When it comes to fat loss, human physiology often appears to work against us. Many people notice that they gain fat first in specific areas—men often see it accumulate around the belly, while women tend to store it in the hips and thighs. Frustratingly, these same areas are also usually the last to shed fat when you’re working to slim down. This isn’t just bad luck; it’s rooted in how our bodies are wired.
The Physiology of Fat Storage and Loss
Your body prioritizes fat storage in certain areas based on genetics, hormones, and evolutionary biology. For men, visceral fat around the abdomen is a common storage site due to higher testosterone levels, which favor central fat distribution. Women, influenced by estrogen, often store subcutaneous fat in the hips and thighs, preparing the body for potential pregnancy. When you start losing fat, your body doesn’t reverse this process neatly. It tends to mobilize fat from less “preferred” storage sites first, leaving those stubborn areas—belly for men, hips for women—until the end.
Another reason it stores fat first around your middle or hips and then loses it there last is that the body views fat as a precious fuel source—a “gas tank,” if you will. The body is also energy-efficient. Therefore, it stores this gas tank close to your center of gravity, where it has minimal impact on calorie expenditure. If it stored fat in your extremities, such as your hands and feet, which move around a lot, it is now using more energy to move those limbs, which is more expensive than storing it around your center of gravity, which moves less. So, while you’re dieting or exercising, you might notice your face, arms, or legs slimming down before your waist or hips budge. It’s normal, but it can feel like a personal vendetta from your biology.
What To Do: Shift Your Focus
Instead of obsessing over the areas that are slowest to change, pay attention to where you are losing fat. Celebrate the progress in your arms, legs, or even your energy levels. Tracking non-scale victories—such as how your clothes fit or how much stronger you feel—can help keep you motivated. Fixating on your belly or hips can make you feel stuck, even when you’re making real progress elsewhere. Trust that those stubborn areas will eventually catch up as you maintain a consistent calorie deficit and exercise routine. Ignore your problem areas, and, like an annoying toddler, they too will go away as you shift your attention to the places where you are losing fat.
The Myth of Spot Reduction
A quick note on spot reduction: it’s essentially a myth. You can’t target fat loss in specific areas through exercises like crunches or glute workouts. You can spot tone, and those muscles will certainly become stronger and denser, but that might be hard to see if they are trapped underneath layers of stubborn fat that can’t be spot-reduced.
Fat loss happens systemically, driven by overall calorie burn and hormonal signals. Those trendy methods—like sweatsuits, tight wraps, or even “biohacks” such as infrared heat or light therapy—might make you feel like you’re targeting trouble spots, but they’re not burning fat selectively. Sweatsuits and wraps, for example, primarily cause temporary water loss through sweating, rather than actual fat reduction. True fat loss requires a whole-body approach—diet, exercise, and patience, keeping at it until your body gets around to your “problem areas,” and it will!
Save your energy for sustainable habits, such as strength training, cardio, and a balanced diet. Those stubborn areas will shrink in time, even if they’re the last to go. Keep at it, and don’t let biology’s quirks derail your progress.
