How to Lose Weight Around Your Shoulder Blades

Although it would be great if you could choose where your body lost weight, there’s no way to reduce fat in one part of your body. If you have excess fat around your shoulder blades, you will need to engage in a calorie-restricted diet, aerobic activity and strength training specific to the shoulders. If you have any medical conditions, talk with your doctor before modifying your diet or starting an exercise routine.

Losing Weight

In order to lose weight around your shoulder blades you will need to lose overall body fat. Achieve this by burning more calories in a day than you consume. Start a food journal and document everything you eat in a day. Next to the foods you ingest write down their caloric content. Add up the number of calories you eat daily. MayoClinic.com states that cutting back 500 to 1,000 calories daily will cause your body to lose about 1 to 2 pounds a week. As your overall body fat decreases, your shoulder blades will become more prominent.

Aerobic Activity

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Participating in daily aerobic activity will increase the number of calories you use in a day and will contribute to losing fat around your shoulder blades. Aerobic activities include running, walking briskly, swimming, jogging, cycling, playing high-impact sports and martial arts. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that you should participate in two hours and 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activities weekly. If you engage in high-intensity activities, the recommendation is a minimum of one hour and 15 minutes.

Shoulder Weight Training

Building muscle mass will not cause you to lose weight in your shoulder blades it but will increase the muscle mass surrounding the shoulders. As you lose body fat and build muscle mass, your shoulder blades will develop into a lean and toned area of your body. Muscle strengthening should be a part of your regular exercise routine at least two days a week. Bodybuilding.com recommends seated dumbbell presses, seated dumbbell laterals, side dumbbell lateral raises and upright barbell rows to build the shoulder muscles.

Considerations

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In order to lose weight around your shoulder blades and keep it off you must change your eating habits and stay committed even after you achieve your primary objective. MayoClinic.com recommends eating healthier foods, such as low-fat dairy products, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and low-sugar foods. Highly processed, prepackaged and sugary foods are high in calories and can leave you feeling hungry.