Localized fat burning?

[Callipygous]

I have been trying to burn off some extra baggage ive accumulated and its got me thinking about how exactly your body burns away fat. Specifically, where the fat comes from first.

 

for example, if i were to do a lot of ab exercises i know i would develope stronger, more defined abs, but would the fat in that area be burned away first, or does it follow some other order?

 

if im running, will my leg fat be burned before my body moves on to stomache fat, or will it be pretty evenly spread, or something entirely different?

[markus.dnd]

as much as i know burning fat is from allower the body . you can not burn fat from only arms etc.

some people who were owerweighed but went in to gym still have huge stomach but hands are muscular and almost without fat. that is because hands just don't store so much fat as stomach can. and body burns fat equally all over the body.

 

i think that all you can do is start jogging and go to gym (you need trainer in there) and all extra pounds will wear off... oh and eating is big deal u need to eat about 5 times a day . and you need to pay close attention to things you eat and how much... actually all that is science

[SkepticLance]

I agree with Markus. The pattern in which fat is laid down, or burned off, is individual. Everyone is different. In spite of misleading advertisements, you cannot simply do ab exercises and end up with a muscular lean stomach. If we could, I would look great! I do lots of exercise, including abdominal exercises. I am sure I have fantastic abs, somewhere in there....

 

Getting rid of fat is simply a case of the good old ratio between calories consumed versus calories burned. Which part of you loses fat first is a function of your individual physiology.

[Bluenoise]

Well we all do localized fat burning to some extent, but unfortunately there's nothing you can do to guide it!

Whenever I gain wait and then start loosing it there are always area's that go first, and it's always in the same order no matter what kind of exercise I do. Backs of arms, thighs, love handles, chest then stomac. Unfortunately my belly is the very last place I loose any fat. And I never put any fat on my legs or arms.

However doing abdominals will give you a more defined stomach that will look better and flatter even if you haven't burned any fat off of it.

[Genecks]

In the male body, muscle and fat tend to mix together. However, they don't do this too much. As what the original poster is referring to, it's not too easy to do "spot reduction." I will say, however, that certain genetics do help guide which parts of your body are more likely to utilize the fat more than other parts. Some people tend to easily gain fat in their thighs, while those people are able to easily gain muscle in their thighs. It's as if the genetics within that part of the body are more efficient at gaining muscle and fat than the other parts of the body.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spot_reduction

 

Doing a total-body workout is often more effective than doing spot reduction. An increase of muscle throughout the body increases metabolism.

 

I've been meaning to research something as of late, but I have not done it. If there are particular parts of the body that quickly gain muscle, then perhaps a person could build upon those to speed up the metabolic process of the body. If it takes 3 months to gain 2.2 kg of muscle on your arms when you can gain 10 kg of muscle with your legs, then maybe 10 kg will be better at speeding up metabolism.

 

I tend to see metabolism and fat burning as constants. A way to change the constants is to gain more muscle. More muscle correlates to an increase of metabolism.