At DexaFit Scottsdale, we often hear the question: Should I lose weight first, or focus on building muscle? While the answer depends on your unique goals and body composition, there are compelling reasons to consider gaining muscle before embarking on a fat loss journey. Let’s break down why this approach can set you up for long-term success—and how science backs it up!

Visceral fat, the type of fat stored around internal organs, poses significant health risks, including heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, it's not possible to target visceral fat directly. Instead, general weight loss strategies are your best bet for reducing it. Read our blog article Harnessing Science and Data: The Smart Path to Sustainable Weight Loss for more information, but the short answer is that you’re going to have to enter a caloric deficit. However, if you want to maximize your chances, here’s how you can optimize your lifestyle to potentially lower visceral fat effectively. They are supported by some research, but are far from a scientific consensus, so your mileage may vary.  The good news is that they are healthy habits that you should probably doing anyways.