How to lose chest fat fast for a lean and defined chest
Do you want to know how to lose chest fat fast? Stubborn body fat around the chest – commonly known as moobs or man boobs – is a big problem for a lot of men in the thirties, forties and fifties. But swapping chest fat for a lean and defined torso is well within your reach, so long as you follow the tried-and-tested advice New Body Plan creator Jon Lipsey used to swap his dad bod for a Men’s Fitness cover model physique in just eight weeks
When I took the before picture before starting my New Body Plan transformation there were a couple of things I really didn’t like about the way I looked. The first was the size of my beer belly stomach and the second was the growing man boobs that sat on top of my expanding belly.
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That’s why it was important for me to have a training theory answer to the question of how to lose chest fat. So if moobs are an issue for you, then I can sympathise. Even better, I can offer you a solution. And best of all – it’s simpler and more accessible than you might imagine. Here’s what you need to know.
What causes chest fat?
If you want to know how to lose chest fat then the first thing you need to understand is that it is no different to any other form of weight gain. In simple terms fat accumulation happens when your daily calorie intake is higher than your daily calorie expenditure. In short, you eat more calories than you burn.
There are other factors involved, including your hormone health, any gut or digestive issues, or elevated stress levels. But for most guys, reducing chest fat is going to be done by increasing energy expenditure (burning more energy) and reducing or controlling energy intake (keeping a closer eye on what you eat).
How to lose chest fat fast
Fat accumulation around the chest area is incredibly common in men. Men tend to be predisposed to store fat in certain areas, such as the belly and the chest. It’s also the case that as you approach middle age you may find it seems easier and easier to gain chest fat. This is down to gradual changes in your metabolism and your hormonal profile. But the good news is that you can reduce chest fat without having to do anything drastic.
Does drinking alcohol increase chest fat levels?
If you’re looking for easy wins on how to lose chest fat then you need to look at your alcohol intake. Drinking alcohol can increase chest fat levels for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that alcohol contains calories. It’s incredibly easy to consume a lot of extra calories through booze. Three pints of lager, for example, will contain about 600 calories. That’s more than the number of calories in a Big Mac. So low-calorie alcoholic drink options, such as gin and tonic, may be a smarter choice if you want to shift fat fast.
What’s also unhelpful is that the calories in alcohol don’t really help you to feel full. So you may well end up consuming the alcohol calories and then eating calories to feel satisfied. Significant amounts of alcohol can also increase chest fat levels because booze doesn’t do your hormonal profile any favours. Generally speaking it will suppress muscle repair and regrowth activity and it can encourage fat storage.
How to lose chest fat without giving up alcohol
What you really want to know is how to lose chest fat without losing the ability to have a drink, right? Well, you don’t need to entirely cut out alcohol intake to reduce chest fat. Having the occasional glass of wine or beer isn’t going to have a significant impact on your body composition.
Rather than get hung up on individual drinks it’s better to take a broader view. For example, you are better off looking at your daily or even your weekly calorie intake rather than obsessing over an individual drink. You can also make some smart drink swaps that will save you calories.
Can you spot reduce chest fat?
Wish you could dictate to your body where to lose fat from first? Me too. Sadly, the reality is that you can’t force fat to be shifted (also known as spot reduce) from a specific part of the body. It’s not possible to exercise in a particular way to dictate where you lose fat from. Your body will decide where it wants to lose the fat from. And that will vary from person to person.
If, however, you make some smart adjustments to the way you eat and the way you train you can can reduce your overall body fat levels. As part of that adjustment you’ll find that you also reduce your chest fat.
How to lose chest fat through diet
There are two key elements in your project for understanding how to lose chest fat. The first is diet and the second is exercise. On the diet side of things you want to aim to be in a slight calorie deficit. That means you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming each day. If you want to do this without having to become obsessed about calorie counting you should aim to eat a variety of fresh food.
Make sure you have a decent protein portion with every meal, eat as much veg as you like, and make sure your portions aren’t excessive. Taking time to eat your meals and chewing your food properly will also give your body a chance to feel full.
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Are any foods off limits?
No foods are completely off limits if you want to reduce chest fat but you should be aware that very calorie dense meals won’t be helpful. A lot of takeaways and processed foods tend to be calorie dense so you might want to limit their intake.
You could try make your own versions of these dishes, like the healthy curry or cajun burger recipes we include in our meal plans. That way you get to keep the flavour and the fun while hitting your better body goals.
How to lose chest fat through exercise
As we’ve already established you can’t exercise in a way that removes fat from a specific body part (spot reduction). You can, however, select exercises that will give the impression of that body part being leaner and more muscular.
The challenge then, is not just how to lose chest fat. It’s also about how to add chest muscle.
Developing your pec muscles for example will improve the overall appearance of your chest. If you’re training in the gym your workout programme should include the barbell bench press and the dumbbell bench press, as well as a range of the best bench press variations.
You should also include moves such as dumbbell flyes and standing cable flye, standing cable crossovers, and pec deck machine. You can also train your chest at home, with press ups, or with dumbbells by doing exercises such as the floor press.
Press up variations can also be either regressed or progressed according to your ability. The key is to select a range of exercises that challenge your muscles in different ways. You’re looking to hit the chest muscles from different angles. And you’re looking to adapt the key training variables so you perform a range of sets, reps, weights and tempos (the speed of lift).
How often should I train my chest?
You should train your chest at least once a week. Training your chest twice a week is likely to lead to faster progress than only training once a week. Be wary of targeting your chest three times a week or more because you may find that you don’t recover sufficiently. That will lead to a drop in performance and a reduction in impact.
How to lose chest fat as fast as possible
How long it takes to reduce chest fat depends on a number of factors. The most obvious one is how much fat you currently carrying. The frequency and intensity of your training sessions will also influence the rate of progress.
The quality and quantity of the food you eat is probably going to be the biggest factor. If you eat well and train consistently then you could notice some positive changes to your chest fat levels within a couple of weeks. Typically it takes at least six to eight weeks to achieve that impressive transformation level of change.
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