Fatima Zara Mallick gets brutally candid about diet and fitness

CEO, head trainer at FZM Boutique Fitness, answers the most common queries people have about fitness once and for all

KARACHI: Fatima Zara Mallick is the CEO and head trainer at FZM Boutique Fitness, a concept wellness centre providing customised workouts and nutrition solutions to a select clientele. Fatima – more popularly known as FZM – has studied fitness in the UK, Italy, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the UAE and is a trainer, a Zumba instructor and Pakistan's first Piloxing (Pilates and Kickboxing) trainer.

Additionally, FZM specialises in Rehabilitation (injury) training, as well as pre and post-natal training. She has completed courses in Kettle Bell and Battle Rope (velocity) training from the Functional Training Institute, Asia (FTA) and is a certified Boot Camp Instructor from the International Bootcamp Alliance in Melbourne, Australia.



Below, the fitness guru has compiled a list of the most common questions people ask her about weight-loss and answered them, once and for all. Read on to find out what she has to say, and prepare to be blown away by her brutal certainty.

Q1) I just want to lose my stomach, nothing else. How do I get rid of my belly fat?

Take an axe and chop it off! This is the question I get asked ten times daily and each time my reply is the same: There is no such thing as targeted weight-loss.

Spot reduction is nothing but a marketing myth created by the fitness industry in the early 90s. To lose belly fat or arm fat or thigh fat, you need to change your lifestyle, eat well and exercise five to six times a week.

Certain areas of our body are predisposed to gaining weight faster and one’s problem areas are determined by genetics. Unfortunately, if you store fat in your abdominals, that will be the first body part to pack on the pounds and the last body part to show weight loss results.

Keep working out and you will definitely see a significant change in after two to three months of a balanced wellness program. Anything shorter than that is a scam.

Q2) Will I look like Arnold Schwarzenegger if I lift weights? I don’t want to bulk up.

Well, in order to start looking like a man, you need to inject yourself with hormones, lift ridiculously heavy weights, train twice a day and eat a highly specific diet.

Getting big, beautiful muscles does not happen from lifting five or six kilogram dumbbells and working out for 45 minutes! For God’s sake, ladies! Do some research and get your facts right.

Women have far less testosterone. Therefore, we are less prone, physiologically, to bulking up. I have been trying to gain muscle mass for years now. Recently, my personal record for deadlifts reached 300 lbs. Guess what? I still don’t look like The Hulk.

In fact, weight training is the only thing that significantly reverses the body’s aging process, makes your metabolism faster and builds strength. So start saving on botox bills by hitting the weights, now!

PHOTO: FZM

Q3) Will squats make my backside huge?

Cupcakes and sodas make your butt bigger, not squats. These are the king of exercises because they hit the largest muscle groups in your body: the gluteal muscles, hamstrings and your quads. The squat will lift your derriere, tighten it and build lower body strength.

If enlarging your behind was as simple as squatting, butt enhancements would not be the fastest growing surgical procedure in the world!

Q4) Will crunches give me abs?

Yes…and the tooth fairy exists. If she doesn’t come to you then maybe you can still find treasure at the end of the rainbow.

Newsflash: We all have abs… the rectus abdominis… the transversus abdominus…the internal and external obliques. However, the abdominal muscles are hidden under layers of fat. What you really want is definition in your mid-section and that takes a lot more work than simple crunches.



If you want to lean out, you need to eat clean and do weight training supplemented by cardio five to six times a week. As your overall body fat percentage drops, your abs will become more visible. No one exercise will make the six pack pop. Stop looking for shortcuts and make peace with working hard.

Q5) I exercise everyday but I cannot diet. Why am I not losing weight?

It takes 625 burpees to burn 1 medium portion of fries. There’s no out-exercising a bad diet. Stop self-sabotaging and get your act right.

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