Energy balance
Long-term high-intensity interval training (HIIT) using leg ergometry causes significant regional fat loss in the thighs and visceral adipose tissue, but does not significantly reduce total body fat mass or trunk fat.
If you want to lose fat specifically from your thighs and belly without necessarily dropping total body weight, try 16 weeks of HIIT using a leg bike. Do 8-12 sets of 1-minute sprints at >90% effort, twice a week, with 1-minute recovery. Expect your thigh fat to decrease, but don't be surprised if the scale stays the same because you might be building muscle.
Regional rather than whole-body fat loss was observed after a 16-week HIIT program... leg FM slightly, but significantly, decreased in the combined group... visceral AT (VAT) also decreased in the L-HIIT group... there was no change in FM (17.7 ± 5.0 vs. 17.1 ± 5.6 kg) or body weight after the 16-week intervention in either group or the combined group.
Why this rating
Small sample size (n=12), no control group, and short duration (16 weeks) limit generalizability.
Source
Decrease in regional body fat after long-term high-intensity interval training
Koichiro Azuma et al. · The Journal of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine · 2017
DOI 10.7600/jpfsm.6.103
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