Whats up nation ! My names Dan, Im 6'0", 211 LBs at the moment, new to the site. All my body fat sits between my upper thighs/Glutes/Belly. I have a pretty strong, cut upper body. Just looking at me in a normal tee shirt I dont look over weight what so ever. But im very wide in the mid section. I have that "Skinny Fat" body everyone hates. My calves have good definition but they run into thunder thighs. I've had a lot of trouble burning that & my love handles off. Any advice or particular routine on really killing this body fat without loosing to much muscle on the rest of my body ? They've been a problem for me for years.

Hey man!

You have to stop thinking about removing fat from a specific area. You cant do that anyway. You can only lose fat in general and your body decides where it will come off. Since you have a lot of fat in some areas, your body will probably start using this particular fat but thats just a hypothesis. So, your goal is to lose overall fat. If you lose 4-10lbs you will probably lose some of that unwanted fat you have in those areas. And to do that you just have to get to a 10% caloric deficit. Do that every day and you will start losing fat. 10% is safe, in terms of not losing muscle mass. Watch this video to further understand how to calculate calories and macros for cutting. Unless you already know this stuff :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZjxWqwoWTg

#HTH!
Kostas

Thanks Whisper, Im not to educated on the calorie counter part of all this lifting stuff. I was a 1st Basemen/Tight End in high school so its always been about power movments and strength for me but Im trying to cut down now, appreciate the help !

Kostas is correct. There is no such thing as spot fat removal. How much body fat and where it is deposited is determined by genetics. Men predominately store fat around the belly and lower back while women do so more in the butt and thighs. Your body burns fat evenly across the whole body therefore the areas with less fat will lean out faster than the areas with more fat - like peeling the layers of an onion. The most stubborn fat and the last to go will be around the waist.

Fat storage is a survival mechanism wired into our DNA over millions of years. Some people store more than others. This fat is there in the event of lack of food or regular calorie consumption the body survives off this fat. Your survival instinct is the most powerful, hard-wired instinct you have. To lose fat it is simple - you need to burn more calories than you take in. Sounds easy enough but the survival mechanism makes it hard when it comes to getting real lean. The way to lose fat is to fool the body into believing all is well and it doesn't need to keep a lot of fat. The way to do this is not only reduce calories but to eat fat. This sounds counter-intuitive but it's not. If the body sees it is getting a regular supply of healthy fats it will be less inclined to store fat. Kinda like if you have a good job with steady pay you won't be as hesitant to spend money in your savings account because you have a steady stream of income. This is also why it is important to have a re-feed day of high carbs when you are restricting your carbs to burn body fat. A re-feed day tells the body that even though it is not getting a lot of carbs throughout the week this is not a starvation situation as it gets more carbs than it needs at least one day a week.

John

Thanks for the post John. This helped out some things into perspective for me as well. Fat loss is my main goal since I'm @ 24% body fat & my problem areas are also my belly & love handles.