Stubborn Fat: how to rid yourself of it

Stubborn fat. I know this term well. As do most women. There are many gurus who claim that "there is no such thing as stubborn fat - fat is fat!" ....well, I disagree.

One of the 3 definitions of stubborn is: difficult to remove or deal with. Therefore, fat CAN be stubborn! For a lot of women (me included) lower body fat is stubborn. Because of our ability to bear children, we are predisposed to storing fat there as a safety for our womb. Our bodies have a difficult time wanting to get rid of that saftey. When I was dieting and working out enough for 2 people, the stubborn areas still wouldn't change. If that isn't stubborn fat, I'll be a monkey's uncle...or aunt.

Anyway, who cares who is right about fat being stubborn or not. We can all agree that certain areas seem much more difficult to touch, even with proper amounts of calorie restriction and exercise.

Being a pear shaped women (larger lower body and small upper body) is actually a good thing from a health perspective. Because the fat we hold is subcutaneous (underneath your skin), it isn't as risky as visceral fat (around the organs). So even though from an appearance standpoint, it might suck being a pear, for overall health, we should feel lucky.

One annoyance of being pear shaped is that before we reach fat stored in the lower body, we end up looking completely skeletal in our upper body as all the fat is depleted from that area first. Why are the boobs the first to go? So unfair, right? So we will often get criticised for looking "too skinny" and why are we trying so hard to lose fat when it doesn't look like we have any? Try to just take these comments with a grain of salt, other people don't see you naked in the mirror the way you see yourself. They are only trying to be nice (I think).

Don't get discouraged. After you have depleted all your upper body fat, and you're sick of dieting and you're sick of everyone telling you that you are getting too skinny, just keep going! Because this is when it's really important to give it all you've got! This is where you need to dig in and give 110% MORE! It can be done. Other people can do it, so can you!

It takes DISCIPLINE, DIET & EXERCISE. Plain and simple. No gimmicks, no tricks. Just those 3 things working harmoniously together. Did you get that? I said together. Not two out of the three, but all three. If you don't have them ALL working, no wonder you aren't losing that stubborn fat! I was never able to get the diet part in sync with the exercise. If I was gung ho about exercise, diet was slacking and if my diet was stellar, I didn't want to workout. I could never seem to get it together.

I already sort of talked about discipline. It means pushing through when everything and everyone around you seems to be working against you. Don't give up! Just keep going. Don't cheat on your healthy eating (no more than one treat per week.....I mean it!) and no skipping workouts (I mean that too!). DISCIPLINE!

Diet. Really a no-brainer. You know what foods you should be eating. And if you don't, give me your address so I can come over and slap you. Potato chips are probably not the best idea. "Broccoli....eh, I don't like it." Then find another green veggie you DO like. It's NOT hard. Yeah, those fries taste great, but look awful on your thighs.

Now, exercise. I'm a bit guilty of being an exercise snob. Meaning, I have one particular way I like to workout and no other workout will ever be superior in my mind. Given the choice to preach weight lifting or running, I'll preach weight lifting every time! But the truth is, it's probably best to incorporate both. Just keep this in mind:

The greater the exercise frequency, the greater the loss of subcutaneous fat. What does that mean? It means that it's better to do shorter workouts more often. I'm talking, 30 minute workouts, 6 times per week vs. 1 hour sessions 3 times per week. I get that a lot of people like to leave a day in between workouts, especially if they are very taxing on the nervous system or working one muscle group really hard. And that's fine. But there is still something that can be done on the "off" days. Maybe this is where you can add that cardio workout. But mix it up. For heaven's sake, don't think you have to run on the treadmill all the time. Don't let your body get used to your workouts. That spells disaster for fat loss. Be smart about cardio - not too much, and not too much of the same thing. We are talking fast fat loss here, not the fast marathon finishing times. If you want that, read another blog!

Studies show that even people who meet the requirements for optimal health through exercise, can still be candidates for heart trouble if they are sedentary for most of the day. Meaning, you could workout like a rock star every morning at 4am, but if you are sitting at a desk the rest of the day, you could be in trouble. Get up and move every 15 minutes. I am TOTALLY guilty of this now that I've started a business that requires a lot of computer time.

So, before you give up on your stubborn fat, make sure you've got those 3 things working synergistically for at least 3 months first! If you do, I'm sure you'll be happy enough with the results that you won't want to throw the towel in ;) It's DAMN hard! But if it was easy, you'd be looking great already, wouldn't you?

And one more thing, don't get too down on yourself. I was guilty of this too. I used to constantly look in the mirror at my thighs, horrified and disgusted by their state. I had to try really hard to just walk by the mirror in my bedroom without looking in it after I showered, because if I looked, I would just get depressed. I would think, "why am I working so hard for nothing?". But the truth is, I could have done more. Something was missing. And so while your body is under construction, just pass the mirror instead of staring into it, scrutinizing all of your flaws. Instead, take out your note cards with positive affirmations on them and read them out loud. Tell yourself you already have your ideal body. You need that positive reinforcement.