[shannon35]

I was hoping that someone here could help me. You know that annoying "back fat" that bulges out from your bra? I NEED to get rid of it. It is so darn annoying! Are there specific exercises, strength, etc. that help to work that area? That and my stomach are my two worst areas...okay well, thighs too!

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[conway_1979]

There is no way to target certain areas for weight loss... That said, you can try to tone the area with weightlifting, which will help build muscle in the area... Just continue to stay on a healthy diet, continue to exercise, and it will eventually disappear... It may feel like it takes a long time, but it is worth it in the long run. Be moderate, no weird diets or cutting things out of your diet.. If you have a certain treat you like, enjoy it IN MODERATION. DIET and EXERCISE are both needed in this challenge. If you want certain weight lifting options, I recommend military press, dips, and medicine ball for that area.... Any other suggestions?

[Ilene]

Hello Shannon

These are my suggestions. Make sure the food you eat is squeaky clean. By this I mean, as unprocessed as possible... Oatmeal, potatoes, lean meats, cottage cheese, egg whites, lots of veggies, lots of water... Have you ever heard the saying "Abs are made in the kitchen" ?
Do you weight train? Do you do cardio? Do you do both with intensity? Not just lightly walk without working up a sweat...or do the same reps and weights you've been using for the last "too long a time"...

To get lean backs, abs, or legs you have to burn the fat off the muscle... High Intensity Interval Training helps to do this ... Google it and you'll find many sites explaining how and what it is...

I have that back fat too, very annoying I agree (see my avatar, it is sloooowly getting better), It gets worse with age too I'm 47...

Hope this helps, wish I had time to write more but I must leave... Later...

[shannon35]

Thanks for the replies! I've just gotten back into cardio and have put my strength training on hold due to a cracked rib. I had just gotten into it when it happened, so unfortunately I hadn't even started seeing results yet. I figured diet and exercise are my best bets, I just didn't know if there were some specific exercises to target those darn globs on my back! I've done some good Google searches though and came up with some good things to try. I just need to be patient!

Thanks!

[vmelo]

Hi, Shannon. I just wanted to say I can completely relate to your problem. I'm an "apple" shape, so most of my weight is in my upper body & middle. I remember after I'd been dieting & exercising for a few months, I went shopping for some new clothes. I happened to glance at myself in the three-way mirror (I usually try to avoid looking until I'm dressed--LOL!) and truly being shocked at the rolls of fat on my back. The good news is that that revealing moment was many months ago, and after many more months of continued clean eating & exercising, those rolls have diminished (almost disappeared). I can now wear a clingy top & feel a lot less self conscious about it.

[SeekInnerThinChick]

Unfortunately you can't control where your fat hangs out, like an overdue houseguest. I've got weird "hot pockets" on all sorts of odd places. That's just part of the process, it seems to come off all over the body, in dribs and drabs. So you have to get your whole body fat level down to get it off.

One thing I personally would NOT do, because I've already had this experience with my thunder thighs and butt: I's advise you NOT to do heavy weight training on your back while the fat is sitting there. If you do, you could get bigger there, and with fat on top it just looks bigger than it needs to, which is discouraging. I say get the fat levels down all over, with diet and mostly aerobic work, with weights to tone all over. For example, my back rolls went away after I got down to 29% body fat, and now I feel better about working my back without feeling like I'm going to need a bigger band size.

But even with getting the bodyfat down, some women just have a lot of back fat, it's genetic. My SIL is like that-- slim all over except for big boobs, big shoulders, back fat and underarm fat. The apple shape. If you get to that point, after reducing your body fat to a healthy level, after exhausting all other alternatives, then you either accept it or have lipo. Not that I'm a big advocate, but some genetic fat deposits just won't go away any other way. I'll probably take my thunder thighs with me to the grave, lol! Good Luck.

[emilyatau]

There's a good exercise for your whole back that doesn't involve weight so you should just "tone" instead of "bulking up". You get on your hands and knees with your spine straight. You extend your left arm and your right leg at the same time and repeat on the opposite - it reminds me of those "pointer dogs" in cartoons It takes a bit of balance and coordination, but don't worry - everyone wobbles sometimes! It's a great exercise though and you can feel it working the areas where fat tends to accumulate on your back - love handles, bra fat, etc.

[katia]

I do strength training for my entire body, abs and back included, but the only thing that finally rid my body of back fat was to just keep eating well and working out until my overall body fat % dropped. I noticed some dramatic changes in the shape of my body when I started training for a half marathon (my previous exercise schedule had been probably the same amount of time, but not as intense).