It's January, and I bet each of you has included "I will exercise more" in your list of resolutions.  As a physician, I think that's great.  A regular exercise routine offers a host of benefits - to your heart, your brain, your muscles, and of course to your waist line.  However, exercising with the sole purpose of spot reducing (eliminating a belly, getting rid of under arm waddle) is a myth.  You simply can’t exercise away a fat pocket.  When you exercise, you tone muscle which makes the problem area appear to look better; but overall body fat must be reduced to lose fat in any particular area.  Even if you commit to 100 sit ups a day, you are only toning the muscles underneath your fat pocket.  Only when your body burns the stored fat can the muscles you are toning underneath shine in all their glory. 

The best fat loss programs include the combination of healthy diet, weight training, and cardiovascular exercise. And of course for those completely resistant fat pockets that just refuse to go away even after you’ve lost the extra weight, there is always SmartLipo or Vaser LipoSelection.  Or for those who want a non-invasive method, Thermage can tighten the skin in your problem areas too.

Here’s to a happy and healthy New Year!