Everyone has problem areas, but the upper belly fat under the breasts can be even more tricky to remove.
Once you have it, burning it off becomes a huge battle. Liposuction is too expensive and unaffordable for many people. Losing weight naturally is also extremely difficult, especially if you’re struggling with stubborn abdominal fat.
If you’re struggling with upper stomach fat, keep reading. We’ll cover how to get rid of this fat roll in this article, as well as some possible causes of upper belly fat that you may want to look over.
Why Do I Have Upper Stomach Fat?
A lot of people struggle to burn off lower belly fat, but some people find upper stomach fat just as difficult to get rid of.
You can blame genetics for this. Everyone stores fat in different areas. If you have a lot of fat in your midsection, you’re an ‘apple’ shape. People can also be pears, hourglasses, or rectangles.
Other than genetics, other reasons why you may gain more weight on your stomach include:
- Diet
- Lack of activity
- Natural fat distribution
- Stress
- Poor sleep
- Hormones
- Age
- Water retention
- Bloating
Many factors could be responsible for upper stomach fat. If you want to start trimming down this area of your body, look at the potential causes above and start addressing any of these issues.
Why Your Upper Belly Fat Isn’t Going
Even with diet and proper exercise, stubborn fat is the last to go.
Everyone has stubborn areas on their bodies. Some struggle with their arms, others struggle with their love handles. If you’re trying to get rid of upper belly fat, you’ll need to begin losing weight. However, sometimes losing fat can make your body look worse.
If you don’t put muscle on while you lose fat, you’ll get a ‘skinny fat’ look.
This occurs when your body fat is high, but your muscle mass is low. To put this into perspective, think of a plastic bag filled with water. When water is removed, the bag will be deflated. Your body goes through the same process as it loses fat.
You need to lose weight to reduce your overall body fat percentage, but put muscle on simultaneously to tone your body.
To build muscle, you need to start resistance training. Building muscle will also raise your metabolism, which helps to lower your body fat percentage. As you lose fat and build muscle, you should see a difference in your upper abdominal region.
Upper belly fat is normally visceral fat; a type of fat that is stored deeper under your stomach muscles.
This type of fat is hard to lose, so don’t be disheartened if you don’t see results in a few weeks. Stomach fat in the upper and lower abdominals is stubborn, but with consistent diet and exercise, you should notice a difference after a few months.
How To Lose Upper Belly Fat
Diet
Before you start planning an exercise routine, it’s imperative to look at your diet beforehand. No matter how much exercise you do, the only way you’re going to lose fat is if you’re in an energy deficit. This involves eating less food and moving your body more.
You can still lose weight by eating junk food, as long as you’re eating fewer calories.
However, refined carbohydrates and sugary foods won’t fill your body enough, so you’ll be more hungry and tempted to eat more foods. It’s best to stick to clean, whole foods and increase your protein intake to support new muscle growth.
Exercise
Next, we need to move on to your workouts. Cardio-based routines will help you burn calories. Strength training is important for building muscle, but cardio is necessary to torch fat, especially stubborn upper belly fat.
Cardio involves any activity that gets your heart up. This could be running, riding a bike, or even dancing in your living room! The important thing to do is pick a cardio activity that you love, as you’re more likely to stick with it.
As you lose weight, some of the weight lost will be fat, but some of it will be muscle. If you lose muscle, you won’t see a difference in your upper belly area. You can only get rid of these rolls by losing fat. One way to make sure you’re losing fat, but not muscle, is through resistance training.
If your body is growing stronger, it’s less likely to lose muscle when in an energy deficit. To build muscle, you need to lift weights. It’s best to implement a full-body workout routine, as this adds muscle to your whole body.
A gym can be helpful, but if you don’t have one nearby, you can still build muscle through bodyweight workouts, especially beginners.
Stress Levels
Most people who want to lose stomach fat understand that they have to diet and exercise. However, many of these individuals don’t take their stress levels into account. Stress can cause the body to hold onto stomach fat more than other areas of the body.
It also makes the body retain excess water which makes your tummy look larger than it is. Stress can be difficult to manage, but there are ways to reduce your stress levels. These include getting enough sleep every night, meditation, and increasing the amount of exercise you do each day.
Once you start implementing these tips, your upper stomach will start becoming smaller. You should also see a difference in other areas of your body as you continue to lose fat and build muscle.
Exercises To Get Rid Of Upper Belly Fat
We’ve covered why cardio is the best exercise to reduce body fat, but some cardio forms are better than others when targeting upper belly fat. High-intensity cardio will raise your heart rate and put your body in fat-burning mode.
Upper ab exercises will also help to make your abdominal muscles stronger and improve how the area looks.
High-intensity training (HIIT) doesn’t have to be complicated! A simple example is to jump rope for half a minute, then follow with another 30 seconds of a Plank position.
A Plank is simple enough. You lie on your front, then balance yourself on your forearms and toes, keeping your whole body in a straight line. Make sure that your butt isn’t too high or too low, as this makes the move easier. Keep your core tight throughout.
You can find several more HIIT exercises online. Make sure you keep up with weight training on other days. 2-3 sessions each week is enough, especially if you’re just starting to work out.
In Summary
Upper belly fat under the breasts is hard to remove, but this doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with it forever! If you want to target this stubborn area, aim to lose fat and gain muscle through diet and exercise.
Remember, don’t feel discouraged if you don’t see results in two weeks! You need to stick with your routine for a few months before you see a difference. Consistency is key here, especially when you’re trying to remove stubborn fat.
