How To Get Rid Of Back Fat: Causes, Exercises & Diet Tips 2024

Back fat, or body fat in general, is an especially sensitive topic for many people since society–and the billions of dollars made from controlling how we look–view having fat as “bad” or “unhealthy,” which is not the case. 

For example, almost 90% of women have cellulite, and these visible fat cells have little say in your health. Highly active women with a healthy weight still have cellulite, and that’s perfectly OK. 

If you’re wondering how to lose back fat, remember that we all need some fat to survive, balance hormones, absorb vitamins, and have energy when our eating patterns are irregular. How your body stores fat, though, is different for everyone.  

Genetics, lifestyle, and stress all play a part in our body composition and how we lose fat. Read on to learn healthy, manageable, and mindful ways to gain strength and reach a healthy body weight. 

How To Get Rid Of Back Fat

The first step towards losing back fat is getting a regular check-up including blood work. Excess body fat can signify health issues like polycystic ovary syndrome or insulin resistance.^[1] On top of that, if you have any hormonal imbalances or symptoms of chronic health issues, weight loss can be extremely difficult without first getting the proper medical treatment necessary. 

Once you’ve been given the OK from your doctor, an overall calorie deficit with healthy lifestyle habits and back-strengthening exercises can help you lose back and total body fat. 

Finally, while many people search for tips on how to get rid of back rolls, the truth is that an overall combination of healthy habits is needed.

Stress-Reducing Activities

• Help balance hormones and reduce cortisol^[2] i.e., the stress hormone, and cravings. Remember, our food choices are mostly based on our emotions^[3].
• Add regular journaling, meditating, sleeping, and time with friends.

Non-Exercise Movement

• We spend the majority of our calories^[4] on surviving, followed by day-to-day tasks.
• Try getting up often for a glass of water, running errands on foot instead of driving, standing while working, cleaning daily, or cooking more. 

Physical Activity

• Cardio work is great for the heart, mental health, and weight management^[5].
• Strength training for increased muscle mass and weight loss^[6]. You can also target your upper and lower back muscles. 

Healthy Eating

• Adding nutrient-dense foods to meals for metabolic health.
• Avoiding over-restriction that leads to yo-yo dieting and eating disorders.

Lastly, most studies^[7] show it’s pretty much impossible to spot-reduce upper body fat. Focusing on healthy lifestyle habits that have you at a healthy body weight will give you an overall balance between fat and muscle. 

What Causes Back Fat?

With many people searching for how to lose back fat and love handles, its cause is a topic that raises a lot of questions. Here are some of the reasons^[8]:

Biological Factors

• Insulin resistance.
• High testosterone^[9].
• Low carb tolerance.
• Pre-diabetes or diabetes.
• PCOS and infertility.
• Somatopause,^[10] i.e., growth hormone abnormalities.
• Aging.
• Genetics. For example, some people gain naturally in their thighs and bottom, others in their belly.  

Lifestyle Factors

• Eating excess sugar, processed foods, or salt.
• Overeating.
• Sedentary lifestyle, i.e., lack of muscle usage.

These factors all fluctuate throughout the course of your life and influence body fat storage. So, if you’ve been searching for how to lose back fat in a week, the truth is that it can take years to build up fat and quite sometime before you see any fat loss. 

Don’t lose hope, though. Science shows that weight loss through slow and manageable methods, e.g., “mindful eating,”^[11] offers the best long-term results. The extra good news is that unenjoyable diets just don’t work, so there’s no point in forcing yourself to try. Mindful living and eating increase both satisfaction and weight loss–we’ll get into the details later on. 

That means changing your habits with your mental health in mind can prevent you from yo-yo dieting and weight gain. Choose a healthy lifestyle that includes different resistance exercises to see what you enjoy most. 

5 Best Back Fat Workouts 

If you’re wondering how to get rid of back fat fast, no one exercise will reduce fat quickly. A combination of healthy living habits–eating and sleeping well, reducing stress, staying active, etc.-balances overall body fat levels. However, if you’ve searched for tips on losing back fat at home without equipment, you can check out these weight training exercises that increase back strength and overall health. 

Back Extension

This is a great exercise if you’re just starting to work out your back muscles. Lie down with your stomach facing the floor. Place your hands just above your ears near your head, and slowly lift your shoulders, head, and chest off the floor. Squeeze your shoulder blades together to work the back muscles; you also can lift your feet in the air for a lower body workout. 

Dumbbell–Or Water Bottle–Swing

Once your back is warmed up, you can grab anything heavy, e.g., a 1.5 L water bottle, stand feet shoulder-width apart, and with both hands hold your weight in front of you. Bend your knees, lean into a squat with your back in a straight line, and swing the weight between your legs. When you lift up out of the squat, bring the weight up as well until it reaches chest level. Contract your glutes, quads, and core, then start again. 

Bent Over Rows

With a barbell, weights, or heavy water bottles, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart with a gentle bend in your knees. Start to lean forward from the waist, with your back straight. Hold the weights in each hand, squeeze your core and shoulders, and move them up until they reach your chest. Slowly lower the weights and continue the wave of motion. 

Reverse Fly

This is a popular back exercise you’ll see at least one person doing at the gym. Grab two dumbbells or water bottles and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, holding the weights at your side. Start leaning forward while pushing your pelvis back. Let the weight hang at your sides, palms facing each other, then exhale as you raise your arms to the side while squeezing your shoulder blades together. Gently bring your arms down again as you reverse and start again.  

Side Plank 

Grab a mat and get into a side plank position, with one elbow on the floor, and the other arm raised above your head. Your feet and knees should be stacked evenly on top of each other as your hips are lifted above the floor. Take your raised arm and thread it through the space under your core and gently rotate down until you lift the arm back up again. Repeat this movement until you’re tired and ready to switch sides. 

Healthy Diet Tips To Lose Back Fat Safely

Science shows^[12] that manageable goals and an enjoyable diet and exercise plan are key principles for long-term weight loss. Here are some important tips to keep in mind on your weight loss journey: 

Avoid Overly Restrictive Diets

If you’ve gone through the yo-yo dieting cycle before, you know it only offers short-term losses and long-term weight gain. Besides the physical stress from gaining and losing weight, mental health issues easily develop from harsh dieting.

If after a diet you think, Thank goodness that’s over with! there’s a better way. Restrictive eating leads to stress, emotional eating, and eating disorders^[13]. Read on if you’re wondering how to avoid the pain of restricting yourself and still have a healthy body weight. 

Try The 80/20 Guideline

Long-term weight loss and contentment with your body aren’t attainable through overly restrictive diets that make you miserable. 

If you’re spending your days eating boring salads, skipping meals, or forcing yourself to eat food you hate, you’ll likely end up late-night snacking or binge eating. It’s so important to eat the food you love and enjoy your weight loss journey. Yes, that is possible! 

The best way to feel less restricted is to slowly shift to more nutrient-dense foods while including your favorite less-healthy ones. Try experimenting with new foods and recipes to find nutritious food you enjoy – making eating well enjoyable. The goal is to have most of your meals be healthy and delicious. 

Aim for healthy foods you enjoy about 70-80 percent of the time, and include less nutritious foods the rest of the time. That way, you’ll feel less restricted, more nourished, and less likely to binge or yo-yo diet. All foods can be part of a healthy diet. 

Eat Well Throughout The Day

Eating well throughout the day can balance hormones, like cortisol, and help you avoid cravings^[14] and late-night binges. That means paying attention to your hunger cues and preparing meals before starving, which only increases cortisol and adrenaline. It’s also essential to add nutrient-dense foods to stabilize hunger hormones, like protein, fiber,  vitamins, and minerals. 

Avoiding food can increase hunger later in the day and disrupt hormone function, especially for women. Low-calorie diets^[15] for example, can increase cortisol due to psychological stress. Since eating filling, delicious, and nutritious food throughout the day reduces stress, this will help you reach a healthy body weight without psychological sabotage. 

Give Mindful Eating A Try

We’ve all experienced scarfing down a meal after being starved for hours, only to finish it and think, “Where’d it all go?” Or not even registering you ate because it was all done by “muscle memory,” like eating while checking your emails.

That’s where mindful eating comes in. You learn to eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, reduce food guilt, and genuinely appreciate every mouthful of food you eat. And remember it! Doesn’t that sound nice? 

Of course, it’s not as simple as putting all distractions away while you eat. Like most good habits, it’s a practice that takes time and commitment. Choose one mindful eating method at a time to see what works best for you. For example, taking the first three bites of anything you eat with your eyes closed in silence, noticing all the flavors and textures in your mouth. 

Mindful eating^[11] can help you lose weight, improve your relationship with food, and increase your satisfaction with what you eat, making it well worth a try. 

The Bottom Line

It’s not unhealthy or undesirable to have some back fat. We all need body fat to survive, women even more so than men. Losing excess fat and reaching a healthy body weight is possible through healthy habits, like eating and sleeping well combined with cardio and strength training.

Your best bet is to focus on one healthy lifestyle habit at a time, such as adding more nutritious foods to each meal, trying a new healthy recipe every week, or going for daily walks. This way, you can boost your physical and mental health and avoid a lifetime of yo-yo dieting and stress eating.

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