How to Get Rid of Love Handles

Everybody has a problem area when it comes to losing weight and if you are going through this article then probably you are one of them too! For some of you, body fats might accumulate in hips and thighs while others might find it challenging to lose fat from their arms,

Love handles might sound cute, but despite their cute name, there is nothing lovable about it. Love handles are just another name for the excess fat that you might find at the sides of your waist and hang over the top of your pants. It is a challenging task to get rid of these, and if you are not in love with your muffin top which is another name for the love handles, you need to follow a routine consisting of a healthy diet and regular exercise.

love handles in men

How Can You Lose Those Love Handles?

There is a myth about love handles, people are of the impression that spot treatment, toning up or losing weight in one place is possible – do not fall for these kinds of advertisements or get carried away by such kind of false promises because spot reduction of your belly fat is next to impossible. To lose those fats you need to alter some aspects of diet, exercise and lifestyle.

Here are some helpful tips to help you to say goodbye to lose those love handles:

Part 1: Food Habits

Eat right to get rid of your love handles:

If you are really keen on losing those love handles then the first thing that you should consider is eating a healthy diet. Your food should consist of a healthy mix of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins. A balanced diet ensures that you consume an adequate amount of nutrients every day.

Try to keep a variety in your diet, don’t just stick to eating an apple every day, instead, you may include apples, berries or oranges in your diet this will not only provide you with a variety of tastes and flavors but will also help you to get the necessary nutrients that you might require for your body. Focus on lean protein like eggs, fish, white-meat poultry over red meat, choose healthy servings of fruits and vegetables.

Studies show that there is a visible likelihood of losing those fats around your love handles if you include lower carbs and higher lean proteins in your diet. You can include 3-4 oz serving at each meal and around 1-2 oz serving at each pack. Fill the rest of your meals with fruits and vegetables. Try to include a 5-9 serving of vegetables and fruits.

Reduce your Calorie intake:

Unfortunately, there are no magic formulas to lose fat from one region of the body only. If you seriously want to kiss good bye to your love handles then you have to lose overall body weight by reducing the amount of calories you consume every day. If you are gorging junk foods like cakes, pizzas, pastas, colas, then make it a point to stop it immediately.

Junk foods add more calories and increase your body weight. However, it is not recommended to reduce the calorie intake drastically but if you can reduce your intake by 500 – 700 Calories each day then it is good for your health. You can keep a track of your calories by looking up the calorie content of foods online. Highly processed foods or junk foods are higher in calories and are detrimental to your health and also creates obstacles for losing your love handles. Cook your own meals at home and avoid restaurant foods which are coated with butter.

Limit your carbohydrate intake:

If you are looking forward to reduce the daily carbohydrate intakes, then you need to focus on lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. This will promote a quick loss of your body fat. Do not cut out carbs completely from your diet, instead, you can minimize starchy vegetables and grains and fill the rest of your daily meal with lean protein or vegetable. Healthy and complex cards like oats, black rice, sweet potatoes keep your metabolism keyed up.

Drink adequate water:

Keeping yourself properly hydrated is important for your overall health. Drinking enough water not only improves your health, it also supports your weight loss. Drinking water before meals and snacks can reduce your craving for food and can help you eat less overall.

Check your snacks:

Ditch those high calorie snacks like French fries, burgers, pizzas etc. Plan out healthy snacks like apples, yogurt or a serving of nuts, celery etc. Eat your snacks only if you are hungry or there are more than 4-6 hours between meals. Refrain from munching a snack late night by drinking tea or chewing a gum. Avoid snacking after 8 PM after which you should not eat anymore food. Watch what you are snacking, your snacks should not exceed 150 calories a day if you are considering to get rid of those love handles.

Cut the alcohol:

Sometimes cutting alcohol can make a drastic difference in your love handles. Just think a glass of wine or a beer has over 100 calories, so if you go pretty hard on weekends or are a regular drinker, remember that you are tacking a lot of calories which are not helpful for your body.

Reduce Your Caffeine:

Having one or two cups of coffee a day is fine, but if you are addicted and love drinking the entire pot, then cut the extra java intake. If you are adding sweeteners and milk for taste then consider adding agave or vanilla with coffee beans and drink flavored coffee or black coffee instead of adding sweeteners and milk.

Part 2: Exercise to get rid of your love handles

Incorporate exercises that target the back, abs and hips:

Fitness gurus are in accord with the fact that there is no such thing as spot reduction exercise for removing body fat including love handles. You can do stomach crunches till the cows come home, and still, you might not find any results. Your exercise regimen therefore should consist of a combination of cardio vascular exercise and weight lifting with a targeted movement for optimal results. Some of the exercises recommended by fitness experts to target the back, abs and hips region are:

Side Planks:

You do not require any equipment to do this exercise. To perform the basic side plank you can:

Start by lying on your side. Support yourself up on one arm: Your elbow needs to be in line with your shoulder: Keep your forearm flat against the ground, at a right to your body.
Join your legs one on top of the other, so that your body is in a straight line from head to hip. With your knee touching the ground try to raise your hips
Squeeze your gluteus muscles and hold the move for 30 seconds and slowly increase it to a minute. While doing this move keep your abs tight to help support your body.
Switch sides and repeat.

You can try to include some variations by raising your knees off the ground to make this exercise more challenging.

Bicycle crunches:

You might be tempted to rush through those bicycle crunches after getting inspired by watching fitness videos but the key to this move is slow and controlled movements.

Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and knees bent.
Lift your shoulders and knees off the ground as you tighten your abs, simultaneously lift your feet off the ground without stretching your legs, so that your knees are bent while you do this. Your shins should be parallel to the ground
Slowly twist your body so that your left elbow moves towards your right knee. While you twist your body, extend your left leg in front of you.
Slowly twist in the other direction and bring your left leg back to its bent position, your right elbow should move towards your knee. As you twist your body, stretch your right leg in front of you.

You should repeat this set at least 15 to 30 times.

Russian Twist:

This is another exercise which is very effective in losing body fat. You can modify it by adding weights but if you are a beginner then try doing it without weight first.

Start in a seated position on the floor with your buttocks on the ground. Bend your knees and put your feet flat on the ground.
Tighten your abdomen and lean on your trunk back so that you are the approximately 45-degree angle to the floor. Clasp your hands together
Staying in the bent position, lift your feet off the ground so that your body balances on your butt.
Twit your body to the right and left bringing your clasped hands to your right and left side of your body.

Repeat this exercise for 30 seconds up to a minute.

There are other cardio exercises like aerobics, jogging, walking uphill, dancing, kickboxing that you can include along with these to help you to strengthen your muscles and increase your heart rate. Start with some basic exercises first and then slowly and gradually add more variety to your fitness regimen.

Part 3: Lifestyle

Maintain a healthy lifestyle by sleeping at the right time. If you are deprived of your sleep then your hormones are put to a lot of strain and pressure, which can obstruct your weight loss. As your metabolism reduces to store energy, your appetite increases which in turn causes an intake of more carbs and fats. You should have 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night.

When you wake up every day try to drink 16 oz of water in empty stomach with the juice of ½ a fresh lemon, this will quick start your digestive system.

Conclusion

Love handles are a side effect of excess body fat, these fats, especially around your hip and abdomen area, accumulates causing the muffin top or love handles which protrudes when you wear your pants. Following a healthy eating habit, performing your exercises every day and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can contribute to shrinking your love handles.

If, after practicing these healthy habits, you are unable to reduce your weight then seek advice from your doctor. You might have some other problems which might require blood examination to check whether you are suffering from hypothyroidism or have any other issues.