How to get rid of Love Handles

How to get rid of love handles is a question on a lot of people’s minds, especially men. That stubborn bit of fat that covers the obliques and resides by the sides of the abs can be especially tricky to shift. But there are ways to how to get rid of love handles, and here are just a few of them.

First up, it’s worth noting that you can’t spot reduce fat. In your quest into how to get rid of love handles, you certainly can target exercises to tone certain muscle areas, but you’ll need to lose weight all over if you’re looking to achieve the best fat loss results. The best way to do this is cardio exercise 3-5 times per week to really get your metabolism up. Try aerobics, running or swimming, and you can lose around 400 calories an hour.

You should also try to look at your diet. You’re only going to lose weight if your burn more calories than you take in, and this works just as much for love handles as it does everywhere else. Part of the solution in how to get rid of love handles, lies within the creation of a caloric deficit in your diet, and combine this with the cardio exercise mentioned above to get the best results.

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Simple food swaps can be great if you’re not into dieting, for example by drinking sugar-free juices or water instead of calorie-laden soda, and switch to low-calorie snacks or fruit and veg instead of crisps, cakes and cookies. Reduce the sugar and fat in your diet and replace with protein and you’ll be well on your way to firmer obliques.

Once the overall fat is lost, exercises can be used to target the love handle area, and some can be particularly effective. Doing basic crunches (lie on you back, knees bent, and lift your head towards your knees) will be a great place to start. Let’s have a closer look at exercises that will show you how to get rid of love handles. These will focus on the oblique area:

Leg flutters

If you want to tone your stomach and love handles, you’ll have to strengthen your back as well to support the area. Leg flutters are a great way of doing this. Lie on your front with your head off the floor and your arms straight at your sides or bent at the elbows, which ever you prefer. Lift your feet and knees off the floor and flutter your legs rapidly for 20 seconds. Lower and repeat.

Twist crunches

These are a great way to target the love handle area, and are very similar to regular crunches. Lie on your back with your legs bent, head off the floor and your hands behind it. Twist to the right, bringing your left elbow to the right knee, and extend your left leg out. Tense your abs while you’re doing it, then lower. Now do the opposite – bring your right elbow to the left knee, extending your right leg. Repeat 25 times.

Standing trunk twists

These can be a great aerobic exercise as well, so you’re targeting two things at once – fat loss and muscle toning. Stand with your feet about a foot apart, and twist to the left keeping your legs and hips stable and crossing your right arm in front of you. Repeat 100 times.

Tae Bo

This is a great exercise to tone up your obliques, and is also a great cardio workout. By twisting to punch and kick you’re firming up your love handle area and reducing the fat at the same time. Try looking for a class or get a DVD showing you the specific exercises.

Weight Training

Any type of weight training will help boost your metabolism and will mean you burn fat even quicker. If you choose weight training exercises that target your abs as well, even better!

All of these exercises can make a great difference in resolving the age old question of how to get rid of love handles, and should definitely be included into your exercise routine. If you follow all the rules, i.e. stick to a calorie-controlled diet and exercise at least 3-5 times per week for a minimum of 30 minutes, you should start seeing a difference in a matter of weeks.

Obviously, the duration of time involved in the quest of how to get rid of love handles will depend on a number of factors, such as what you eat, your starting weight, and how much fat you need to lose. Don’t be disheartened if your fat loss seems to slow down after a while – the body can quickly get used to routines, so try adding a new exercise into your regime or exercise more often, or try tweaking your diet to include more protein and less fat.

So, the question of how to get rid of love handles isn’t really that much of a difficult question after all. Eat right and exercise effectively, and you’ll be well on your way to a firm waist line and can say goodbye to love handles forever.