Buzz
'Love handles' refer to the fat deposits around the sides of the abdomen and lower back. This fat accumulation often develops over years due to a high-calorie diet and insufficient exercise. Unfortunately, there is no specific exercise to target love handles. Reducing them requires a combination of body fat loss through diet, stress reduction, and physical activity. These changes can help you eliminate love handles.
Steps
Adjust Your Diet
Reduce calorie intake. To lose body weight and excess fat, especially love handles, you need to decrease your overall calorie consumption.
- Spot reduction is not possible, but overall weight loss can help reduce body fat. Over time, you will notice a reduction in love handles.
- Cut about 500 calories daily. This typically results in losing 0.45-0.9 kg per week.
- Start by calculating your total daily calorie intake (try keeping a food diary or using a calorie-tracking app). Use this as your baseline. Then, subtract 500 calories to determine your target intake for weight loss.
Limit processed and fried foods. Both processed and fried foods are high in calories. Regularly consuming these foods makes it difficult to lose weight and eliminate love handles.
- Processed and fried foods are known to be calorie-dense. Additionally, they often contain added sugars, unhealthy fats, and various preservatives.
- Avoid or limit the following: sodas, fried foods, fast food, chips, crackers, ice cream, candy, processed meats, frozen meals, canned foods, cookies, cakes, and pastries.
- If possible, avoid foods high in added sugars. Studies show that high-sugar diets often lead to fat accumulation around the abdomen, making love handles more prominent.
Replace carb-heavy foods with non-starchy vegetables. Studies indicate that men who consume large amounts of carbohydrates tend to accumulate fat around the abdomen. Reducing carb intake can help minimize this and reduce love handles.
- Carbohydrates are found in many foods. Examples include desserts like cakes, cookies, pies, and grains like bread. Other foods, such as dairy, beans, starchy vegetables, and fruits, also contain carbs.
- Men should aim for 5-9 servings of vegetables and fruits daily. Proper portion sizes include 1 cup of vegetables, 2 cups of salad, or 1/2 cup of fruit.
- Non-starchy vegetables should make up about half of your plate at each meal.
- Opt for low-sugar fruits like berries. Focus on non-starchy vegetables and limit starchy ones like carrots, beans, potatoes, and corn due to their higher carb content.
- Limit grain consumption as they are high in carbs. If eating grains, choose 100% whole grains for their fiber and protein content.
Replace fatty meats with lean proteins. Protein is essential for men during exercise and low-calorie diets, but not all proteins are equal. Lean proteins can help reduce love handles.
- Fatty meats like sausages, bacon, full-fat dairy, and 80/20 ground beef are high in saturated fats, which are linked to increased belly fat. Reduce these and switch to lean proteins.
- Choose chicken, fish, and lean cuts of red meat. Incorporate salmon, tuna, nuts, and peanut butter, as they are rich in protein and healthy fats, which help reduce belly and love handle fat.
Drink plenty of water. While water doesn’t directly reduce love handles, it supports weight loss and long-term fat reduction.
- The recommended daily water intake is 8-13 cups (2-3 liters) for men, increasing with activity levels.
- Staying hydrated can reduce appetite throughout the day. Drinking a glass of water before meals can help you eat less and stay within your calorie limit.
Increase Physical Activity
Start an aerobic exercise routine. Cardio is essential for men aiming to reduce body fat, especially around the abdomen and love handles. Incorporate regular aerobic exercises to help eliminate love handles.
- Men should aim for 30-40 minutes of moderate to high-intensity cardio 4-5 days a week.
- Try activities like jogging, using an elliptical machine, swimming, attending aerobic classes, or cycling.
Try interval training. Research shows that alternating between high and moderate-intensity exercise with low-intensity recovery periods burns more calories and fat compared to steady-paced workouts.
- Join fat-burning cardio or bootcamp classes at the gym. These classes use various equipment for interval training, aiming to build muscle and reduce body fat.
- Try Flow Yoga classes, which combine challenging poses with rest periods.
- Join a running group that incorporates sprints with jogging. Alternatively, set intervals like running for 2 minutes followed by brisk walking or jogging for 2 minutes. Sprint for 30 seconds every 5 minutes.
Increase daily physical activity. Studies show that everyday lifestyle activities can provide weight loss and health benefits similar to structured exercise plans. Boost daily activity to reduce love handles.
- Daily activities include chores, walking, standing, and taking the stairs.
- Think about your typical day and find ways to move more. Aim to walk or move frequently throughout the day.
- Consider using a pedometer or a step-counting app to track and encourage more walking.
Incorporate core-strengthening exercises
Crunches. Crunches are a basic abdominal exercise that can help slim and tone the waistline. This exercise targets the front abdominal muscles. Remember, core exercises alone won’t reduce body fat or love handles. Instead, reduce body fat through diet and cardio to eliminate love handles. Strength exercises like crunches build core muscles, but they won’t be visible if covered by a layer of fat.
- Lie on your back with knees bent. Place your hands behind your neck with elbows wide.
- Lift your shoulders a few centimeters off the ground until your abs are fully contracted. Lift slightly higher so your lower back is off the floor.
- Slowly lower your back to the floor. Repeat crunches for 3 sets of 10-100 reps. For advanced crunches, lift your legs straight or bend your knees at a 90-degree angle.
Bicycle crunches. This variation of crunches targets the obliques and the sides of the hips.
- Start in the standard crunch position. Lift your legs and bend your knees to form a 90-degree angle. Keep your calves parallel to the floor.
- Lift your chest until your shoulders are off the mat. Twist your torso toward your right leg while extending your left leg straight out, parallel to the floor.
- Switch legs, extending the right leg and pulling the left leg in while twisting your torso to the left. Avoid using your neck to pull yourself up; keep your elbows wide to engage your core. Perform 2-3 sets of 10-20 reps.
Reverse crunches. Similar to regular crunches, this exercise focuses on the front abdominal muscles, particularly the lower abs.
- Lift your legs straight up, aligning them with your hips. Slightly bend your knees and engage your core.
- Move your legs toward your elbows, then slowly return to the starting position. This exercise targets the lower abdominal muscles. Perform 2-3 sets of 10 reps.
Plank. This is an excellent exercise as it targets all core muscles.
- Lie face down. Place your forearms on the mat, forming a 90-degree angle. Clasp your hands together.
- Extend one leg straight back. Engage your core and tighten your abs while extending the other leg. Adjust your body to form a perfect straight line. Hold the position for 30 seconds to 2 minutes while breathing evenly.
- Perform a similar exercise in a push-up position instead of using your elbows. Ensure your arms are directly under your shoulders. If this is too challenging, you can perform the exercise at a 45-degree angle using a kitchen counter.
Side plank. Similar to the traditional plank, this exercise specifically targets the obliques.
- Lie on your side, propping yourself up on your elbow, which should be directly under your shoulder. Stack your feet to form a straight line.
- Lift your hips, balancing your weight on your right foot and shoulder. If this is too difficult, bend your left leg and place your foot on the floor in front of your right knee for support.
- Raise your left arm straight up, perpendicular to the floor. Hold the position for 15-60 seconds. Repeat at least twice on each side.
Swimming motion exercise. This exercise targets the lower back and obliques.
- Lie face down with your arms extended straight ahead. Place the tops of your feet on the mat and keep your legs hip-width apart.
- Engage your core. Lift your right arm and left leg simultaneously. Hold the position for about 3 seconds.
- Lower your right arm and left leg, then lift your left arm and right leg. Repeat 10 times on each side, holding for 3-6 seconds each.
- For added intensity, after performing the slow version, quickly alternate arms and legs 20 times on each side.
Tips
- Reducing stress and getting quality sleep can help decrease fat accumulation around the hips. Some experts suggest that lowering cortisol levels through these healthy habits may gradually reduce love handles over time.
- Wear supportive athletic shoes during cardio workouts. For core exercises, you can use a mat and don’t need shoes.
Warnings
- If you experience pain or discomfort during exercise, stop immediately and seek medical attention.
