Q: Hello.Great site man.I would like ask u something i cant get as it seems u always have the answer for everything.I have noticed that many people are lean overall however they still have some fat on their stomaches.These applies most for women i think.I have read that in order to lose fat on your stomach u cant spot reduce but u have to lose fat in general so u can lose this also.But if these people lose more fat they ll lose their fat on the stomach area but they ll be skinny after.On the other hand if they dont they cant get rid of their fat stomach.Something is wrong here or i miss something?How do many people achieve a flat stomach for example with a natural way ?I have a friend who wants to get rid of this stomach fat but he cant.He is lean and he cant lose more fat.Does this mean he will never have a flat stomach nomatter how or what he tries?How can someone like this achieve a flat stomach if he is already lean overall and cant afford losing more fat all over his body?Is there something i miss?

A: Thanks! Always good to hear people finding it useful. You pretty much nailed it on the head -- losing that last bit of stomach fat is not easy for most people. There's two ways of approaching it...

One way is to simply keep at it. Follow a good workout program and have a very well-designed diet that you follow pretty strictly and lose weight and fat very gradually. For most guys under 30 this is enough to get to a six-pack stage. But few people have good workout and diet programs and fewer yet follow them closely, hence few guys with six-packs. For women and older men it's A LOT more difficult, but can probably still achievable for a few really determined ones.

The other way that often gets overlooked by guys who want to have a six-pack at any cost is to first bulk up, put on a good amount of weight and muscle and then re-start on cutting down to a six-pack. All that added muscle increases the metabolism and makes it much easier to lose fat. Plus with the extra muscle mass, you can afford to lose some of it on your way to a six-pack. Of course a lot of good planning needs to go into a well-designed bulk program to make sure you gain mostly muscle and not fat.

So it's not easy to get a six-pack and, frankly, most people are not willing to follow the rather strict diet that's required, but it's certainly possible for most younger guys.