How to Reduce Knee Fat?

Are you tired of feeling like you can’t wear shorts and want to know how to lose knee fat? Even if you are not overweight, you could still have extra fat in your knees, at risk of fat accumulation. Everybody has difficult areas of their bodies where fat collects and refuses to go away.

Even after making dietary and exercise changes, many women still have fat around their knees. It’s crazy that even if the rest of your legs are quite toned, you can progress and be happy with everything else, but you can’t lose the fat around your knees.

You’ve probably heard that there are areas of your body where fat cannot be seen. This is mostly accurate, however, I’ll tell you a tip that will help you lose fat in areas of your body that are hard to lose, like your knees.

Introduction

Knee fat is a hidden pocket of excess fat that develops out of nowhere, forcing you to look at every pair of shorts in the cupboard.

Many individuals ask if there is a way to target and tone this difficult area, even though it is completely normal and not something to be ashamed of. We offer scientifically supported solutions to help you manage problems including inner knee fat and excess weight around the knee.

We are providing you with all the information you require regarding this problematic area, from exercises for fat knees to dietary adjustments and even surgical treatments.

Let’s now face the reality of persistent knee fat.

The amount of muscle and body fat in the surrounding regions, such as the quads, hamstrings, calves, and shins, determines the knees overall appearance and tonicity.

However, other factors including age, genetics, hormonal imbalances, and lifestyle choices can also affect how fat accumulates and how our legs and knees appear.

Although fatty deposits can form in the knee area in both men and women, women are more likely to store fat in all body parts, including the knee. It can be challenging to tone knee fat, which can give the kneecap (patella) an undesirable, bulbous appearance.

What are the causes of knee fat?

To properly treat knee fat, it is important to understand its underlying causes. Several factors usually contribute to knee fat, including:

Genetics

Some people have to store fat around their knees. Put it down to your family history; genetic patterns of fat cell distribution may cause your body to naturally store excess fat in this place.

Weight gain

Unexpectedly, one of the most frequent causes of knee fat is being overweight. Fat cells enlarge in places like the thighs, hips, and yes, even the knees when we put on weight.

Additionally, weight-bearing joints may experience increased strain due to the buildup of fat around the knees.

Lack of muscular tone

A weak lower body, especially in the quadriceps and hamstrings, can give the knee area a less toned appearance.

In addition to decreasing stability, weak muscles might raise the risk of knee pain.

Inflammation

Knee swelling can be caused by diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis. Even while this isn’t fat, inflammation, particularly when paired with joint inflammation, can make the area appear larger.

Hormonal Changes

Fat accumulation is significantly influenced by hormones. Women may notice an increase in the amount of fat around their knees after pregnancy, menopause, or times of hormonal imbalance.

Sedentary lifestyle.

Sitting too much or not exercising might slow down your metabolism and encourage the growth of fat cells in problematic places like your knees.

I hate to break the news to you, but heredity is a major factor in why you have excess fat in your knees. Because of their pear-shaped bodies, many women prefer to store extra fat in their lower bodies. Even while it might be less annoying to eliminate than keeping it in your stomach.

Losing weight simply isn’t the solution either. Lean muscle mass and body composition are not always altered by weight loss. Many women lose muscle during the weight loss process, which is necessary to tone up problematic regions. Therefore, losing weight alone won’t be enough to tighten the area above and around your knee.

The Role of Aging in Knee Fat

Without a doubt, having blobby legs can make you appear twenty years older than you are. As you age, your metabolism slows down and your toned muscles begin to deteriorate. Additionally, your body fat percentage will increase as your muscle mass decreases. This is how rigid fat forms in locations where you are genetically predisposed when your body fat percentage reaches an excessive level.

Your body naturally begins to create less and less collagen as you get older. Collagen is the most essential protein in your body. It is referred to by many skin specialists as the “structural support for your skin.” Your skin’s softness will decrease as you lose collagen. Your skin’s flexibility allows it to return to its tight condition. Cellulite and more drooping, loose skin will result from your body not having enough collagen. Collagen supplements have been shown in studies to reverse this loss of skin suppleness. I take this collagen every day.

Managing your hormones will be important for maximizing your body fat percentage. For women, the three main ones are cortisol, estrogen, and insulin. Consuming foods high in carbohydrates and sugar could put your insulin levels out of control, which can cause you to start storing fat. Eating foods like those in my Flat Belly Formula diet that are low in sugar and insulinemic will help regulate insulin.

The hormone cortisol encourages fat to be stored in problematic area. Chronic stress and sleep deprivation might result in the production of cortisol. To counteract high cortisol levels, try to lessen stress in your life and enhance the quality of your deep sleep.

Lastly, not exercising will also result in an excessive amount of body fat. You will gain “skinny fat” even if you lose weight. This is when you could appear skinny with a normal BMI but in reality, your body is fatty, soft, and dimply. However, not all exercises are effective in reducing knee fat, so I’ll show you which ones are.

Target Knee Fat

You may have heard that spot-reducing is ineffective, however this isn’t completely correct. Yes, it won’t work to lose leg fat if you’re extremely overweight and try to do leg presses alone. That’s because you still have an excessive amount of body fat.

The secret to managing resistant fat is to reduce your overall body fat before adding knee exercises. You can tone up these problematic regions with healthy muscle mass after reducing your overall body fat. But this recurrent fat won’t go away if you simply “cut weight” by consuming fewer calories.

Women should ideally have no more than 20–30% body fat. Use a smart scale or have a local personal trainer measure your body fat if you’re in doubt. Although the smart scales aren’t perfect, they will help you evaluate your development. Regretfully, your body continues to lose fat more slowly in these problematic area. However, the more you reduce your body fat and work to tone the area, the greater the outcomes will be.

Fasting while exercising is one of the finest strategies to lose fat that was persistent. One of the most effective methods for burning body fat is intermittent fasting. Research has shown that exercising while fasting increases the body’s ability to burn fat. You can also lose fat more quickly if you include ketones in your diet while fasting. They give your body the signal to burn more fat stores for energy, just like the keto diet does. Keto Elevate is something I take with my coffee in the morning.

Exercises for Knee Fat to Change the Look of Your Knees

For treating the fat around the knees, weight training and lower-body aerobic activities like biking, running, or a treadmill are both excellent options, though some are more efficient than others.

Some of the best exercises for reducing knee fat are included below, along with variations on each. Warm up your legs before beginning your workout to get your muscles and joints ready for the next step. For bulletproof ankles, include a few ankle stretches and exercises as well.

Lunges

Exercises that target inner knee fat and tone the inner thighs include lunges and all of their variations. Start with bodyweight lunges if you’re new to the exercise, and only increase the weight when your strength and balance improve.

How to do it: Take a single stride forward while maintaining ankle-front knee alignment. With your chest raised, lower your body until both legs are at a 90-degree angle. Switch your legs and push yourself back up to the starting position.

Repetitions: 10 repetitions per leg, 3 sets. Try carrying dumbbells or including a reverse lunge variant for an added burn.

Forward lunges:

Forward lunges require good coordination and core strength. Instead of putting your leg closer to your midline, step forward in line with its natural position to increase your stability when lunging.

Lunge Jump:

An excellent way to lose the fat around your knees is to perform lunge jumps, a dynamic variation of the lunge that tones muscles and burns extra calories. It is ideal to incorporate this variation into your workouts after you have mastered the traditional stationary lunge because it calls for solid coordination.

Curtsy Lunge:

To prevent knee pain and damage to your stability, it’s important to step back at a 45-degree angle and fall back into your glutes, placing your hips behind you.

Squats

Exercises that work the quadriceps, such as squats and their variations, can help reduce fat above the knee. Start without weights if you’re new to exercising, and as you gain strength, progressively increase the load.

How to do it: Maintain a shoulder-width distance between your feet. Maintaining your weight on your heels and your knees behind your toes, lower your body as though you were sitting in a chair. Using your glutes at the top, push yourself back up to standing.

Reps: Aim for three sets of fifteen. Try adding a jump at the top or gripping dumbbells if you want to increase the effort.

Knee-up squat:

Good balance and stability are necessary when standing on one leg, and they can be easily attained through activating your core and moving gently.

Split squat:

Split squats demand a lot of balance and muscle endurance. Maintaining feet parallel and hip-width apart, align your forward leg with its natural posture in front of the hip to aid increase stability.

Squat sideways:

Because it involves maintaining a squat position, this exercise helps you increase the muscular endurance in your legs. To maximize the intensity of this exercise, keep your squat as low as you can.

Side Jump to Squat:

This dynamic version is perfect for people who have some prior squat expertise because it calls for coordination, mobility, and strong endurance.

Additionally, squats are excellent for developing the glutes. These weighted glute exercises will help you finish your lower-body workout.

Step-Ups

Since step-ups strengthen the quadriceps, calves, and hamstrings, they can be an excellent exercise to improve the tone of the muscles surrounding the knees. You can gradually increase the weight as you gain strength, starting with only your body weight.

How to do it: Set up a step or a strong bench at a height that tests you but still permits good form. Press through the heel with one foot, then raise the second foot to meet it. Repeat on the other leg after stepping down.

Repetitions: 10 repetitions per leg, 3 sets. Try switching your speed or holding a dumbbell in each hand to make it more difficult.

Classic step-ups:

To avoid knee soreness, it’s ideal to complete this exercise without utilizing a bench or a step higher than knee height. To further stimulate and strengthen your leg muscles, keep your muscles tensed as you walk up and down.

Step-up-down:

You have to switch legs on top of the step or bench in this version, which calls for good coordination and focus. Perform this variant gently at first, then faster as your coordination gets better.

Jump Rope

High-intensity aerobic exercises like jumping rope can help you lose fat in all parts of your body, including areas that are difficult to tone, such as behind your knee.

Classic jump rope:

The traditional jump rope calls for endurance and superb coordination. As your coordination gets better, pick up the pace from a slower start.

Jump rope Ali shuffle:

This variation is a perfect progression for this exercise because it demands more coordination than the basic version because of the shuffling motion.

Hoping with one leg:

A step up from the traditional jump rope, the one-leg hop calls for balance, calf strength, and core strength in addition to coordination and endurance.

Leg raises

Leg raises are the ideal low-impact exercise. They are perfect for beginners or anyone recuperating from knee pain and patella tendon tightness since they strengthen the muscles surrounding the knees without putting undue strain on them.

How to do it: Bend one leg while keeping the other straight while lying flat on your back. Slowly lower the straight leg after raising it to a 45-degree angle and holding it there for a little while. Do the same with the other leg.

Repetitions: 15 repetitions per leg, 3 sets. Try side-lying leg raises or add ankle weights for increased intensity.

Hamstring curls

Strengthening the hamstrings helps stabilize the knees and may also alleviate anterior knee pain. Additionally, strong hamstrings stabilize the knee joint, lowering the chance of injury.

How to do it: For balance, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hold on to a solid surface. Bring your heel up to your glutes by bending one knee. Repeat after carefully lowering your leg back down.

Repetitions: 12 repetitions per leg, 3 sets. Try using a resistance band or adding ankle weights to improve resistance.

Pilates

Pilates emphasizes strength-building and flexibility training through regulated movements. It might improve physical functionality and general equilibrium.

Pilates incorporates targeted movements that target the hips, inner thighs, and core muscles, such as hip circles and straight leg stretches. By strengthening and toning the leg muscles, these exercises may aid in the reduction of knee fat.

For those recuperating from knee or back ailments, Pilates is frequently advised. Its efficient motions may help in regaining muscle control, strength, and flexibility.

Walking

Walking is a low-impact workout that can help tone your lower body muscles and lose body fat. Including frequent walks in your routine may be an easy method to improve your general fitness and health.

Walking has the potential to improve knee health and reduce knee fat by strengthening and toning the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves, among other leg muscles.

To prevent excessive knee strain, make sure you take natural steps, stand tall with your shoulders back, and use your core muscles. As your level of fitness increases, progressively increase the distance and speed from the starting sluggish pace.

Cycling

A cardiovascular workout that can help tone different leg muscles is riding a bike. Additionally, it might focus on the calves, thighs, and quadriceps, which could help tone the knees. This low-impact exercise is especially beneficial for those who have leg problems or knee pain because it offers an alternative to high-impact activities like running.

Dietary advice for reducing knee fat

A bad diet is more powerful than any amount of exercise. Your diet must be spot-on if you’re serious about losing knee fat.

Here are some tips:

• Adopt a balanced diet.

Make an effort to eat a lot of vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. A diet high in dietary fiber and antioxidants promotes general fat loss and lowers inflammation in the body.

• Limit your calorie intake.

You must generate a calorie deficit to lose fat. In other words, you should consume less calories than your body expels. To prevent feeling depleted, make sure your meals are high in nutrients.

• Stay away from foods heavy in fat.

Eat less processed foods and high-fat snacks, such as fried dinners or potato chips. These can hinder your growth and lead to excess weight.

• Stay hydrated.

Water consumption makes the knee area look smoother by reducing inflammation and helping in the removal of pollutants.

• Anti-inflammatory foods

Include items such as almonds, turmeric, and fatty salmon in your diet. These promote the health of your weight-bearing joints and lessen joint inflammation.

Is it possible to remove knee fat surgically?

If you’ve done every knee fat exercise in the book and aren’t satisfied with the results, you might be wondering if surgery is an option. Indeed, there are:

Liposuction

One of the most popular treatments for fat knees is liposuction. To do this, the knee joint and its surrounding areas must be reshaped and the adipose tissue removed.

Although the recovery period is somewhat short, there are dangers associated with any surgery, such as joint inflammation and infection.

CoolSculpting

CoolSculpting is a non-invasive option that freezes and kills fat cells in particular places, like the knees, using controlled cooling.

For many people, it’s a safer alternative to liposuction, even though the results take longer to manifest and aren’t as noticeable.

Procedures for tightening the skin

Skin-tightening procedures that use lasers or radiofrequency can enhance the skin surface around the knees for people who have extra skin after losing weight.

For a smoother, more toned appearance, this is frequently paired with fat-loss techniques.

Preoperative considerations

Although surgical procedures can provide notable results, not everyone is a good candidate. Considering expenses, healing duration, and possible hazards like infection or scarring is important.

Moreover, the effects might not be sustained if a healthy weight is not maintained.

Why it’s impossible to lose fat in that area

You may have heard that exercising certain muscles can amazingly reduce body fat in that location, but it is simply untrue.

Exercises don’t immediately burn the fat that sits on top, but they can tone and improve the muscles surrounding a certain spot.

A calorie deficit achieved through a combination of diet and exercise is a major factor in fat reduction, which occurs throughout the body.

Therefore, although knee exercises can assist increase lean muscle mass and enhance the appearance of the knee region, overall weight loss will be the primary source of fat burning.

The good news? Eventually, those trouble spots, like the knees, will also get thinner as you lose fat throughout your body!

Side Effects of Excess Knee Fat.

Since excess fat accumulation around the knees is intimately linked to obesity, it offers serious health hazards. Mobility problems can also be caused by excess body fat around the knees. It is a recognized predisposing factor for several serious illnesses, including:

• Heart Diseases
• Diabetes Type 2
• High blood pressure
• Joint Problems

How can you reduce leg fat quickly?

You will need to reduce body fat on all parts of your body. You will need to reduce your caloric intake to do this. To burn fat, you must optimize and balance your hormones. Lastly, you will need to combine focused knee workouts with high-intensity activities. It will not be enough to simply lose weight or jump rope. This explains why a lot of women who lose weight still struggle to lose their stubborn fat.

Conclusion

Don’t panic, there is still hope if you were born with poor genetics for knee fat. You don’t have to live with this type of “problem” forever just because you were born with it. Knee fat is challenging, and nobody likes wearing shorts and looking horrible in photos.

It’s common to have fat that sticks to odd spots on your body. We were all born with bodily parts that are more likely to accumulate fat than others. Targeting stubborn fat is still achievable even though the outdated technique of spot reduction isn’t very successful at removing it.

You may quickly reduce your knee fat if you follow the correct techniques. Therefore, this will work well if you want to tighten the area above and inside your knees. Your knee fat will decrease more quickly if you are more dedicated and consistent in using the methods listed above.

FAQs

Reference

• Cpt, J. S. C. (2021, February 16). How to get rid of knee fat (Fast & naturally!). Trainer Josh. https://trainerjosh.com/fat-loss/how-get-rid-knee-fat/
• Hospitals, S. (2024, December 4). How to reduce knee fat? Sahyadri Hospital. https://sahyadrihospital.com/blog/how-to-reduce-knee-fat/
• Hilton, J. (2024, August 5). Knee fat: Causes and treatments. Vibrant Vitality Clinic. https://vibrantvitalityclinic.com/blog/knee-fat/
• Starr, L. (2025, March 14). The truth about stubborn knee fat (and what you can do about it). https://www.myjuniper.com/blog/fat-in-knees
• Read, T. (2025, March 22). 10 Best Strategies to Lose Knee Fat – Flame Challenge. Flame Challenge. https://www.flamechallenge.org/get-rid-of-knee-fat/