Your upper body starts at waist level. It includes your rectus abdominis, pectorals, deltoids, latissimus dorsi, triceps and biceps. Use upper body weight loss tips if you want to slim your stomach, chest, shoulders, back and arms. Exercise and improve your diet to tone your body while burning fat.
Eating Habits
Bad eating habits contribute to weight gain in all areas of the body. If your diet consists of such foods as cheeseburgers, french fries, cream pies, potato chips and ribs, you need to make drastic changes. Such foods are high in fat, sugar, sodium and calories. To promote weight loss, reduce your intake and avoid empty calorie foods. Since a pound equals 3,500 calories, reduce your caloric intake by 500 to 1,000 calories a day to lose about a pound or two a week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your diet should only include such nutrient-packed foods as beans, greens, fruits, vegetables, lean meats, fish, low-fat dairy and whole grains. Instead of eating two or three big meals, eat five to six small meals spread several hours apart to keep your hunger under control.
Upper Body Cardio
To further increase your caloric deficit, perform three to four days of cardiovascular exercise every week. Since you want to lose weight in your upper body, select cardio that involves your upper body. Examples include elliptical training, kickboxing, rowing, versa climbing, swimming and jumping rope. These forms of cardio burn fat while toning your muscles. To lose weight or maintain weight loss, 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity may be necessary, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. If you are short on time, split your cardio workouts into smaller bouts throughout the day. Mix in high-intensity intervals to boost your caloric expenditure even more.
Upper Body Muscles
Upper body weight training exercises won't burn a tremendous amount of calories, but they will contribute to overall weight loss while you're at rest because muscle is metabolically active. It also will improve your muscle definition, which will give your body a leaner appearance as you strip away the fat. Do two to three weight training sessions a week. Perform such exercises as push-ups, lateral raises, back rows, dips and curls.
Abdominal Muscles
Although performing weight training will cause you to contract your abs, you still should spend a day or two a week focusing on ab-specific exercises. This will give your midsection a firm and lean look as you lose weight. Scissor kicks, hanging knee raises, Russian twists, planks, crunches and V-ups are examples of exercises that target your upper abs, lower abs and obliques. Your obliques are found on the sides of your stomach.
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