Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals with short T-1 and T-2, such as the C-13 signal of glycogen, are difficult to localize in three dimensions without major signal loss. A pulse sequence that accomplishes the spatial localization of H-1-decoupled C-13 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 C-13 magnetic resonance imaging. Localized C-13 spectra were acquired from human brain and muscle.