How To Get Rid Of Side Boob Fat?
Reading Time: 11 minutes Ever notice how frustrating and demeaning it is to have a personal trainer, bodybuilder, or fitness “influencer” online, get on their soapbox and give you a big, inspirational speech about how easy it is to get in shape by making just a few “small changes”?
The truth of the matter is that if it was as easy as they made it out to be, the world wouldn’t be in the midst of an obesity crisis, and more people than ever before, would be walking around with single-digit body fat percentages and a six-pack.
The truth of the matter is that losing fat and getting in shape is not easy. It’s hard it’s extremely hard, but it is not impossible.
Different people have different bodies and different shapes, and as a result, people hold fat differently. For a lot of people, guys especially, side-boob fat can be a problem.
If you suffer from man boobs, or perhaps you used to but now all you have to deal with is side boob fat, you’ll likely be looking for ways of getting rid of it once and for all.
Here are several tips on how to get rid of side boob fat.
What Is Side Boob Fat?
First, we need to look at exactly what side boob fat is.
Despite the somewhat immature name, there’s nothing funny about side boob fat. It can leave men and women feeling very self-conscious about their bodies, and it can be unsightly and can affect the way you dress and live your life.
Side boob fat, also known as armpit fat, is an accumulation of fat from the pectorals/breasts/chest, that has built up at the side of a person’s body underneath their armpit that is or was, attached to the chest area.
Side boob fat is of course more noticeable in men because men don’t have breasts so it will stand out more.
What Causes Side Boob Fat?
Side boob fat, armpit fat, side boobs, moob fat, or whatever else you want to call it, is nearly always influenced by lifestyle as it is a form of weight gain.
If you overindulge for too long and remain in a calorie surplus for a prolonged period, you will gradually gain weight in the form of fat.
Whereas you’ll gain weight all over your body, some of it will no doubt go to your chest and perhaps be stored at the side.
Genetics also plays a factor, as some people store fat on the side of their chests, underneath their armpits, instead of more common parts of the body such as the abdomen, turkey neck or the hips.
Some people, especially guys, who were previously very overweight and have lost a lot of weight, find that fat at the side of their chests is the most stubborn and is the most difficult part of the body to lose.
Not only that, but sometimes loose skin where the fat used to be, can hang under the armpits at the side of the chest and resemble side boobs.
Gender also plays a key role in determining where we store side boob fat and women are generally more susceptible because they of course have breast tissue.
More often than not, however, side boob fat is simply due to weight gain in the form of excess body fat.
How To Get Rid Of Side Boob Fat?
As unsightly as side boob fat can be, the good news is that there are plenty of ways for you to naturally get rid of side boob fat, without making enormous changes.
Check out these tips and you’ll be rocking your dream physique in no time at all.
1. Eat Less Food
One of the simplest tips for losing side boob fat, and indeed, fat in general, is to create a calorie deficit so that you lose weight.
Weight loss is not a complex topic when you break it down, it boils down to calories in versus calories out. If you consume fewer calories than your body burns off you’ll create a calorie deficit and will lose weight.
One of the easiest ways of creating a calorie deficit is to eat less food. The less food you consume, the fewer calories you’ll take in which will help you to create a calorie deficit.
Try to consume around 300 – 400 calories less than you need for maintenance and you should gradually lose weight from everywhere, including the sides of your boobs.
2. Eat Fewer Carbs
Carbs are generally higher in calories and sugar, so the more you consume, the more calories you’ll take in. Not only that but the more sugar you consume the more unstable your blood sugars will be.
Unstable blood sugar levels can throw your hormones out of whack, which can slow the metabolism and lead to weight gain and other potential health issues.
Try to reduce your carb intake slightly on some days, and focus on complex, slow-release carbs rather than simple carbs which are loaded full of sugar.
3. Consume More Protein
Protein is vital for muscle growth and repair.
If you’re looking to lose side boob fat and build muscle in the process, protein is essential as it is this macronutrient which allows the body to build new muscle tissue and repair damaged muscle tissue after a workout.
Protein is great when it comes to weight loss because it is thermogenic, which means that it stays in your system for longer as it digests.
Not only that, but your metabolism has to speed up to digest it, which means that you burn more calories just by digesting what you’ve eaten.
Add to this, the fact that it also means you’ll have more energy and will be more active, and you can see why protein is so useful.
Another benefit of protein is the fact that, as you do burn the fat, with the right exercises and workouts, you can actually replace the fat on and around your pectorals with muscle tissue. The more muscular your pecs are, the less visible side boob fat you will have.
Aim to consume around 1g of protein per pound of body weight, and look for clean, lean, Ottermode body, and natural sources such as chicken breast, turkey, lean red meat, salmon, whole eggs, drinking egg whites, and other forms of seafood.
4. Try Intermittent Fasting
Remember, when it comes to losing side boob fat, you’re looking for ways of losing fat. This is where intermittent fasting can be useful.
Intermittent fasting is a form of eating whereby you will fast for a window of time, and then eat in a window of time before repeating the process. The most common form of intermittent fasting is what is known as 16:8.
The basic premise of 16:8 is that for 16 hours a day (including the hours you are asleep) you will fast. For an 8-hour window, however, you are permitted to eat relatively normally, instead of just dieting. As long as you are sensible and you don’t binge eat or stuff your face just for the sake of it, you will lose weight.
Not only is intermittent fasting ideal for losing weight and side boob fat, but there are also numerous other health benefits associated with it, including an increase in energy levels, which will allow you to burn more calories.
5. Weight Training
Weight training, or resistance training, is another very effective tip in terms of how to lose side boob fat.
Weight training not only promotes the growth of muscle tissue, it also helps you to become stronger, while also helping you to burn calories and lose weight.
With weight training, you are burning calories as it is a form of physical exercise, so gradually you will lose fat if you remain in a calorie deficit.
Not only that, but it also allows you to build muscle. If you lose side boob fat and perform a series of exercises that target the chest, obliques, and side lateral deltoids, you can replace lost body fat on the side of your chest with lean muscle.
Weight training also speeds up your metabolism as you build muscle because lean muscle is harder for the body to maintain than body fat, so it has to work harder. The more muscular you are, the faster your metabolism will be running.
Try to lift weights between 2 and 5 times per day, making sure to work for each major muscle group as evenly as you can, and you should find that your side boobs start to disappear right before your eyes.
5. Get More Active
As awesome as resistance training is, if it is fat loss you’re looking to achieve, I.E the loss of side boob fat, make sure you become more active and do more cardio.
Cardiovascular exercise helps to strengthen your heart and cardiovascular system, not only that, it also helps you to burn off a significant amount of calories while boosting your stamina and your endurance.
If you want to burn fat and get rid of those stubborn side boobs, you’re going to need to be doing more cardio, ideally along with weight training. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you’re doing something.
You could do cardio at the gym, walk the dog, go cycling or do an exercise bike, go swimming, go hiking, go running, or take up a sport. Anything that gets your heart rate up is cardiovascular exercise and is therefore going to be beneficial in terms of how to lose side boob fat.
6. Manage Your Stress
Stress is sometimes called the ‘silent killer’ and for good reason.
Everybody experiences stress in some form or another, and while each person deals with it differently, if you do find yourself becoming too stressed, it could result in weight gain, or at the very least, it could hinder how much fat you lose.
If you want to lose those stubborn side boobs, make sure that you manage your stress as best you can. Try to practice breathing exercises, avoid stressful situations, address issues that are making you stressed, and try to find ways of relaxing.
Stress not only drains your energy levels, but it can also sap your motivation and cause emotional eating where you eat for comfort.
Not only that but cortisol, a stress hormone, is secreted when we’re stressed and it can suppress the metabolism so we have less energy and burn off fewer calories. As far as weight loss goes, that’s disastrous.
7. Get More Sleep
Finally, if you are looking to lose side boob fat, another very useful tip is to get more sleep.
A lack of sleep again causes an increase in the amount of cortisol we produce, while also increasing stress and draining energy and motivation levels.
When we’re tired, rather than eating right and exercising, we would rather eat junk, curl up on the couch or in bed, and do very little.
A self-care day now and then is all well and good, but living each day like this can result in weight gain and it is certainly not conducive when trying to get rid of side boobs.
Each night, try to go to sleep at the same time and aim for between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.
Exercises To Help Get Rid Of Side Boob Fat
While you cannot turn fat into muscle, you can replace fat with muscle, and if side boobs are making you self-conscious, the more muscular your pectoral muscles are, the less obvious your side boobs will be.
Here are some simple exercises to help get rid of side boob fat.
Push-ups
Push-ups are one of the simplest and most effective chest exercises in existence. Best of all is the fact that they require no gym, and no equipment to do.
Begin by getting into a plank position with your palms flat on the floor beside you, a couple of inches wider than shoulder width.
Next, keeping your legs straight, slowly bend at the elbows and lower your body down towards the ground getting your chest as close to the floor as you can, without actually touching it.
Hold for a second and then slowly raise your body back to the starting position until your arms and elbows are straight again. Repeat for as many reps as needed.
Bench Press
Whether done with a barbell or dumbbell, the bench press is one of the most effective chest exercises in existence, and it is ideal for losing side boob fat.
To do a flat bench barbell press, lay down flat on a bench under a racked barbell. Get the barbell roughly level with your eyes.
Grasp the barbell with a grip roughly 6 inches wider than shoulder width, carefully un-rack it, and then slowly lower it down onto your chest, stopping just before it grazes it.
Hold for a second and then press the bar into the air until your arms are fully locked out and repeat as necessary.
Don’t bounce the bar off your chest and if you can, get someone to spot you or use a power rack or cage. You can also do the exercise on an incline or decline and can use different bars or dumbbells.
HIIT
If fat loss is your goal, HIIT is the perfect way to exercise.
HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training and basically involves the participant alternating between periods of slow, steady, low-intensity exercise and fast-paced high-intensity exercise for a certain duration of time or a predetermined number of rounds.
A very basic HIIT workout would be to get on a treadmill and walk slowly for 30 seconds before speeding up and sprinting at around 90% max capacity for 30 seconds before slowing down and walking again for 30 seconds.
You would repeat this cycle for several rounds. Usually, a HIIT workout is complete in 20 minutes, after which, you should be exhausted.
If you want to burn fat and lose side boobs, HIIT workouts are ideal.
Side Boob Fat FAQs:
Before we wrap things up today, we’re going to leave you with a few frequently asked questions regarding how to lose side boob fat.
Can You Spot Reduce Side Boob Fat?
No.
It is not possible to target where in the body you lose fat. If you lose weight consistently, however, your side boob fat levels will decrease, along with your overall body fat levels as well.
How Long Does It Take To Get Rid Of Side Boob Fat?
There is no one answer to this question because each person is different.
How long it takes to get rid of side boob fat will depend on how much side boob fat the person in question has, their genetics, their diet and workout regime, and how consistent they are.
Typically, however, with a healthy diet and exercise regime, each week you should notice a very small and gradual reduction in side boob fat.
Final Thoughts:
So, now that you know how to get rid of side boob fat, hopefully, you can use the info provided above to help you on your way to a leaner, healthier, happier you.
Side boob fat can be unsightly, but like any other excess body fat, it can be lost with a healthy diet and exercise regime, and some smart and healthy lifestyle choices.
