5 Ways To Quickly Get Rid Of Love Handles
Even though they are called ‘love’ handles, no one loves the sight of buldging ‘meat’ below their waistlines. It is unattractive and just make a lot of clothes not look good on you.
But no worries, here are a few tips to help loose those fats fast!
1. Clean Up Your Diet
The first and easiest (relatively) thing you can do to lose weight, and thus, your love handles, is to decrease your intake of unhealthy, processed foods. Replace onion rings, french fries, cupcakes, processed meats, white flour products, candy bars and potato chips with healthier foods that are loaded with nutrients. Start by making over just one meal a day. Then get to a point where your diet consists nearly entirely of fruits, leafy greens, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, beans/legumes and fish. By making these changes, you’ll save yourself empty calories and promote weight loss.
- 2. Commit To Cardio
Cardiovascular exercise is key when it comes to burn body fat (and that includes that pesky muffin top!). The easiest type of cardio is the kind you’ll stick to for three to four days a week for 45 to 60 minutes. For beginners, that might look like a fast paced walk or jog, elliptical training, indoor cycling or swimming. Start with a light five-minute warm-up and finish with a light 5-minute cool-down that also includes stretches. If you’re looking to ramp up your fat-burning potential, focus on HIIT (high-intensity interval training). The short bursts of all-out effort followed by a quick rest period keeps your body burning calories long after your workout is over.
- Work Your Abs
Balance out your ab workout by doing lower and upper ab exercises as well. You can include exercises like leg raises (lie on your back and lift your legs straight up to a 90-degree angle with your body), knee pull-ins (sit up with legs extended out, lean back slightly and pull your knees into your chest and back out), boat pose (sit and extend your legs up and out at a 45-degree angle) and stability ball sit-ups.
- 4. Don’t Forget Your Back
Since you love handles aren’t just about your abs and obliques, you’ll also need to incorporate lower back exercises into your routine. This means doing exercises like back extensions, superman (lie on your stomach and raise your hands and feet as high off the ground as you can), bird-dog (start on all fours, lift your right arm and left leg, and then switch) and glute bridges (lie on your back with your feet near your butt and lift your hips off the ground). Again, it won’t magically make your love handles disappear (that’s mostly diet and cardio to drop body fat), but building muscle helps you burn fat and tone the muscles underneath the fat.
- Don’t Forget Strength Training
Even though diet and cardio are the biggest factors in losing weight (especially if you have a lot of weight to lose), strength training is also important. By lifting weights and gaining muscle, you’ll burn more calories every day, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Include exercises that hit every major muscle group like burpees, squats, push-ups, triceps dips and lunges as well as exercises that target your trouble spot. Aim for four to five sets of 10 to 12 reps and work out two to three times a week.
