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Back fat can be a stubborn problem or one which many women ignore. After all, it’s not like you always have to see it everyday, like a large belly. Heck, many don’t even have the mirrors in their homes, to even catch a glimpse of it. However, once we notice, we want a plan to get rid of this upper and/or lower back flab. The question is, what do we need to eat and do, to reduce the amount parked on the rear of our torso?

 

 

What to Eat to Get Rid of Back Fat?

Well, it’s not so much of what you eat, versus how much you eat.

Technically, you can lose the fat eating anything. However, junk foods, can come with a whole host of health problems outside of just being ‘fat’.

As such, it’s a much better idea to stick to natural nutrient-dense foods, not only for when you need to drop some fat but also for a healthy life in general.

I could lose fat, if I ate pizza everyday. So, long as I stayed under my caloric limit, the flab would come off. Now again, this is a terrible idea, for cardiovascular health and the like but it could be done.

How to Determine How Much to Eat

Fat loss will occur, so long as we are in a caloric deficit. Meaning, we are consuming fewer calories, than we are expending as energy.

Another thing to note, is that, this fat loss will not just occur on the back. The fat will come off gradually, from wherever it is stored on the body. Spot reduction (targeting one part of the body for fat loss) doesn’t work, so, there aren’t special back exercises for fat loss.

So, where we start, is by determining our maintenance number of calories. This is, the number of net calories we need to consume each day, to maintain our current weight. This is the base from where we can start from and make adjustments to, for losing back fat.

The easiest way to figure this out, is by downloading a fitness app on your phone, or tracking it online. With these apps, all you need to do is enter certain information, and it will calculate how many calories you need to maintain your current weight.

Next, you will select a pace of weight loss, with the app. It usually will be able to be set at 1-3 lbs, per week.

For instance, if you select 2 lbs per week, it will tell you how many calories you need to consume each day to drop those 2 lbs. Just type in what you eat and what exercise you did that day.

Hit that number and the fat will begin to melt off.

Is There a Faster Diet to Get Results?

In my experience, the fastest way to lose fat, has been through using carb cycling. Here is a post, that I did on that: Carb cycling diet

It usually gets me faster results in the first month or so. However, you will end up in the same place, following a more varied diet and just sticking to those calorie targets for weight loss.

I actually prefer the somewhat slower pace, as carb cycling can be difficult at times. Being on low carbohydrates and lower calories, is draining. That’s why I like to just go with hitting the calorie numbers, that I need to, and getting to still eat rice or whatever other carbohydrate source whenever.

 

What About Cardio for Fat Loss?

Yes, working out can be instrumental for fat loss. It definitely helps to speed up the process and gives you more leeway in how much you eat.

You can simply change your caloric intake and lose fat without exercise. It’s doable, it’s just quite restricting, as you have to be strict with the calories.

I do a mix of weight lifting and cardio. When I’m in fat loss mode, I use a program called Visual Impact Cardio:

VI Cardio, isn’t for everyone, but if you do want a program laid out for you it is awesome. It is quite challenging to get through, but there are levels, from beginner to advanced in the program.

The intensity of the workouts, not only helps me burn lots of fat, but my endurance levels also get crazy high when following the protocol. The program itself, goes for $37, and there’s a 60 day money back guarantee…which is plenty of time to see amazing results.

Again, it’s not something that is necessary, but it’s effective and great for those who just want to follow an established plan without guesswork. Plus, its an ebook, so you can get started right away.

Outside of that, any cardio regiment can show results. Do what works for you. For instance, walking can work, but just be sure you understand the number of calories you’re burning (not much) on a flat surface.

Switch things up by doing the elliptical machine, stationary bike, incline walking, hiking, or whatever. Cardio workouts should be there to help to stay within your calorie target range. Weights, will burn calories too, but are for building and shaping muscle.

 

Fat can easily and fairly quickly deposit itself over different parts of our bodies. One of the main areas we face such an accumulation, is around the waist and the sides of our torso, including the love handles. It can build up and sag and just look unsightly. The question for women, then becomes, how do we reduce all of this side fat? What’s the process like for getting rid of the excess flab, that’s expanding the waist? In this post, we will take a closer look, and put forth a strategy.

 

Getting Rid of Side Fat for Women

There are of course, two main pillars of fat loss, diet and exercise.

However, there is a third aspect, which gets overlooked. That is the psychological aspect, involving things like breaking bad habits and planning. It’s an important step that too many folks overlook.

We will cover each of these parts within this post. But, we will start out with what will be responsible for getting the most fat loss results, and that is the diet.

To get rid of all of the excess fat around the waist, sides, and on the love handles we are going to need to tap into that energy. Right now, it is just sitting in reserve, as stored energy and we need to unlock it.

In order to do this, we will need to be in a caloric deficit each day, for a certain period of time.

There are two ways to begin to burn off this energy: take in fewer calories (energy) each day in what we eat. Secondly, expend this energy through physical activity (exercise).

However, we cannot only just tap into the fat stored in this one specific area of the body. Body fat levels will gradually come off from all of the storage areas of the body. We cannot simply just target this one spot.

So, our first step will be to figure out how many calories we will need each day, to be in caloric deficit.

Diet Steps for Fat Loss

The way to lose fat, is to first determine how many calories we need to eat, to stay at the same weight. This is called our maintenance calories.

The easiest way to figure out your personal maintenance calories, is to download a fitness app, on your phone or computer. This will handle all of the math for you, all you need to do, is to type in the information it asks for (height, age, weight, activity level).

These calculators will give you an estimate of your maintenance calories. Then, it will be able to set a fat loss pace for you. For example, 2 lbs per week.

Your job is to record the foods that you eat, in the app and stay within the caloric range, the app tells you to. Simple enough?

It really only takes a few minutes each day, as most foods have already been added by other users. You search and punch in the portion of the foods, that you ate.

This is the absolute foundation of fat loss. There’s no way around taking in less calories, each day. But, with all of the technology we have, it is super simple just to take this step.

Advanced Diet Tactics

Now, being in a caloric deficit is simple enough, right? But what if you want to speed up the process a bit? Is there another way to blast that side fat?

The thing about a caloric deficit, is that you will lose fat no matter what you eat, even if it is completely unhealthy. Remember, there is a difference between nutrition, and fat loss. You can eat crap, that has no nutrients, and be lean…but the body won’t be functioning at its best. Plus, long-term harm, can be done and the like.

Usually, I like to follow a balanced approach to fat loss. However, when I need to lean up quickly, I will begin to manipulate macro-nutrient intake in order to spur fat loss.

This is where I bring carb cycling into the picture. It’s something that I use for a short period of time, before switching back, to something that is much more balanced. It’s not for everyone, but it is effective.

How it works? Essentially, one lowers their carbohydrate intake for a certain amount of time. Then, has a carb re-feed day, where they consume more carbohydrates.

For example, using a 3 day/1 day carb cycle, the schedule would look like this:

Day 1: Low Carb

Day 2: Low Carb

Day 3: Low Carb

Day 4: Re-feed High Carb Day

I generally eat 0.5 grams of carbs per 1 lb of body weight, on the low carb days. On the high carb, its as many as I want, within my caloric limit.

So, for a 150 lb person, the schedule would look like this.

Day 1-3: 75 grams of carbs

Day 4: As many as needed

No matter whether or not it is a low carbohydrate or high carb day, you still have to be hitting your caloric total for the day, to keep the fat loss. What this can do, is accelerate the fat loss, and help with a lot of the bloating.

Mental Side of Fat Loss

I think that one of the biggest issues, holding people back from losing fat, is the over-exert themselves. Right from the start, they try to go all in, and do it all as fast as possible.

That can absolutely work, but most people don’t have that level of discipline developed, as of yet.

It’s pretty difficult to work full time, have a social life, etc. while in a caloric deficit. This is especially true, when you cut calories dramatically overnight, and start an intense exercise regiment.

Motivation only gets you so fat, before burn out sets in. Having a plan, will get you the rest of the way.

This is why, I suggest slowing the pace down initially, and easing into the fat loss. Cut calories gradually over the first week, until you hit the target number, you need to be at.

For instance, if you need to get down to 1600 calories. Start by, reducing what you normally consume by 100 calories per day, until you reach that number. It makes things, so much easier.

Also, don’t just jump into trying to do 5 days per week in the gym, if you currently barely move. It’s going to be horribly tough. Instead, do 2 days, the first week. Then, increase gradually from there, until you find the sweet spot for your schedule and plan.

Exercise for Fat Loss

 

There are lots of people who are seriously overweight or even obese. Seemingly, every part of their bodies are covered with a  layer of fat. Then, there are women, who have excess weight that covers certain areas of the body but have ‘skinny’ or undeveloped limbs. This is called being skinny fat, make no mistake about it, there is usually plenty of fat to lose and they’re not always in the best physical shape (in terms of endurance or strength). When a woman is skinny fat, how long will it take for her to melt those excess pounds, and become lean?

 

How Long to Not be Skinny Fat Anymore?

So, I think that we will first need to have some kind of range for what would be considered ‘skinny fat’.

Depending on one’s physical stature, I’d say that this range is in the 10-20 lbs, of excess fat before becoming lean.

Obviously, a skinny fat person, is going to have those arms and legs that aren’t really toned but don’t visually display the same amount of fat as the torso and hips/butt.

How long will it take to lose 10-20 lbs? It will usually take about 1-2 months. Sometimes shorter on the lower end of that range. It can be a few weeks longer on the higher end.

More accurately, 4-10 weeks of fat loss, should have one lean. Of course, you will see a lot of progress over the length of that time frame, and won’t really appear ‘skinny fat’ somewhere around the half way point.

Can You Get it Done Fast?

It’s doable for those who have around 10 lbs to lose, to get it done in about 3 weeks.

For those, with 20 lbs to lose, it could be done in 5-6 weeks. However, aiming for this target is a pretty aggressive weight loss protocol. I would say to give it a solid 8 weeks, especially if you have an already busy schedule, with work and family obligations.

Why? Because going into a caloric deficit isn’t all that fun. Doing it at an aggressive pace, can be downright miserable, at times. Giving oneself a slower pace of loss, will have pretty big effects on your daily mood, energy levels, etc.

I’ve done a faster pace of loss before, utilizing carb cycling, weight lifting, and Visual Impact Cardio. This got me an 18 lb loss in about a month. It really wasn’t fun, and also, I was working from home. So, the misery was much more manageable, with my schedule. One downside, is that I did lose some muscle mass, along with the fat. It would’ve been better to do a slower pace.

The best course of action, is to set a pace of about 2 lbs per week, and make it manageable and sustainable. Again, it’ll only be a month or two to finish, and visually much of the results will be had within 4 weeks.

Lots of women are searching every day, for tips on how to build certain muscle groups, burn fat, get a great bikini physique, etc. One aspect of any of these questions, which can get lost in the shuffle, is how long any of them will take? How much time is needed to burn fat on the belly, butt, or body overall? What can one expect, in time frame, to go from having extra flab to a lean and tight figure? Let’s break that down and see if we can get a solid estimate.

 

How Long will it Take for a Lady to Burn Fat?

This is very vague and generic question. As, our bodies are always burning calories, some of which is going to be stored fat.

So, in a very real sense, you already are.

However, let’s take this question and turn it into terms, of accumulated fat loss. On average, most cutting programs will focus on losing, 1-3 lbs per week. This will be some mix of fat, water weight, and even some muscle mass.

(As an aside, if a person is seriously overweight or even obese, the weight loss can generally be faster, at least initially. So, there may be 5-6 lb weeks, for those folks. But, it’ll decline back into a more normal pace, as their body mass declines).

Ultimately, how long it will take to lose ‘x’ amount of pounds, will depend on what pace of loss is being set. 2 lbs per week is a really good target, as it is doable for folks, healthy, and the cravings aren’t as bad.

Don’t try to rush things and lose a bunch of fat, all at once. Have patience and don’t make your health suffer by trying to go to some extreme.

When planning out a fat loss plan, just divide the number of pounds you think you have to lose in total, by 2. That is how many weeks, you should plan on taking to accomplish this.

It might be a little more or a little bit less. Keep in mind, 2-4 months isn’t a long time period. Plus, you see plenty of results along the way. So, even if you need to set aside 16 weeks, just imagine what your physique will look like at week 11 or 12. Pretty great.

Setting the Pace

Now, another thing to consider, is the possibility of easing into the fat burning process.

Too many people try to immediately cut calories and start working out 4-5 times per week, with no real plan.

What happens? They usually burn out, both physically and mentally. Folks really underestimate the psychological part of fat loss.

Being in a caloric deficit, doesn’t always make your body happy, and you can get cravings and feel sluggish. Throw in workouts on top of that, that you aren’t used to doing? It can cause people to quit.

If this is a potential pitfall for you, consider easing into it. Slow the pace down to 1 lb per week for instance (at least for the first few weeks to a month). Introduce a greater work load of exercise, gradually. Let yourself get used to things.

Just a suggestion, it can make things way easier to stick to, for many who want to get into shape.

Having a lot of fat to lose, can seem like a daunting challenge. In some ways, it is, but it really isn’t as complex as most people seem to think. Most of the problems people face, are due to psychological habits (poor eating and lack of planning), than actually having diet or exercise be difficult. Even when women overcome, those issues, there is still the matter of time. How long will it take to lose those extra 30 pounds? How long should you plan for being in caloric deficit?

 

 

How Long Does it Take for Women to Lose 30 Lbs?

For most people, it will take around 3-4 months, to drop 30 lbs. Yes, it can be done faster (probably 2 months is the fastest, you’d want to go, healthily).

Also, you can slow down the pace, if you want to. Why would you? Well, rapid weight loss isn’t always fun, with the feelings of hunger and cravings. As such, some folks like to go with the 1 lb per week pace, to make it a breeze.

Generally, what happens is once you have your diet/exercise program primed for fat loss, there is a big initial loss in the first few weeks. Then, it gets slower over time. This is especially true with the last 10 lbs, before being lean.

I’ve also had it happen, where I basically lose 1 pound for the first 7-10 days, and then it accelerates for most of the rest of the way. Before finally, going slow for that last 10 lbs. Weird, but it can happen. Either way, you end up in the same place.

Now, if you have more than 30 lbs to lose. The slow down won’t really be as noticeable. In fact, some obese people, can lose 30 lbs a little faster than 2 months. But, that is outside of reality for most folks.

So, you may have like 25 lbs lost in the first 12 weeks. Then, the last 5 lbs, ends up taking 3 weeks to complete.

Expect this to happen, so, if it does it won’t be a shock and you can move right along. Don’t get to wedded to the numbers, in the short-term, as water weight and the like can mess with your expectations.

What Pace Should You Set?

2 lbs per week is a really good clip to lose fat at. In fact, when you go above 2 lbs per week, you are mostly losing water and even some muscle mass.

After about 6-7 weeks, at the 2 lb loss per week pace, the visual difference will really be huge. 12-14 lbs is a lot of weight, particularly if you have a smaller frame, naturally.

Personally, I wouldn’t try to go for more than 3 lbs per week, on average for the entire process. So, I’d set aside at least 10 weeks to get rid of an extra 30 lbs of fat.

That’s if, I had an absolute deadline. However, most of us never really do, beyond some self-imposed date of completion. As such, just aim for the 12-15 week range.

Soda, alcohol, juices, and all other sorts of sugary drinks are delicious…but pack a punch with the calories. For many women, it is a popular option to jump start their fat loss journeys, by cutting off all of the soft drink consumption overnight. It’s an effective plan, which I’ve partaken in, myself. The question is, how long does it take to lose weight after giving up soda? What type of fat loss pace, can one expect?

 

 

How Long Before Weight Loss after Stopping Soda or Other Sugary Beverage Consumption?

The answer is going to depend.

What it depends on is, how many excess calories each day, is through your soda consumption.

Also, are you currently gaining weight or have you maintained about the same body weight for a period of time?

So, if you have been drinking soda and are currently maintaining about the same weight (within 5-7 lbs) for the past 2-3 months; it will be pretty easy to estimate the weight loss.

If you drink 3 cans of soda per day at 160 calories each, that equals 480 calories per day.

There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. As such, you can expect to lose 1 pound, every 7.29 days. Roughly, 4.11 lbs per month.

So, 4.11 lbs per month, without changing anything else. No exercise or change in the rest of your diet. The scale may be reading more or less with any fluctuations in water weight.

This fits in with my own experience of quitting soda and sugary drinks back in high school. I changed absolutely nothing else, in terms of what I ate and the exercise that I did, and lost 15-18 lbs within 3.5 months. 

(To visualize what that amount looks like, here are some older pictures of my physique after losing 21 lbs, another time. This was on my way down to losing about 35-40 total, at the time. The workout I did was a mix of Visual Impact for muscle and Visual Impact Cardio for fat loss).

 

I don’t remember the exact numbers, as this was over 15 years ago, but that was about the range.

Without tracking your exact numbers, the estimated loss might be too high or too low. You can further fine tune this fat loss, by following the same guidelines, as I write about below.

What About if You’re Currently Gaining Weight?

Well, you’re going to have to get some estimates about your daily calorie consumption. Cutting soda, is at least going to slow the weigh gain. Though, you may just stagnate at your current size, and not lose any excess.

To get into a deficit, you need to get a calculation of your caloric maintenance number. This is the number of calories you need to consume each day (net of exercise), in order to keep the same weight.

No worries, pretty much any fitness app will calculate this for you. I use one called MyNetDiary Pro and its estimates have been right on target for me.

Once you have that number, track what you would eat on a normal day. Don’t change anything, just log it in the app accurately, to see where you’re landing without the soda consumption.

If the total calories you’re eating is below the maintenance number, you will lose weight, but the pace will vary.

If it is above (on average), then quitting your soda habit, is merely going to slow the weight gain (which is still great).

In order to lose the weight, set a weight loss target with the app. It will calculate what it’ll take to lose 1-2 lbs per week, keep within those numbers consistently, and the fat will come off.

Yes, you can hit a faster pace than 1-2 lbs per month, but this will usually be during the initial weeks before it levels off. The more fat you have to lose, the higher the pace will be.

So, if you’ve only got 20-30 lbs, don’t expect to lose it all in a month. Give it 2-3. Maybe 4 months for the 30 lbs scenario. It really isn’t that much time at all, and it flies by, quite quickly.

Continuing the Loss After Soda

So, when I quit drinking all of the excess calories, I lost those 15-18 lbs. However, the loss then stopped, and I was still ‘skinny fat’.

Yes, losing that extra weight, and the added health benefits of not guzzling down sugar was awesome. I did still need to make further changes, in my workouts and diet, to really get the physique I wanted.

For some folks, the soda fat loss will be enough. For others, the initial burst will level off, and they’ll still have some more weight they’d like to drop.

You can utilize the fitness apps and the same strategy with foods that you did with soft drinks, to make it easier. For instance, cutting most of the sauces, condiments, or junk foods piece by piece to maintain the caloric deficit.

Slowly peeling away the junk foods, is a very effective way to lose the fat without ever, really feeling deprived.

Conversely, you can just go for the gusto, and change your diet and exercise regimen overnight. Just keep in mind, that it can be really tough, to stick with.

Need a Workout Program to Get Started?

As I mentioned above, I used a mix of Visual Impact Muscle Building and Visual Impact Cardio, to eventually drop 35-40 lbs a number of years ago.

Nowadays, I still use the Cardio program to cut fat, but have moved on to my own weight lifting routine.

The muscle building program, was designed for men anyways, and this site is about female fitness. Though, you could indeed blend these two programs, to get really great results (or pick one):

Women who just want to lose fat without weight lifting use:  Visual Impact Cardio

Women who want a slim/toned feminine physique with weights and cardio exercise: Visual Impact for Women

Anyway, I still love using the cardio program because of the sheer intensity, and how well it works. There are three separate levels from beginner to intermediate to advanced.

While each level lasts for 8 weeks, you don’t have to go through all of them. In fact, I did the beginner and into the intermediate level to drop that 35+ lbs. The “Advanced Program” is a short-term use to really burn through fat fast, but it is seriously difficult (actually for people who are advanced, not just a title).

The program is an ebook, delivered as a PDF to your email, so you can get started right away. You will need access to a gym, because you will need to change to different speeds and timings during the workout.

No worries, it’s all laid out how to do it. If you do want to undertake this program, I’d advise switching up between machines (treadmill, elliptical, stair master, or bike) AND taking rest days, when you feel you need it.

Trust me, it can be really difficult at times, and you will need to pace yourself.

Again, these workouts aren’t for everyone, but if you want a plan spelled out step by step for you. I’ve always gotten great results with it. Plus, it has a 60-Day money back guarantee. So, try it out and if it’s not for you, you can get a refund.

Full disclosure: I do get an affiliate commission, if you buy. It doesn’t cost you any more money and it helps pay to run this site. I am promoting it, because I use it myself, and have seen the results first hand.

Back fat isn’t always the first place that women want to lose fat on. After all, it isn’t something that we see in the mirror each day. However, once you get a glimpse of what it looks like back there, you may want to begin to make a change. But is back fat hard to get rid of for women? Does it take a lot of effort to melt the flab way and get a lean back?

 

 

Is it Difficult to Lose Back Fat?

I guess that depends on what one thinks of, when they ask, if it is hard to get rid of back fat?

Is it some terrible ordeal? No. Does it take time? Yes. Will some form of sacrifice and change need to be made? Of course.

So, is it difficult? Not particularly. It is just a process, that doesn’t happen over night, but with consistency can be dealt with in 4-12 weeks (depending on the starting amount of fat).

I suppose many folks think fat loss is really hard to do, because so many people push crash diets or other weird ways of eating. Then, because those diets make people feel miserable, it is looked at as difficult…which I guess is true, in those cases.

 

So, How do You Get Rid of Back Fat?

The easiest way is to aim for 1-3 lbs of weigh loss per week, until the desired goal is achieved.

Keep in mind though, fat doesn’t just come off from one place. The back fat will gradually melt away, along with the other stores of fat around the body.

The body isn’t going to use up its back fat stores, just because you exercise the back muscles. So, the back fat will be a percentage of the total fat loss, but it will come off eventually.

How long it takes, depends on how much fat you have. The reason, I go with the 1-3 lb per week target, is because it is sustainable and isn’t as dramatic like more extreme goals.

Setting a pace like this, makes it easier for you to stick with the plan, and not feel completely miserable all the time from lack of food. People will often fail, because their diets are so restrictive, and they are trying to work and have a social life at the same time…you get worn down really fast.

How to Figure Out Your Fat Loss Pace

Fat loss does indeed boil down to simple math. Yes, there are other considerations, such as: what you eat, breaking bad habits, exercise, etc. However, none of that matters if too many calories are being consumed.

You can exercise everyday, get stronger, have more endurance, but still have the same fat…all because the calories are too high.

So, what needs to be determined is how many net calories you need to consume each day, in order to maintain your current physique.

Then, begin to drop that number down, to hit that 1-3 lbs per week weight loss target.

Don’t worry, the power of technology has made this super simple nowadays. You can either download a fitness app on your smart phone/tablet or find one online for your computer.

All you do, is put in the information it asks you. The program will calculate a caloric estimate for you, to maintain your current weight. You can then set the app to create a plan to lose 2 lbs per week, for example. It will tell you exactly how many calories you need each day, to achieve that goal.

So, each day, you type in what you eat and the portions to get the calories. The app keeps track of everything and tells you if you’re on target or not. Stay on target and the back fat will come off, over a period of weeks or months (depending on your starting point).

Easy enough?

How to Stick with the Plan

I have found that for many people, starting off with a slower pace at first is beneficial. Why? Well, because they have so many bad habits to break, and making small changes is simpler.

Bad eating habits can be tough to break mentally. But what if instead of trying to do it all at once, you gradually implement a plan. So instead of trying to cut all the junk food at once, you drop the portions each day, until the goal is achieved.

It is easier to pass up on a slice of cheese, than trying to cut your calories by a lot overnight. Then, the next day, you eliminate some other amount of calories, until you’re at the pace you want to lose.

The mental aspect of fat loss is often overlooked, but it has such a profound impact on whether or not the journey is successful. Take things as slowly as needed, in order to be able to stick to a plan. Don’t get discouraged if you mess up, just get back on that horse, the next day.

There are plenty of women who suffer from having too much back fat. What is the reason for this? Do the bras that women wear cause them to gain fat on their back? Can it lead to side flab and muffin tops? Please continue below for what is the cause of back fat and how to get rid of it.

 

 

Do Bras Actually Cause Back Fat?

In short, no.

What causes back fat? Fat. What is fat? Stored energy. Therefore the cause of excess back fat, is storing too much energy. Meaning one is consuming more calories, than they are expending, on a long-term basis.

Women who are thin, also wear bras. They still don’t have excess back flab. A garment isn’t going to make someone gain extra stored energy. Eating too much food does that.

So, not wearing a bra, isn’t a fat loss solution.

How to Lose the Extra Flab

Having some level of body fat is perfectly normal and healthy. After all, fat helps to regulate hormones, among other bodily functions. However, there is a point where we have too much fat and it can have a negative impact, on both health and appearance.

To get rid of back fat, we must draw down the fat stored all over the body. Our bodies don’t just lose fat in one area of the body, in particular. No, it utilizes this stored energy all over.

So, if we need to lose upper or lower back fat, it is going to be a gradual process. How long will it take? 1-3 lbs of body fat per week is a solid pace. The amount of time, will depend on how much one actually has to lose.

To achieve this pace, we must know our current maintenance caloric intake. This is the total number of calories we need to consume each day, in order to maintain our current weight. We will then, subtract from this number to hit a daily pace which will lose 1-3 lbs per week.

To avoid having to calculate all of this yourself, I would download a fitness app on your phone, or find one online. Then, simply track what you eat, and stay within that target range. 4-8 weeks of this should see a dramatic improvement in the amount of back fat, that one has.

 

The upper back isn’t a huge problem area for fat storage and isn’t something that gets too much attention (like the belly). However, women can still find themselves having excess flab around their shoulder blades, or popping out on the sides of the back. The question begs, how do we get rid of this fat? Also, more importantly, how long will it actually take?

 

 

Upper Back Fat…How Long to Get Rid of?

Specifically, how long will it take for just the upper back to be lean? Well, that’s a dependent question, and it depends on how much body fat one currently has.

The upper back isn’t a super problem area for most people, so, it does tend to get pretty lean before an area like the love handles, for instance.

However, because we cannot target one specific area of the body for fat loss, and the fat stores all over gradually reduce themselves…we should still expect it to take 4-8 weeks, for most people who aren’t seriously overweight.

Now, you will of course see plenty of improvement over this time frame. Heck, within a couple weeks of being on point with your fat loss, you will be able to noticeably see changes in the upper back leanness.

As such, don’t get discouraged by seeing that’ll probably take a month or two (three for some), to lose this fat. It honestly isn’t a long time and it can fly by really quickly.

What About Upper Back Exercises?

Doing exercises for the upper back is great, if you want to build muscle and shape it. However, as I said, you cannot pick a spot on the body and do exercises there to lose fat.

I mean, if all you had to do was a lot of crunches to get a six pack, lots of people would have one. However, this isn’t how fat loss works. Exercise to stay healthy, build strength/muscle, and to burn more calories all over the body. Just don’t expect to do a bunch of lat pulldowns and the upper back fat to melt away…it won’t happen.

How to Lose Upper Back Flab

So, yes, we can start to see big changes to our physique within a month and especially two. But where do we start?

Diet. It is the single most important aspect of fat loss. Exercise plays a part, but without having a diet in order, you will get nowhere.

When I speak of diet, I don’t mean some fad ‘juicing diet’. Instead, I am talking about the totality of your nutritional intake. Something that can be sustainable, not something that is designed to be a crash 4 week plan…which works and then all the fat piles back on.

The easiest way to do this is to set a caloric target each day which will lose 1-3 lbs per fat each week. This is a solid pace, that will enable us to see great results within two months, but is easy to maintain and execute.

How do we find our caloric target? Well, we can download a fitness app on our phones, or track it online on the computer. I use an app called MyNetDiary Pro.

All you have to do is tell the app your stats (such as starting weight and activity level) and it will give you your daily caloric estimate to lose 1-3 lbs per week.

Then, all you need to do is track what you eat and the calories you burn through exercise. No worries, it takes less than 5 minutes per day, once you get rolling. If you stay within the caloric guidelines each day, you will lose fat.

Simple, enough? This doesn’t have to a complicated process. Keep it simple on yourself, have patience, and the results will come.