, I want to share why some areas are so stubborn to lose from…
Then go over the 2 main struggles you will have to push through…
And finally highlight 4 key tips that can make that 1% difference when you already have the fundamentals dialed in.
So first, why are areas like our stomachs, especially often the lower abs and obliques, so hard to lose from?
First off…our genetics do have an impact on where we tend to store fat.
And as women we do have higher levels of body fat, and need those levels to be higher than men, to maintain hormonal balance.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t still lose that stubborn fat to see that definition.
This all just has an impact on what areas are most stubborn for us.
It just means these areas we often want to change the most will be the last to go…And consistency for longer will be key.
Sucky but key.
Fat loss from these areas, like specifically our love handles, lower abs or even our hips, thighs and butt, can be harder because there is generally less blood flow to these specific regions.
Less blood flow makes it harder to mobilize and utilize fatty acids from these areas.
And not only that, but these areas generally contain fat cells that don’t respond as well to the fat loss process.
Yup.
There are different types of fat cells in our body – alpha and beta – and both respond differently to the fat loss process.
Alpha cells respond better and accelerate the process while beta cells don’t respond as well and make it harder to lose the fat.
Of course guess which ones we tend to have more of around our middle?
Those annoying beta fat cells!
But notice I didn’t say they made it impossible to lose belly fat.
It just is why you have to truly go in prepared to be consistent and let TIME work its magic as you’re precise in making sure those systems work together.
You can’t out exercise your diet if you want abs.
You can’t try to rush the process to see the scale change quicker.
Both of those things will ultimately only sabotage your success.
That’s why I think it is key we go in with eyes wide open as to the struggles we may encounter when trying to get leaner.
Because the more we almost oversell the negative to ourselves, the less challenging we may find the process because we are prepared for the struggles.
We may even find ourselves thinking “That wasn’t so bad!” just because we knew it was going to pop up over being caught off guard!
So in terms of the challenges….
First, the areas you want to change the most will be the last to go and even though you’re progressing, you may feel like you look worse.
Yea you heard that right…
You may actually feel like you look WORSE as you lean down.
Where does your eye go when you look at progress photos?
The areas you want to change the most.
And as I already mentioned, those are the stubborn areas that often are the last to change.
This means we will lose off of other areas first.
As these areas get smaller, guess what looks bigger in comparison?
That fat around our middle!
Yet that area didn’t gain.
We just haven’t lost from there YET.
This is why we need to track measurements too from these other places.
Seeing losses from those other areas can help us know we are on the right track and just need to stay consistent.
So if you’re feeling like you look worse, and have seen loss from other areas, you need to buckle down and keep going.
Second, you’re going to get “burned out.”
Breaking a set point, getting leaner than you’ve gotten before will not be easy.
It’s new and oddly “scary” for your body.
Our body, and even our mind, doesn’t like or want change.
So your body will fight the process and you are going to need to be more precise in your systems.
You can’t guestimate your macros or calories.
You can’t randomly pick a workout.
You need a strategically designed plan.
And this plan will be uncomfortable and push your boundaries.
Because it will take a lot of focus to be consistent and prevent old habits and patterns from creeping in…
It will require WILLPOWER and not just discipline to sometimes do that workout on a day you’re tired and just want to watch chick flicks on the couch…
Or skip that cupcake or cookie when everyone else is having something on Friday night.
You’ll question is it worth it?
And you’ve got to say YES and keep pushing through.
Now you may be thinking…IS it truly worth it?
Honestly…
It is.
But it’s not the actual ab definition goal that is worth it…whatever losing the belly fat and achieving ab definition means to you and your aesthetic goals.
What’s worth it is you achieving something you thought you couldn’t.
Doing habits that are honestly good for you and your body and health.
It feels good to almost “overcorrect” and break patterns you thought were impossible to break to then be able to create new and sustainable habits and a lifestyle balance.
Because in achieving this aesthetic goal, yes we may love how we look…
But the confidence and strength is really built through what we overcome.
Life is the pursuit of goals…and about conquering the journey and showing ourselves all that is possible.
We train hard and make sacrifices in so many areas for goals that matter to us.
No shame in this being one of them!
Honestly, I can tell you that so many clients that realize their strength in changing lifestyle patterns not only achieve amazing body recomp but feel their most fabulous and confident inside and out of the gym.
They see so many wins in not only their health and functional fitness but also because they’ve gained pride in what they can push themselves to achieve, in the love and dedication they’ve shown this one body they have for life!
So if you’re like YES this is a challenge I want…
Yes this is a pride I take in my body and I’m going to own my goals, here are 4 keys I want you to focus on to help you push through and see results snowball.
#1: Macros matter most.
Not tracking when you want to get abs is like throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping something sticks.
Precision pays off and what gets measured gets managed.
Track your food. Sucks but it is the best way to make 1% changes that build.
It helps us avoid dramatic wrong turns in our program and makes sure our diet even matches our activity level, body and goals.
And then don’t be afraid to adjust as you progress.
Too often when we are trying to lose fat, we even first turn to cutting our calories lower.
But when a client has only that last little bit to lose, I avoid cutting calories as much as possible.
A bigger deficit often backfires and leads to more muscle being lost.
Instead we will do more cycling of macros, especially going higher on protein.
This is where those really high protein ratios of over 40% of your calories coming from protein pay off amazingly well, especially as you get older and even go through menopause!
#2: Progress your core work.
You better learn to love core work.
No you can’t spot reduce an area by just doing a bazillion reps of an exercise for that muscle group.
But your abs are muscle and you see better definition when you do build them to some extent.
No, you’re not trying to grow them like you may other areas…
But you do still need to progress your core training to see better results.
Focus on changing the range of motion, tempos, loads, resistance types all while keeping the reps in that even 10-20 rep range.
And even consider including this core work to END your workout before maybe some steady state cardio, such as walking.
I mentioned to start there is less blood flow to stubborn areas making them more stubborn.
But by working the muscles in an area, we can stimulate more blood flow to help mobilize more fatty acids.
The key is then making sure we USE those mobilized fatty acids which is where the walking comes in.
Now note…this is that 1% tweak…if your macros aren’t already dialed in…
If you aren’t already following a clear workout plan…
If you aren’t implementing proper recovery…
This isn’t going to be a magic fix to broken fundamentals.
#3: Focus on QUALITY.
Honestly this is quality in every component of the systems you are implementing.
Because losing belly fat isn’t about one magic food, one magic supplement or one magic move.
It’s about quality in all those systems working together.
And it’s about intentionality in your training and your fueling.
You want to make sure you’re focusing on nutrient dense foods.
Yup…as much as I preach including foods you love, you’ll see better results faster by focusing less on those fun foods and more on those nutrient dense foods that help maintain hormonal balance, make you feel fuller, help you recover and even have a higher thermic effect.
This will make the fat loss process easier.
Same goes for your workouts…
You need to focus on quality in those sessions. You need to push hard and truly drive progression.
You need to focus on what you feel working.
You need to work hard in the gym and then focus on that recovery between.
We want to focus on quality NOT quantity.
Doing more will only backfire.
Now last but not least…
#4: The process is never linear.
Note I didn’t say progress is never linear…
I said the process.
You’ve got to embrace ebbs and flows.
To lose that belly fat, you may not always be driving toward fat loss.
Diet breaks, maintenance periods…
Times you back off to keep doing the minimum…
May be needed to ultimately achieve your goal.
Self control is like a gas tank.
We can’t let it hit E while driving on the highway or we’re going to be in trouble.
At points, you need to pull into that gas station and refill…ideally when the light even first comes on, to keep being able to move forward.
Same thing goes for your fat loss goals.
Sometimes you need to strategically back off to keep pushing forward. So know when burn out may become I don’t care at all forget everything…
And proactively and strategically even plan in breaks!
So if you’ve felt like you’ll never lose belly fat…
Stop writing off your body recomp goals.
Yes it is hard but when we know the struggles we can plan for them and prove to ourselves so much more than we thought possible is possible!
If you’re looking for that support and programming to dial in your nutrition and workouts to see amazing body recomp, check out my 1:1 Coaching…
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