The excess fat deposits that hang over the top of pants are commonly known as “love handles.” However, there’s nothing “lovely” about these stubborn hip & belly fat deposits. Love handles are extremely hard to get rid of. They can derail your weight reduction goals & unfairly increase your overall body weight.
So, what should someone with excess body fat & love handles do? How to get rid of love handles if normal exercises don’t work? There’s no fixed answer. People who want to get rid of love handles must do a variety of things simultaneously.
This includes following a healthy diet, engaging in physical activity, & making major lifestyle changes.
Here are 20 such proven ways to get rid of love handles and lose body fat.
20 Ways To Get Rid of Love Handles
1. Lose Fat through Calorie Deficit
Unless your body experiences calorie deficits on a day-to-day basis, it will never get rid offat. By this, we mean that your body should burn more calories than it receives.
If you regularly maintain a calorie deficit, you can accelerate the burning of your abdominal fat. Of course, consuming fewer calories alone won’t induce fat loss.
You also have to give your body the right low-calorie macronutrients (lean proteins, complex carbs, healthy fats, etc.). But, modifying your day-to-day eating habits to ensure you consume fewer calories is the first step towards getting rid of love handles. A super-easy way to cut down your calorie consumption is by ditching sugary foods.
By that, we mean the products that contain added sugar (candies, sodas, etc.), not the natural sugar found that healthy foods like fruits contain. Added sugar has been linked to a long list of health issues, including diabetes & heart disease. Several studies have also proved that consuming too much added sugar leads to a serious increase in body fat levels.
Fructose, the added sugar found in sweetened beverages & processed foods can drastically increase belly fat. The same goes for table sugar & high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
So, cut out all sugary foods that are loaded with liquid calories from your diet. It’s the first step that anyone aiming to lose weight & get rid of love handles should take.
2. Boost Your Antioxidant Intake and Lose Excess Fat
When your belly gains fat, your chances of getting colorectal & breast cancer increase dramatically. A recent study from Korea revealed that women who accumulate visceral fat (fat that accumulates around their abdominal organs) are three to four times likelier of receiving colorectal or breast cancer diagnoses compared to normal-weight women.
Address visceral fat issues and other risks by consuming healthy foods that have anti-inflammatory properties. For example, berries contain an anti-inflammatory compound called anthocyanin. This compound lowers biomarkers for breast & colon cancer.
3. Fill up on Fiber to Shed Body Fat
Adding extra servings of fiber to your diet is one of the easiest ways of reducing body fat and lose weight. Fiber moves super-slowly through the digestive system. So, when you consume high-fiber foods like nuts, seeds, legumes, etc., they make you feel fuller for longer periods.
According to a recent study involving hundreds of women – consuming one extra gram of dietary fiber every day leads to 0.25% less body fat.
That’s why the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has recommended that:
- Adult men must eat at least 38 grams of fiber every day
- Adult women must consume 25+ grams of total fiber per day
Unfortunately, only 5% of the US population currently meets these adequate fiber intake levels. The average American only consumes 17 grams of fiber per day because the natural, “healthy foods” they eat every day simply don’t contain enough fiber.
Thankfully, there are many fiber supplements in the market that can fill these nutritional gaps. There are many fiber supplements that contain disease-fighting vitamins & minerals. They can boost your weight loss plans & help you get rid of love handles quicker.
Here are three of the most highly-rated fiber supplements in the market that have research-backed health benefits & can help you lose excess belly fat:
A. Top Consumer’s Choice, 3-in-1 Solution: Metamucil
Metamucil is a supplement that’s packed with psyllium husk – a soluble fiber that decreases appetite by absorbing water in the digestive tract. It’s the healthiest way of promoting feelings of fullness.
That’s why Metamucil is one of the most popular fiber supplements of all time. Countless people across the globe, including diabetes patients, use Metamucil.
It supports their digestive health, improves their blood sugar control, lowers their cholesterol levels, & helps them lose body fat. Adding low doses of Metamucil’s psyllium fiber to your daily diet is a proven way to increase your fiber intake & accelerate your weight loss goals.
Shop at Official Amazon Store.
B. Best for Gut Bacteria and Digestive Health: Benefiber
The Benefiber contains wheat dextrin — an unflavored, sugar-free, & soluble fiber that can regulate your digestion and stabilize your blood sugar levels. Benefiber and Metamucil work in a similar way.
They absorb water from your digestive system to help you have easier bowel movements. Consuming this on-the-go supplement is a healthy way to boost your fiber intake, decrease your appetite, & ensure you burn more calories than you consume.
Shop at Official Amazon Store.
4. Manage Your Hormone Health
Cutting calories is a good weight loss tactic. But, if you decrease your food intake too quickly, you’ll suffer from hormonal imbalances. The body releases the stress hormone known as “cortisone” whenever it notices a major calorie deficit.
To ensure your body’s cortisol levels don’t surge too much – sleep well, practice timely & healthy eating habits, & engage in physical activities.
5. Don’t Stress
High cortisol levels lead to irregular spikes in blood sugar. This indirectly triggers sugar cravings in the brain. The only way to avoid such hormonal urges is by not stressing. Stressing can lead to love handles.
So, create your own stress management techniques. You can also alleviate stress by taking supplements that counter stress hormones in the bloodstream.
A. Best Supplement To Support Healthy Stress Response: Vitapost Stress Support
VitaPost Stress Support is a 100% organic stress management supplement. It’s one of the most widely used supplements for managing stress, gastrointestinal problems, & sleep-related issues.
Each pill is packed with natural antioxidants like chamomile, valerian, L-theanine, lemon balm, & Gaba. These natural ingredients combine to keep the neurons in your brain firing.
Once the conscious activity is activated in your brain, you’ll feel less anxious & less sleepy. Most importantly, the serotonin levels (happy hormone) in your blood will increase & so will your mental cognition.
Losing weight & losing love handles becomes much easier when you have such a de-stressed body composition.
Shop Vitapost Stress Support Supplement at the Official Website.
Full Article: VitaPost Stress Support Reviews 2024: Does it Really Work?
6. Get Enough Sleep
A recent study proved that sleep-deprived people tend to gain weight more quickly than those who get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep leads to stress which indirectly increases the risk of your body collecting extra fat.
Give your body the proper de-stressing it needs to lose weight by sleeping for 7-8 uninterrupted hours every night.
7. Restricted Eating
Restricted eating is a healthy, time-restricted feeding habit. A person on a restricted diet will only eat meals within 12 or fewer hours in a day (e.g., between 8 AM to 8 PM). This healthy eating habit promotes even fat distribution in the body.
When you don’t eat for 12 hours or longer, your body burns calories & loses extra fat quicker. Going on a time-restricted diet can help you melt away your love handles faster.
8. Work on the Big Muscles
Want to gain muscle mass & lose fat mass? Then, don’t work on your smaller muscles like the biceps or the triceps. The best way to get lean muscle & improve your overall body composition is by putting your body through larger movements. Practice exercises that put all of your muscles to the test.
For example, exercises like dumbbell squats & overhead presses put extreme stress on all muscle tissues. This stress causes the glucose in your bloodstream to be used by the muscles instead of being stored as fat.
Once fat storage in your abdomen drops, love handles start dissolving away.
9. Consume More Protein
Consuming healthy diets rich in protein can help you reduce body fat in many ways. Firstly, high-quality protein sources like legumes, seafood, nuts, seeds, etc., are extremely filling.
They can help you cut down your food cravings. Boosting your protein intake is also the key to getting leaner muscles. Plus, if you’re exercising regularly, you’ll need a high-protein diet to healthily manage your body’s energy expenditure.
If you can’t get enough lean proteins into your system via your day-to-day meals, consider using organic protein supplements.
Here are some popular, all-organic protein supplements that have proven health benefits:
A. Promotes Fast Muscle Recovery & Sound Immune & Digestive System: Garden of Life Organic Plant-Based Protein Powder
Garden of Life is a gluten-free, all-organic protein powder, packed with natural antioxidants & probiotics like beans, lentils, turmeric, & berries. These ingredients combine to repair the inflammatory damage caused by stress from extreme workouts.
This protein shake also promotes gut health & boosts the immune system. It’s a safe, soy-free, gluten-free, & vegan protein supplement for people on weight training routines.
B. Best Vegan Powder For Muscle Gain: Now Sports Pea Powder
Organic Pea Powder is another popular, vegan protein supplement. It’s packed with nutrients like vitamin D, calcium, iron, & potassium. These protein-rich ingredients promote disease control in the body.
More importantly, they help build muscle mass. People who want to get rid of love handles need to be on low-carb diets. The ingredients in Organic Pea Powder help these people strengthen their abdominal muscles while they observe strict, low-calorie diets.
Many athletes use organic protein supplements to increase their overall protein intake. Normal people who are new to cardio exercises or resistance training programs can do the same.
10. Focus on Non-Appearance-Based Goals
Never waste your time staring at your upper body in the mirror. Aesthetic-based goals won’t make your weight loss journey easier. Set daily athletic-based goals instead. Burn those love handles by engaging in specific physical activities every day.
Don’t check how your love handles look in the mirror every day. Check how much you’ve run or worked out each day instead. Visually assess your love handles in the mirror only after one week of intense physical exercise.
11. Stay Hydrated
Increasing your water intake by 500 ml can improve your body’s metabolic rate by 30%. A faster metabolism means the fat cells in your abdomen get dissolved quicker. So, drink plenty of water after & before each meal.
12. Add Complex Carbs to Your Diet
Replacing refined carbohydrates like white rice, white bread, pasta, etc., with fiber-rich complex carbohydrates like beans, oats, brown rice, etc., can significantly reduce body fat. A recent study also proved that adding such fiber-rich complex carbs to your diet can also help slim down your love handles.
That’s because refined carbs leave people feeling hungry whereas complex carbs have the opposite effect. They decrease appetite & encourage people to eat less.
13. Practice HIIT Workouts
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts are one of the most effective exercises for losing love handles. Intense aerobic exercises are at the core of HIIT workouts.
These quick and effective workouts help people burn a lot of calories in short periods. Here are some proven HIIT workout programs that have helped countless people lose their body fat & their love handles:
A. Best For Muscle Growth and Losing Fat: Alpha Home Workout System
The Alpha Home Workout system is a military-style HIIT workout program that can be performed at home. It was developed in 2014 by Alphanation – a popular brand in the global fitness industry.
Since then, the Alpha program has introduced thousands of people to challenging bodyweight exercises, helping them get lean muscle growth & lose fat.
The best part is that the exercise routines in this program last for only 20-30 minutes & they don’t require any heavy equipment. The exercises in this program are designed to target the most stubborn fat storage areas in the body such as belly fat & thigh fat.
Shop at Alpha Home Workout System Official Website.
B. 10-Day Flat Belly Blueprint: Wake up Lean
Want to lose your love handles but find weight training too difficult due to chronic pain in your right leg, left leg, or right knee? Then, the Wake-Up Lean System is the perfect weight loss guide for you. It’s specifically designed for people who can’t sit in a straight line, i.e., people who are over 40 years old.
This program features super-simple subcutaneous fat loss techniques such as the “10-Day Flat Belly Blueprint” or “5-Minute Lean Body Bursts.” Anyone can practice these simple exercises & gain a lean body mass, free from ugly love handles.
Shop the Wake-Up Lean Program at the Official Website.
Full Article: Wake Up Lean Reviews 2024: Does it Work?
C. Best Program For All Ages: Old School New Body Program
Developed by Steve Holman, the former chief editor of the famous Iron Man Magazine, Old School, New Body is another super-popular fitness program for people who are over 40 years old. This program is famous for its “Focus-4 Exercises.”
They are the four-main fat-burning exercises detailed in this program – squats, incline presses, bent-over rows, & upright rows.
Men and women of any age can try out these exercises at home to reduce their belly fat. The program also features clinical nutrition info on what to eat to kill extra fat cells in the body.
Shop Old School New Body Program at the Official Website.
14. Make Time for Healthy Eating
Make healthy eating a timely habit. Eat on time every day. Don’t disrupt your digestive system by eating irregularly. Maintain a fixed feeding routine and give your body the consistency it needs to burn fat & calories.
15. Establish a Morning Routine
A stressful or irregular morning routine can prevent you from making healthier decisions throughout the day.
Always set the tone for the day by exercising & eating healthy foods in the morning. Start your day by reminding yourself that you’re on a fat loss journey.
16. Perform Carb Cycling
Carb cycling is the art of eating carb-dense meals only on workout days. It’s okay to eat small amounts of carb-rich fried foods a few hours before hitting the gym. Burn those fats & calories by working out. Then, only eat complex carbs on the days you’re not training.
Here’s a comprehensive program that accurately explains the basics of carb cycling.
A. Alternate Carb-Intake Diet For A Great Energy Boost & Weight Loss: Carb Cycling
This book introduces carb cycling and explains how it works. Carb cycling is a nutrition technique that involves alternating between high and low carbohydrate intake.
It is intended to assist controlling insulin levels in order to promote fat reduction and muscle building. Carb cycling, when done appropriately, can be a useful strategy for accomplishing your fitness goals.
Shop Carb Cycling For Weight Loss Program at the Official Website.
Full Article: Carb Cycling For Weight Loss Reviews 2024: Does it Really Work?
17. Try Out Cardio Exercises
Cardiovascular exercise is one of the most effective ways of eliminating excess fat in the body. Even a low-impact, beginner-friendly aerobic workout like swimming can burn down large numbers of fat cell deposits in your abdomen.
If you’re new to cardio exercises, here’s a good introductory program for beginners:
A. Best Toning Workout: Bikini Body Workout
The Bikini Body Workouts is a digital program developed by renowned trainer Jen Ferruggia. It’s of the most comprehensive resources on cardio exercises on the Internet.
Readers can master a variety of low-impact aerobic exercises by going through this 12-week program. The program features a variety of training videos that simplify the process of gaining muscles & losing weight. All the written info is easy to follow as well.
Shop Bikini Body Workout at the Official Website.
Full Article: Bikini Body Workout Reviews: Does it Really Work?
18. Eat More Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes contain large amounts of viscous soluble fiber. This fiber can drastically improve your digestion & metabolism. Sweet potatoes also contain complex carbs & can help you eat fewer calories.
Pro Tip – If you fry your sweet potatoes, fry them in olive oil. Olive oil is a healthy fat that has a lower disease risk.
19. Don’t Drink Alcohol
Drinking just one glass of wine a day can add over 750 calories to your weekly calorie intake. These calories can indirectly add to the weight of your love handles. Mark your fat loss journey by either quitting alcohol for good or by drastically minimizing your consumption.
20. Eat Healthy Fats
Monounsaturated fats or simply “healthy fats” can prevent fat buildup around your stomach area. The fats found in olive oil, fatty fish, peanut butter, avocado, etc., raise good HDL cholesterol content in the bloodstream and lower bad LDL cholesterol.
This indirectly boosts your digestive health & helps prevent fat buildup around the stomach area.
Conclusion
Men and women of all ages can benefit from practicing these twenty simple ways to get rid of love handles. But, to get guaranteed results – you must practice these steps with consistency.
Taking all the steps by heart and making it a permanent part of your lifestyle is key. With that being said, make lasting changes to your diet. Switch up your lifestyle. Exercise regularly.
You’ll give yourself a great chance of losing your love handles forever!
How to Get Rid of Love Handles FAQs
What exercises take away love handles?
Cardio exercise is the best form of exercise for burning love handles.
Can love handles ever go away?
Yes. If you eat healthily, exercise regularly, & maintain a consistent lifestyle – you can burn more calories than you consume & get rid of your love handles for good!
What is the main cause of love handles?
The main cause of love handles is fat retention. When you consume more calories than you burn, fat cells accumulate around your waist and hips.
How long do love handles take to get rid of?
If you practice these twenty steps consistently, your love handles will start melting away within four weeks.