Many people are so preoccupied with their fat gut, cottage cheese thighs or flabby arms, they don't even think about fat in the back as being a problem. The one exception I often encounter is women who are aware that they have unsightly rolls of fat spilling from under their bra straps, and want to do something about it, but do not know how to do something about it.

Causes of Unsightly Back Fat 

A poor diet and lack of physical exercise are what usually leads to those unsightly pounds.

Erasing the Unsightly Back Fat 

 Step 1 Change Your Eating Habits. 

Eat the right foods. Eating the right foods more often than not will result in dramatic fat-loss in a relatively short period of time. Western diets tend to be full of sugar and processed foods, these need to be cut out (or at least cut back) right away. Ditch the sodas, cakes and sweets and be wary of consuming too many 'bad' carbohydrates such as white bread, breakfast cereals and French fries. Look to avoid fried foods altogether and instead use healthier methods of cooking such as baking. Focus on carbohydrates that are low on the glycemic index.

Increase your fiber intake. Fiber is the indigestible part of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain foods which acts as a sponge when it combines with water during digestion. It cleanses your intestines and helps food move through the body more quickly and with greater efficiency.

• Legumes (lentils, dry beans and peas)
• Other vegetables
• Fruits
• Brown rice
• Whole grains (wheat, oats, barley)  

 Note: Adding more fiber to your diet will likely help you lose weight and improve your health, but do it gradually. Rapid increases in consumption of fiber may result in gas or diarrhea.

And be sure to drink plenty of fluids when adding fiber to your diet. While fiber is normally helpful to your digestive system, without adequate fluids it can cause constipation instead of helping to eliminate it.

Add more low fat protein to your diet. Protein helps build and maintain and repair muscle tissue which is essential for quality fat burning as it helps increase the body's metabolism by burning more calories and therefore you will lose back fat faster.

To ensure that you can stay on track clean out the cupboards with the bad food, and replace the bad food with healthy alternatives. This includes replacing fatty and sugary foods with more healthy substitutions like fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, and other high-fiber foods.

Eat 5 to 6 small meals equally spaced throughout the day. This will help increase your metabolism, and minimize fat storage.

Step 2: Manage Stress

Stress reduction is not just good for your mental health; it's also good for your physique. Stress is counterproductive to weight loss goals because stress can actually shut down your digestive system. Stress causes many people to eat, and eat poorly, in addition to wrecking havoc on your health and well being. You are more likely to crave fattening foods such as pasta, bread and potatoes when you are under stress. Many starchy foods stimulate the production of serotonin, a chemical that makes you feel good. Instead of reaching for donuts, reach for lean turkey or bananas, other foods that raise serotonin levels. Stress-induced overeating makes it difficult to stick to a weight loss plan.

Step 3: Get the Heart Moving

Walking is one of the best forms of exercise . It uses up oxygen, causing your body to burn stored fat. Walking also strengthens muscles, which tones and shapes your body. The increased muscle mass boosts your metabolism. This means you burn calories long after you stop moving. And you don't have to get all of your walking in at once. If you don't have time for long walks, find pockets of time throughout your day for short jaunts. While any form of walking burns calories and improves muscle definition, to get the most from your walk, concentrate on these main points:

• Choose distance over speed. It's better to walk at a steady pace than walk too quickly and have to quit early. As your fitness level improves, you can speed up gradually.
• Go for the hills. To help build your muscles, alternate inclines. Try walking up stairs, bleachers, or hills.
• Warm up slowly. Walk the first few minutes at an easy pace to get your body prepared. If your start is too brisk, you risk burning only the immediate sugar supply in your body rather than the stored fat you want to lose.

• Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs
• Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate
• Toning muscles throughout the body
• Improving circulation efficiency and reducing blood pressure
• Increasing the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen
• Improved energy
• Improved balance
• Increased storage of energy molecules such as fats and carbohydrates within the muscles, allowing for increased endurance
• Neovascularization of the muscle sarcomeres to increase blood flow through the muscles
• Increasing speed at which aerobic metabolism is activated within muscles, allowing a greater portion of energy for intense exercise to be generated aerobically
• Improving the ability of muscles to use fats during exercise, preserving intramuscular glycogen
• Enhancing the speed at which muscles recover from high intensity exercise
• Improved mental health, including reducing stress and lowering the incidence of depression
• Reduced risk for many diseases, including but not limited to:

• Cardiovascular Disease

• High Cholesterol

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

• Depression

• Dementia

• Type 2 Diabetes

• Erectile Dysfunction

• Heart Disease

• Obesity

• Stress

• Stroke

As an added bonus, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine a person who maintains aerobic fitness may delay biological aging by up to 12 years! 

Men and women both, though, can improve their looks tremendously by developing a well-toned back. As with excess fat anywhere, reducing back fat will also be good for your health.

A muscular back is firm, sexy and key to giving you a leaner physique. One reason is by developing muscle tone and replacing fat with muscle you will burn more calories around the clock without doing any additional exercise, because you will raise your resting metabolic rate.

By focusing on the back through resistance training you will also look slimmer. How? A well-developed upper back gives you that coveted V-shape that makes your waist and hips look slimmer. And a strong back makes good posture possible. Your mom was right: When you stand up straight, you look 10 pounds lighter.

There are many exercises you can do to help you achieve this goal in a gym or health club. Today I will follow the K..I.S.S. Principle....keep it simple and sexy, but discussing five simple exercises you can do in as little as 40 minutes, just once a week to help sculpt an attractive back, one you will be proud to show to the world.

Before I describe these exercises for your back, I want to reiterate that to have a lean physique it is also important to eat well, and burn more calories than you consume if your goal is to also lose weight. Understand that, technically, fat cannot be spot-reduced. If you have rolls of fat on your back, it means you have too much fat on your body, period. You should combine dieting, cardiovascular exercise and resistance weight training to help you reach the fat Free back look you desire.  By employing sound eating principles and adding cardio into the mix using this quick and efficient workout will get you well on your way to a stronger, more defined and better shaped torso!

The Beautiful Back Dumbbell Workout

• 1 Arm Dumbbell Rows: Rows involve the biceps and mid-upper back including the Trapezius, Rhomboids and Posterior Deltoid (shoulder). During a row exercise; the biceps contract to bend the elbow; the posterior deltoid, teres major and latissimus dorsi (lats) contracts to bring the arm back; the rhomboids and trapezius (traps) contract to retract the shoulder blades; and the erector spinae (lower back) contract to stabilize the spinal column. Rows are a great exercise for correcting slouched shoulders and winging of the scapula. Assume a staggered stance and bend your knees. Bend forward at the waist supporting you body with one hand on your knee or a bench. Keep g your stomach sucked in and your back and head almost parallel to the floor. Hold a moderately heavy weight hanging straight down in your free hand. Retract your shoulder blade, bend your elbow, and draw the weight up until your hand is touching your torso. Slowly lower the weight back down. Switch sides. You should feel this exercise primarily in your back, not your arms. Use a weight heavy enough so you start to tire around the eighth repetition. Lower and repeat for 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, with a 20-30 second rest between sets.
• Two Arm Hammer Dumbbell Rows. This exercise also engages the middle back, Trapezius, Rhomboids and Posterior Deltoid (shoulder). Grab a dumbbell in each hand and get in an area where you have a good amount of room. Bend forward at your waist so that your chest is leaning forward over your feet. Keep your knees slightly bent and your feet just beyond shoulder width apart. Start with your arms fully extended, allowing the dumbbells hang straight down at about mid-shin level. Hold the dumbbells so that your palms point in toward one another. Next, lift or ‘row’ the dumbbells up and into your stomach area. Return to the start position and repeat. Be sure to keep your head up and shoulders back throughout this exercise to keep your back in a firm and stable position. Compete 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions, with a 20-30 second rest between sets.
• Reverse Delt Fly: The reverse fly is a great way to target the 'posture' muscles of the upper back, including the rhomboids, the trapezius muscles and even the rear shoulders. Because you're bent over, you'll likely need lighter weights than for other back exercises. Keep in mind that the range of motion on this is small as well - you only want to lift to shoulder level rather than straining to pull the elbows up behind the torso. Sitting on the edge of a chair or bench, holding light weights in each hand behind the knees, lean forward from the hips with your back flat. Tuck your chin into your chest. Try not to collapse on the legs but, instead, keep the back straight and the abs engaged. Raise your arms to the sides, gradually bending your elbows as they come up. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Pause at the top of the extension and then slowly lower your arms. Lower and repeat for 3 to 4 sets of 10-15 repetitions, with a 20-30 second rest between sets.
• Dumbbell Shrugs: This exercise primarily works the trapezius muscle which runs from the neck down through the middle of your back. The secondary muscles engaged include the shoulders and upper back. Grab a set of dumbbells. Hold them with your palms facing in toward your body. Shrug shoulders in an upward movement contracting your trap muscles. Lower and repeat for 3 to 4 sets of 10-15 repetitions, with a 20-30 second rest between sets.
• Opposite Arm and Leg rises: Lie flat on your stomach with your arms extended over your head and your legs straight. Either rest your forehead on the floor or turn your head to one side. Slowly and simultaneously raise your right arm and left leg until it’s difficult to keep your pelvis and chest flat on the floor. Lower and repeat with the opposite arm and leg combination. Don’t twist or rock your body to make this easier. Stop if you feel pain.

Nutrition/Diet and Weight Loss Tools and Resources

• Alphabetical Fruit List with Nutritional Values
• Protein Calculator: Approximate Protein in Selected Foods
• Fiber Content in Common Foods
• Diabetes Food Pyramid
• Vegetarian Food Pyramid
• Food Pyramid
• Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator
• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Calculator
• Body Fat (Circumference)  
• Body Fat (YMCA)  
• Target Heart Rate Calculator  
• Ideal Weight Calculator
• Optimal Body Weight Calculator   
• Nutritional Value Breakdown of Common Vegetables
• Nutritive Value of Common Foods (Protein, Carbs, Fat, Caeffine, Sodium & more)  
• Measurement Conversion Tables
• USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007)  
• USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
• Calorie Burning Calculator
• Calorie Counter: Learn How Much You Burn Doing Various Activities
• Test Your Nutrition IQ. Take the Healthy Diet Quiz
• 20 Tips for Losing Weight
• The Benefits of Fiber in the Diet: List of High Fiber Foods
• Good Fats and Bad Fats
• Glycemic Index Food Chart
• High Glycemic Index List
• High Glycemic Index List
• Medium Glycemic Index Foods List
• Low Glycemic Index Food List
• Glycemic Load and Index Values for Common Foods
• Glycemic Index/Glycemic Load Tables 

About Jeff Behar