Okay, now I know that there is no way to spot reduce. I've known that for a while. However, I read Fitness RX magazine for women all the time. Their articles are very scientific-based, and they seem to have a lot of credibility (if you've never read it before, I really recommend it).

Thing is....the magazine had an entire section for spot reduction. Last issue's AND this issue. They're claiming that there is a Dutch study going on right now that claims spot reduction may be possible. It's done by working out the area that you want to shrink (stomach for me....so I would do some ab exercises), and after the workout, you use a heating pad and place it directly on that area for 20 minutes.

I don't know the EXACT science behind it, as I kind of skimmed through it (was at the bookstore...I'll have to go back and buy it so I can read more on it). But it does sound really credible. And seeing as this magazine has a REALLY good reputation, I'm almost forced to believe what they're saying. They said it hasn't exactly been PROVED yet (because the study is still ongoing), but the results so far look very promising.

What do YOU think? Do you think this is just another fad? Or do you think this may actually work? I do suggest you go read the article before you judge, though. With science backing it up, like I said, it seems really promising.

Maybe it is a quick fix like those dehydration belts. If you want to be down for a certain outfit stuff like that. If it is so that it wiorks long term

I can’t speak to this exact study, but I teach a research design course to college students, and here are some of the issues I try to get them to pay attention to. If you think about these questions, it can help you evaluate lots of research studies.

1) Who are the participants? If the study is done on just one specific group of people (e.g., men, cancer patients, weight lifters, thin people, college students, volunteers) then we have to be careful applying the results to other groups.

2) Is it a true experiment where people are randomly assigned to conditions? Or do people “choose” the group they belong to? This is a big question to determine whether one thing causes another. If people self select (as with a lot of diet research) we can’t determine causality. For example, if we see research where people who choose to consume more olive oil have healthier hearts, is that because of the olive oil, or because people who choose olive oil are different in other ways than people who don’t?

3) How did they measure the outcome? Would other measurements give the same results?

4) What kinds of groups were people divided into? Let’s say the study was looking at diet and exercise. People either dieted, exercised or both. Don’t we need to know what kinds of diet (not all are the same) or what exercise? If the exercise was only cardio and they find it doesn’t aid exercise, make sure write-ups specifically notes “cardio” and doesn’t say exercise generally – because weight lifting results might have been very different.

5) Finally, what’s the size of the difference between the groups? Most studies discuss “significant” results. What that means is that any observed differences are not likely to be due to chance, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the difference is a big one.

I know that may not have been the kind of info you were looking for, but maybe it will help.

I believe that certain spot reduction is indeed possible. I know that you can't lose weight in "just your hips" or "just your stomach" - for when you lose weight (or gain it, unfortunately) it's an all over kind of deal. But you CAN work out just a specific part of your body & get/see results. After all, haven't you seen people who have great upper bodies, but not-so-great lower bodies, and viceversa? And I've watched the plastic surgery documentaries where SusieQ dieted & exercised her way from 225lbs down to 135lbs, but she STILL couldn't get that chub off her butt... so she went & had lipo on that particular area & now she's more "tone/trim" all over... ya know?

I know my own body responds well to diet/exercise - but for whatever reason, no matter how much weight I lose or how much I tone, my upper arms still keep waving long after the person I've waved to is long gone! So I have to do extra-super-more-many exercises to work that area. I have to work my inner & outer thighs A LOT to keep them trim & tone, but my calves, I barely have to do anything, and they are awesome.

See what I mean?

So that is why I believe in "spot-reducing" or rather - Spot Toning. I've seen it on my own body.

I agree with you here.. because my problem areas are my tummy and my bye bye arm.. now.. I have to work those twice as hard as I do my legs or back.. as a matter of fact I have been playing " no mercy" with my abs lately.. and this morning when I woke up.. I looked in the mirror and I said... DAMMMMMMNNNNNNN very pleased with my spot toning lol

Spot toning works. Spot reducing doesn't. If you have a lot of fat around your midsection, you can do situps until the cows come home and never have a flat belly. You'll have really strong abs hidden by a cushion of fat.

I agree with Jellydisney. If there's a layer of fat over it, there will always be a layer of fat over it unless the fat goes away from calorie defecit. However, with abs, if the abs are weak they push out and it makes it look like one has a belly even when one has NO excess of fat there. So working abs (teasers, crunches, situps, leg lifts, ect) can pull it in and thus make for a flatter tummy!

I'm confused in this respect: Muscle needs energy to work. Sit-ups/crunches force the muscle to work. There are two kinds of muscle, one kind uses carbs as energy and the other kind uses fat. I'm sure that the abs are a mix of the two. If that's the case, then doing crunches and other kinds of ab work will result in some decrease because some of the muscles will be utilizing the fat layer above as a source of energy. Does that make sense? I could be wrong but this is where my question lies.

Sunni,

All muscles use their preferred energy source which is carbs. First, they pull the stored glycogen out of the muscle, then they use sugar in the blood stream, then they use fat. If a muscle does use fat, it doesn't automatically use the fat closest to it. Your body will break apart fat somewhere in the body and send it to the muscle if it needs it.