How to Reduce Back Weight

Excess fat in your back contributes to unsightly bra bulges and muffin tops. To reduce excess weight on your back, you have to take on all your body fat at once; unless liposuction is an option, you cannot spot-reduce just one area. A healthy, reduced-calorie diet, combined with cardiovascular exercise, is required to reduce body fat. Targeted resistance exercises help strengthen the back and make you less prone to back injuries.

Instructions

• 1

  Keep a food journal. Write down all the foods and beverages you consume over the course of the day so, at the end of the day, you have an idea of what causes your weight gain. Eliminate all high-calorie, high-fat and low-nutrient foods from your diet. Eat foods in their natural state; avoid processed foods, fried foods and sugary foods. Consume foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole-grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, chicken, fish, legume and beans.

• 2

  Read food labels to find out nutritional information and count calories. Create a daily caloric deficit of 500 or 1,000 calories. One pound of fat has 3,500 calories, so you can lose up to 2 lbs. per week. The WebMD website recommends not reducing more calories because your health may suffer. Read food labels to find out nutritional information.

• 3

  Perform cardiovascular exercise five days per week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you perform 30 to 60 minutes of exercise daily. Run, jog or walk on the treadmill or outdoors. Pump your arms vigorously for added caloric burn. Use the rowing machine at the gym for a combination of cardiovascular and back-strengthening exercise.

• 4

  Maintain and build muscle tissue because muscles force your metabolism to work harder and longer, resulting in more fat burn. Perform strengthening exercises. Avoid focusing solely on your back; perform resistance exercises that strengthen your entire body, so you reduce fat from all over. Work your arms, legs, chest, shoulders, abdominal muscles and back. Use your body weight, free weights, or weightlifting machines to exercise.

• 5

  Perform dumbbell rows to target upper back fat. Lie your upper body, face down, on a bench. Spread your feet hip-width apart on the floor and balance on the balls of your feet. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing inward. Lower your arms toward the floor. Inhale and bend your elbows as you pull the dumbbells up to the sides of your ribcage. Raise your upper arms to the same height or slightly higher than your body. Feel the contraction in your back. Exhale and return the weights to the starting position. Perform 12 repetitions and complete three sets.

• 6

  Make deadlifts part of your back-strengthening exercise routine. Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand with an overhand grip, so your palms face your body. Place the dumbbells in front of your upper thighs. Straighten your legs, but keep the knees slightly bent. Bend forward at the waist and lower the dumbbells down, while holding your arms straight. Lower as far down as you comfortably can and feel the stretch in your hamstrings. Hold your back straight and face forward during the entire exercise. Raise yourself back up to the starting position. Complete three sets of 12 repetitions.