Debunking "butt-squeezy" myths

The support from readers has been so awesome on my little fat-fight, and some of them have had really great questions that I think a lot of dieters might not know about weight loss that I have recently just learned myself. So here's some food for thought:

Comment: "So you know how you complain that your booty isn't shrinking at the same rate as your mid-section? You can do this butt-squeezy exercise. You lay on the ground, lift up your butt and squeeze a whole bunch of times."

Lol. ... Butt-squeezy advice probably falls under the category of things I never thought I'd talk about with a reader. ... But actually, this brings up a good point for dieters. Did you know that you cannot choose where on your body you will lose weight? Your body chemistry decides that all on its own. For instance, you can't use the Thigh Master every night and expect it to shrink your thighs. At most, you will be build muscle in your thighs. Cardio exercise burns fat, but it could come off of anywhere on your body, regardless of what machine you're using or exercise you're doing.

Comment: If you're working out an hour a day, why can't you eat whatever you want?

Metabolism, metabolism, metabolism. It's a very delicate balance, and it's different for every person. The one thing that is true for most people is that the food is 90 percent of the battle. For the most part, it's simple math: You have to have a calorie deficit to lose weight. So if you're burning 300 calories at the gym and you go home and eat whatever you want, you'll make up that deficit with just one bag of chips, for example. So you have to make sure that the calories you are consuming are less than the total calories required to sustain your current weight. There are calorie calculators online that can help you determine that. Keep in mind that they are just estimates, however, based on your height and weight. Many other factors enter in.

Comment: You should try a low-fat diet. That's what I do, and then I can eat more.

Low fat doesn't necessarily mean low calories. Many candies have little or not fat, yet they are extremely high in calories. A family-size box of Hot Tomales has more than 1,000 calories. A bag of gummi bears has 600. Calories are a big factor in weight loss.

Lots to consider, isn't there? No wonder my booty got so big! ; )