Want to get rid of back fat? Follow these nutrition and workout tips

Your sedentary lifestyle could be contributing to excess fat on the back, or maybe it is your unhealthy diet that is the culprit. Here are tips to get rid of back fat from an expert.

While belly fat is easily noticed and literally steals the limelight from back fat, it is no less unhealthy especially if it's stubborn. Your sedentary lifestyle could be contributing to excess fat on the back, or maybe it is your unhealthy diet that is the culprit and adding to all the bulge. For all you know, your faulty posture too could be a factor that is making your back look bulky.

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"While I would love to answer the age-old question of how to get rid of back fat, it's actually impossible to spot-reduce flab. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. If you are serious about firming up your back, you'll need to decrease your overall body fat, which means you'll look slimmer everywhere," says Mukul Nagpaul, founder of Pmf training and PM's Fit India Movement Ambassador.

Nagpaul shares some tips to lose back fat:

Nutrition

One way to reduce body fat is through diet that creates a calorie deficit. A calorie deficit occurs when a person consumes fewer calories than they require to maintain their current body mass.

"A person can create a calorie deficit through a combination of decreasing daily calorie intake through food and drink and expending caloric energy through exercise and other physical activity. A reduced-calorie diet will help you to lose fat all over your body. Unfortunately, you can't decide exactly where the fat loss will occur first. But you can eat a diet that includes plenty of nutrient-dense food and lean protein to promote muscle growth," says Nagpaul.

 Green leafy vegetables like spinach are rich in magnesium. (Pixabay)

Nutrient-dense foods include vegetables, including leafy greens, starchy vegetables, and different coloured vegetables fruits, such as apples and berries, lean protein, such as poultry, fish, and lean cuts of meat beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, including brown rice, quinoa, and whole grain bread and pasta, healthy fats, such as oily fish, avocados, and olives. In addition, sugars and saturated fats are to be avoided.

Exercise

Focus on strengthening exercise to help you shape the muscles in the upper, middle, and lower back. Here are some exercises suggested by Nagpaul to try.

Shoulder strengthening exercises: If you build strong, tight shoulders, the area of your back beneath the shoulders (especially near your bra line) starts to look smaller. Dumbbell Front raise, Dumbbell Upright row etc will help you to build strong shoulders.

Mid-back exercises: The wing-shaped muscles in the middle of your back are called the latissimus dorsi. If you can make these two muscles tighter and stronger, they give your waist the appearance of being smaller. Chin ups, lat pulldown etc are good exercises to strengthen the lats and create a toned, triangular shape.

Waist exercises: If you want to whittle the back of your waist, try doing exercises that strengthen the obliques and also the erector spinae, the muscles that run along the spine. These muscles help contour the sides of your body and help it bend from side to side. Cable Woodchop will help to taper and strengthen the sides of your body. You can also do Russian twists on the floor to target the oblique abdominals.

Lower back exercises: Slouching makes back fat more noticeable. To stand taller and promote better posture, do lower back exercises to strengthen the core, including the erector spinae. Superman exercise will help to target these trouble spots.

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