The fitness industry loves to call out stubborn belly fat, ‘fluffiness’, or the spare tire that a lot of men have developed over the years of eating a little more and working out a little less. However, the proposed solutions that the fitness industry gives to get rid of this is usually a supplement, cleanse, detox, or intense workout program that will ‘shed’ stubborn body fat. While this sounds great in theory, it’s very misleading. Stubborn fat doesn’t just ‘shed’ or fall off quickly. 

Men commonly hold stubborn body fat around their stomach, lower back, and upper body (less defined arms, shoulders, etc). While weight can change rapidly day to day or week to week (which is what you will see whenever you switch your eating or working out routine), fat loss AND fat gain both take time. Just because the scale is up (or down) 5 lbs in a week, which is largely due to water weight, that ‘stubborn’ fat you’ve gained did not happen in the last week or likely even just the last couple of months. This is usually a slow process that has been building up for several months to several years for most men, so believing that you can get rid of it with a 30 day cleanse or workout program is a myth.

That being said, there are some very effective and sustainable ways to lose any stubborn body fat you’ve developed, even if it’s not the solution you think it is (or hope it is). There are some basic principles you need to be aware of that I’ve seen work strongly in my own body, and with so many other men, that will lead to long-term results. If you’re looking to get rid of fat in a way that lasts, here are some things you need to know as you take on this journey:

1: ID Your Body Fat Percentage and Maintenance Calories

Awareness is the first step in knowing what your starting point is, so you can determine where you want to get to. This can bring a lot of fear, because as men we want to think we’re doing better than we are, so it’s an important first step to laying out a realistic plan that will get you to where you want to go. 

Once you have your body fat percentage, which you can get through a DEXA scan, InBody scan, calipers, etc - you’ll have an accurate starting point and you’ll be able to more accurately determine your maintenance calories using an online calculator or tracking app.

2: Learn Realistic Fat Loss Rates To Set Realistic Goals

It’s important to know what a realistic fat loss goal is as you’re getting started. I’ve worked with a lot of men that set goals that are far too aggressive or unrealistic. As a rule of thumb, normal fat loss rate would be 1-2 lbs per week (and this is on the HIGH end). Aim for 1-2 lbs/week if you have a lot of fat to lose and 0.5-1 lb if you have less to lose. It’s important to make sure you stay within this range to avoid losing muscle along with your fat, as what you really want is to look lean…not skinny. 

Most men will find ‘stubborn’ fat minimized around 10-15% body fat percentage (with abs becoming visible around 12%). So if you know where your starting point is from point #1, you can start to do some math for how long it should realistically take to get to a point you’re happy with (remember, this is all assuming ‘perfect’ scenario so make sure to plan for it to take even longer…because binge vacations and weekends happen).

3: The Areas You Have The Most Fat Will Take Longer To Lose

When you start a program geared towards fat loss, it’s common to focus too heavily on the area where you want to see the most change (often your stomach). However, if this is the area that has the most fat, this will often be the area you will see the change last and won’t happen until you reach lower body fat percentages. Stubborn weight is actually not stubborn, it just doesn’t get tapped into until other areas have lost fat.

Be patient knowing that those ‘stubborn’ areas will be minimized later in the fat loss process, which is important to track and celebrate other progress along the way (through progress pictures, weight, and body fat tracking).

4: You Can’t ‘Spot Treat’ Stubborn Areas

Contrary to popular belief, you can’t lose fat in certain areas faster by performing ‘spot treatment’ exercises to target them. Many men will spend time doing isolation exercises for their core or arms thinking that it will speed progress up, which isn’t true.

Targeted exercise will not help you lose fat in those areas any faster, but that doesn’t mean they’re not beneficial for seeing more muscle definition when those areas do drop fat.

5: Prioritize Strength Training and Heavy Weights

If you lose fat, but don’t build muscle, you might end up looking ‘skinny fat’. This is why strength training is so important on your fat loss journey, so that you achieve a lean look as you lose fat. You don’t have to spend your whole life at the gym to see great results when you’re focusing on full body movements and lifting heavy weights. Your goal should be to build and/or maintain as much muscle mass as possible as you lean up.

Aim to perform strength training 2-3x/week focused on full body, compound, and heavy weights such as squats, deadlifts, lunges, bench press, shoulder presses, pullups, rows, etc.

6: Eat In A Calorie Deficit While Prioritizing Protein

Regardless of what eating style or diet you follow, there’s no getting around that you need to burn more calories than you’re consuming to lose fat. While there is a lot that goes into the calories in vs calories out equation, the key to sustainable fat loss is more calories burned than calories consumed. While this can happen from burning more calories through exercise, the most beneficial, sustainable, and long-term strategy is through a diet high in protein.

As a general rule, start with a 25% calorie deficit from your maintenance calories, with 1g/lb of bodyweight coming from protein, and adjust as needed based on fat loss progress.

7: Strategically Use HIIT Cardio

Men often rely too heavily on cardio to tip the calories in vs calories out equation, and often as a way to compensate for a lack of discipline in their diet. Exercise doesn’t actually burn as many calories as many people think, and even a hard exercise session won’t replace a weekend of overeating, making diet the most effective variable for sustainable fat loss. Also, too much cardio can start burning muscle if you’re in a calorie deficit and not prioritizing strength training, making it a slippery slope.

Once your diet is dialed in, you can add in a HIIT session 2-4x/monthly, focused on sprint interval efforts.

8: Use Supplements To Speed Up Progress

There’s a reason this is the final point, as using supplements is not where you’ll see the majority of your results. In fact, if all the other points above are being implemented, supplements aren’t necessary to fat loss. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have benefits and can’t give you a slight edge for speeding up your progress.

If you are following all the above points and want to help speed up your progress, consider adding supplements that help speed up fat loss or improve performance in the gym.

While there are a lot of factors that go into fat loss, it should actually be a simple and predictable process when you follow the principles listed above. Most men try to focus on the little details that don’t actually drive progress, while neglecting the foundations that do. I’ve seen more men fail due to a lack of patience than anything else, so commit to this process and stay the course. Remember, you’re not after fast results, but after results that last and are easy to maintain. You’ve got this!