You can do it! Just remember that fat in the belly, hips, and butt does not come off first (as if you didn’t already know!). Don’t fall for claims from diet books, like The South Beach Diet, that promise (right on the dust jacket) that you’ll “lose belly fat first.” While making such a claim is an effective way to sell lots of books, there is no science behind it - not one single study.

What many studies have proven are the following:

For evolutionary reasons, people tend to lose fat in the extremities first - the legs, feet, hands, and arms - because these are the areas that keep us mobile, ready to run from danger. The last places to lose fat tend to be the mid-section: the belly, hips, and butt.

No diet or exercise produces fat loss in one specific area. “Spot reduction” is media hype, not science. It’s wrong. Worse yet, it’s counterproductive. After spending money on useless products to, say, tone up “abs,” people get discouraged, understandably so, because they’re getting no results, and then give up.

To lose fat in the belly, hips, butt, and everywhere else, here’s what matters most: You’ve got to burn more calories than you eat. Therefore, the Pritikin Program, with its emphasis on regular exercise and foods that are low in calorie density, is ideal. “Create an energy deficit, keep at it, and you will lose excess fat, wherever it is on your body. It will happen,” encourages Scott Danberg, MS, Director of Spa & Fitness at the Pritikin Longevity Center®.

Scott emphasizes the following Pritikin exercise guidelines for getting rid of belly fat, hip fat, and butt fat:

Both aerobic and resistance exercise are important.

For aerobic exercise, include 2 to 3 sessions a week of high-intensity interval workouts. (5-minute warm-up, 20 minutes of intervals, 5-minute cool-down. See “Interval Training Basics” for details). Intervals help you burn extra calories because they work your muscles harder than steady, moderately paced aerobic exercise. And because they work both aerobic and anaerobic systems, intervals do a better job of helping you retain muscle while losing fat. The more carbohydrates burned by your muscles to fuel the higher intensity exercise, the more fat burned after the exercise to repair, replenish and rebuild these muscles.

Everyone has a six-pack of abs, though most of us may never see them. (They’re largely a result of good genes.) What’s important is keeping the muscle mass you have. (Many magazines airbrush six-packs on their models, and many models endure unhealthy diet and exercise routines to achieve this look - just for the cameras.)

To lose excess fat, it doesn’t matter what type of aerobic exercise you do. For both intervals and moderate-intensity workouts, any type is fine - walking, rowing, swimming, hiking, bicycling, running. All that matters is that you do it - a 30- to 60-minute workout, 6 to 7 times weekly. For effective fat burning and muscle building, replace 2 to 3 of your moderate intensity workouts with 2 to 3 high-intensity interval workouts - on nonconsecutive days.

For resistance training, “the best strategy is not to target one specific area, like your stomach, but to exercise all the major muscle groups,” advises Scott. “Not only will you tone and shape all of your body, you’ll build more muscle mass overall. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn, and the leaner you get.” You’ll target all your major muscle groups with “Ten Resistance Exercises For Losing Fat and Building Muscle.”

To prevent back, knee, and other injuries, always use the good form you learned at the Pritikin Longevity Center. (Refresh yourself with the guidelines in “Ten Resistance Exercises.”) Select weights you can perform 8 to 15 repetitions with - and for 1 to 3 sets. Work hard, but work smart. Never break form. Always stop 1 to 2 repetitions prior to breaking form. If you can do more than 15 (at perfect form), increase the weight. Most importantly, always listen to your body. Sure, you want to feel a little burn, but you don’t want to feel pain, like
muscle twinges or spasms.

To motivate yourself, remember all the good things that come with resistance training, including stronger bones, more muscular endurance, better posture, a faster metabolism (and therefore faster weight loss), leaner body mass, and more ability to do all the things you want to do, from lifting groceries to swinging golf clubs. Yes, the benefits - in addition to a leaner, slimmer you - are priceless!