Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals with short T1 and T2, such as the 13C signal of glycogen, are difficult to localize in three dimensions without major signal loss. A pulse sequence that accomplishes the spatial localization of 1H-decoupled 13C NMR signals on a whole-body scanner within the Food and Drug Administration guidelines for specific absorption rates was designed. The method uses an optimized three-dimensional outer volume suppression scheme combined with one-dimensional image-selected in vivo spectroscopy and surface coil detection. The localization performance of the sequence was validated at 4 T with double chambered phantoms and 13C magnetic resonance imaging. Localized 13C spectra were acquired from human brain and muscle. © Springer-Verlag 2005.