Localized fat

People may reach their healthy weight or follow a weight-loss diet and an exercise program, and yet unattractive rolls of fat-a double chin, "love handles," heavy sides, "saddle bags," or a little potbelly-may gradually appear and become permanent.

Numerous attempts to lose weight by following diets that may be more or less strict often end in failure-and a gradual increase in weight to boot!

Regular exercise may help a person feel in better shape, but it has a rather limited effect on those rolls of fat. After all, to lose one pound of fat, a person has to burn 3500 calories, a figure that represents many hours of cardiovascular exercise, such as running, cycling, using a treadmill, or swimming.

A well-balanced diet combined with a moderately restricted calorie intake and an exercise program adapted to an individual's capacities would certainly seem to be the formula for success. Unfortunately, rather few of us are ready to commit ourselves completely to changes that are perceived, quite wrongly, as major. Work, family obligations, lack of time, and increasingly sedentary habits conspire to keep us from applying ourselves to our personal wellbeing.