Are you struggling a lot to get fit into your skinny jeans? But those ugly love handles are not allowing you to wear your favorite dresses. Right?
It might be pretty challenging for you to get rid of love handles.
How? Are you asking?
Let’s be honest…
This is the first place you gain fat and last to disappear. Right?
To remove love handles you might be doing several exercises. But these little pockets seems impossible to flab off from your body and when you saw them, they still staring at you and saying, we are here. 😉
Since they sit on the sides of your abdominal area, many people think that abs workout are enough to blast them away.
But I’ll clearly say a big “NO”.
This is not the case. Give the right dose for the right place.
Love handles are a zone of “stubborn fat,” that lie on the sides (top of obliques) of abdomens on which abs exercise doesn’t work effectively.
So, In order to really work on them, you need to target them specifically.
But before changing your lifestyle and fitness regime, remember, that nothing can be more vital than nutrition, to cut the back and abdominal fat.
So, if you are looking for the fastest way to lose love handles, then along with exercise, you need to take care of your eating habits too.
Find the best diet and exercise to lose love handles in 3 steps by the fitness expert.
Table of Contents
3 Steps to Lose Love Handles
In order to get rid of love handles, you need to work out in these 3 areas of your life, then only you will be able to lose them effectively.
Step 1: Food and Nutrition
Step 2: Lifestyle
Step 3: Exercise Plan
Step 1: Food and Nutrition
According to Liz Lowe, C.S.C.S., head program designer at Scorch Fitness, nothing can be as important as incorporating whole food to lose fat around your belly and back. Means no processed, packaged and chemically altered food.
By focusing on fruits, vegetables, eggs, grass-fed meats, healthy fats, and anti-inflammatory roots and herbs, you can lose your stubborn love handles.
- Don’t Cut Carbs (Especially Pre- and Post-Workout)
Healthy carbs are necessary to get rid of love handles. How?
You know eating healthy carbs like sweet potatoes, black rice and oats keep your metabolism stimulated and provide energy for longer duration. But when your body feels deprived of this energy, then it goes into starvation mode and the fat burning process becomes the least priority.
- Eat Healthy Fat
According to Lowe (the fitness expert), “you need to eat healthy fat to lose fat”.
Eating healthy fat diet, like avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, fatty fish help to decrease your abdominal fat.
- No Alcohol
You know a beer or a glass of wine has more than 100 calories. For sure cutting alcohol alone will help you to feel a drastic difference in your love handles and belly side fat. Know what to eat and avoid for weight loss.
- Go Green
Green leafy veggies provide the best eating solution for weight loss. Seriously!!
So, try to sneak spinach in your morning omelet and eat lots of fresh veggies in your diet to fasten the process to lose love handles.
- Minimum Caffeine
To reduce your love handles, it’s necessary to cut down your caffeine consumption through coffee and tea. Try to switch to other caffeine-free unsweetened drinks or 2-3 cups of green tea for weight loss.
- Drinks Lots of Water
This is one of very easy formula to lose love handles fast.
Drinking an 8-10 glass of water speed up your metabolism and fulfill your appetite for a longer time so you consume fewer calories throughout the day. Know here how much water you should drink to lose weight.
- Go Organic
A study in England’s Newcastle University has determined that organic meat and milk contain about 50 percent more omega-3 fatty acids than nonorganic products.
Eat grass fed beef and organic cage-free egg to promote abdominal side fat loss, Lowe suggested.
- Cut Sugar and Switch to Stevia
To lose your love handles and belly abdominal fat, you need to cut sugar calories from your diet.
Do you know, even a candy contains 100 calories? So just think how many calories you consume through sweets.
A research study shows that fake artificial stuff increase carb cravings, stimulate appetite and increase fat storage. So it’s best to switch on natural sweetness.
- Add Some Spice
Some spices are powerful fighter and target for holding unwanted belly and side fat. Dried turmeric and ginger is two of them.
- Manage Your Meals Time
Lowe suggests eating complex carbohydrates especially pre and post workout because at that time your body utilizes carbs as an energy source rather than storing them as fat.
Eat small meals throughout the day, means eat a total of 5-6 meals per day after every 3 hours to ward off hunger. This can prevent you from eating snacks and unhealthy appetite.
Best Food Source to Lose Love Handles
- Fruit Sources (Low-sugar)
Avocados, eggplant, blackberries, watermelon, raspberries, and strawberries.
Recommendation: Eat 2 servings of fresh fruits per day. One serving contains one sliced fruit or ½ cup of berries.
Avoid eating dried fruits because of high sugar content.
Best weight loss vegetables are green leafy spinach, kale watercress, chard and beet greens or you can prefer to eat whatever green veggies you like.
Recommendation: Try to every in every meal.
Almonds, cashews, coconut oil, olives, but butter, avocados, and pecans.
Recommendation: 2 servings per day.
Sweet potatoes, whole grain pasta, wild rice, oats, brown rice and Ezekiel bread.
Recommendation: 3-4 servings a day
Eggs, lean, salmon, tuna, lean cuts of steak, whey protein powder, tofu, hemp protein, pea protein and all natural chicken sausage.
Recommendation: Eat at every meal
- Be Mindful of Portion Size
Lowe says protein quantity should be the size of your fist. Complex carbs should be the size of your palms. Healthy fats should be about 2 tbsp. per serving and veggies should be 2 handfuls.
The Perfect Meal Plan to Get Rid of Love Handles
This is the perfect meals plans for weight loss and love handles, suggested by Lowe on Mensfitness. Mindful eating with regular exercise provides the fastest way to lose love handles.
Meal 1: 1/2 cup oats cooked with water and cinnamon; 1 whole egg + 3 egg whites scrambled with spinach, peppers, onions, and coconut oil; one cup coffee with almond milk.
Meal 2: Kale, black cherry, whey protein, and almond milk smoothie; one cup green tea.
Meal 3: Spinach salad with tomatoes, peppers, avocado, oil and vinegar, and chicken breast; 1/2 sweet potato; one cup green tea.
Meal 4: Apple and whey protein shake (post-workout, usually).
Meal 5: Salmon with lemon and garlic asparagus; large dark, leafy green salad with oil and vinegar; one cup green tea.
Meal 6: Scrambled egg whites (only if you’re hungry before bed).
Step 2: Lifestyle
You know our body has the tendency to lose fat while sleeping- especially love handles and belly fat.
But when you don’t take enough sleep, your hormones get out of whack, which prevents weight loss. And likewise, your metabolism gets slows and appetite reach higher because of lacking energy.
Then your body starts eating food in higher carbs and fat. So try to take 7-8 hours of sleep to lose love handles fast.
Nowadays people diet too hard and do over exercise, Lowe says. This way your body doesn’t get enough recovery and it constantly starts releasing stress hormones cortisol. So don’t be in hurry, and change your mindset to train like an athlete.
- Get Your Metabolism Started
Drink 16 oz. of water with ½ fresh lemon juice after waking up in the morning. This will kick start your digestive system and boost your metabolism.
Step 3: Best Exercise to Get Rid of Love Handles
Work on these 7 best exercise to get rid of love handles
1#. Around the World Oblique’s
To lose love handles, your moves should have a perfect twist so these abdominal muscles stretch out to lose.
How to do:
- Stand erect with your legs wider than your shoulder width apart, and toes turned out a little
- Keep a very lightweight (anything of 5 pounds) in your hands.
- Now extend your arms straight above your head as far as you can take it and make sure you should feel stretch in arms.
- Now bend from your waist and take your body as far as you can move towards the right.
- At last, when you feel that you can’t move your body more, rotate towards the floor and twist your body from back to face front.
- Exhale and come to the center again.
- Do 8-10 slow and controlled repetitions on both sides.
2#. Side Plank Crunch
This exercise will not only lose your love handles but tone your core and hips too. Its complete body workout for weight loss and toning.
How to do:
- Lie down straight, then move your body in right direction and weight on right elbows as shown in pictures while other hands should be kept behind your head.
- Keep your right foot slightly in front of your left foot.
- Engage your core while pulling your right knees towards the chest and crunch your left elbows towards it.
- Then again move it to normal plank position and repeats on another side.
- Do 3 sets of 10-12 reps.
3#. Heel Touch
This is very easy exercise to get rid of love handles that anyone can do at home.
How to do:
- Lie on your back, knees bent and arms along sides.
- Now raise your chest towards the ceiling like crunch position and try to reach for right heel by the right
- Continue to practice 15 reps on each side.
4#. Russian Twist
It can be challenging for you to start with, but if continue, can give you most effective results in loosening love handles.
How to do:
- Lie down on the floor while bending your knees and feet flat on the ground.
- Now, tuck your feet under the heavy object and lift your upper body off the ground so that your chest and thighs make a V shape.
- Bring your palms together and elbows bending, twist your torso to the right, bringing your arms out to the right. Your abs should be contracted in this process.
- Now come to the center and twist your body on left side.
- Exhale as you rotate to the side and inhale as you come back to the center.
- Do 20-30 reps on each side.
5#. Plank Up and Down
Again for your upper body, arms and side abdomens, this is second most loving exercise to lose love handles.
How to do:
- Start in pushups position and bend your both elbows straight on the floor.
- Now engage your core and abs to move your body and arms fully extended in plank position.
- Make sure to keep your arms straight when you push your body back to extended position.
- Keep your core tight and repeats 15-20 reps.
6#. Hip Dips
This move is effective in toning your oblique’s muscles with all the benefits of side plank.
How to do:
- Start by getting in forearm plank position and roll to one side by balancing on bending elbow.
- After balancing, place your free hands on your hip and start dipping your lower hip to the floor up and down position.
- Repeats 15 reps on each side.
7#. Tummy Tuck
This move will stretch out your whole body (arms, legs, abs, and stubborn side fat) along with losing abdominal side fat.
How to do:
- Stand straight with your feet apart and abs tight.
- Now keep your right or left leg forward while bending your knees at 90-degree
- Keep your other leg straight away towards the back.
- Now try to touch your palms straight on the floor and keep your body as straight as you can.
- Make sure to keep your knees at center and touch it to your chest.
- Keep alternating your sides and repeat for 15 reps.
Also Read: Lose 10 pounds in 10 days
Hope these exercise and diet tips will help you to get rid of your love handles. Don’t forget to share your experience with us.
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Take Care & Stay Healthy!!
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