How to get rid of love handles: 10 tips

Even with all the body positivity, sometimes there are just times when someone may not love his or her love handles. So if you have ever thought to yourself ‘how do you get rid of love handles?’, let’s go on to explore 10 tips to slim your waist, including exercises to get rid of love handles.

How to get rid of love handles: 10 tips

1. Cut out added sugar

Cutting out added sugar will benefit your health overall, and is so important when you are trying to lose fat and be healthier in general. Added sugar is snuck into so many items, such as the assumed processed foods including biscuits, cereals, granolas and soft drinks, but also in ‘healthy’ items such as some premade nut milks. Eating too much sugar can contribute to more body fat, and the waist area is where excess fat shows up for a lot of people.

2. Reduce your stress

When you are stressed, your body is simply not running optimally. The stress hormone, cortisol, is released when you are stressed and overexposure to cortisol can lead to weight gain.

3. Get quality sleep

When you sleep, your body and mind get time to rest and recover. When you don’t sleep, your body doesn’t get that chance, or at least not as much time to do so as it needs, and this can lead to weight gain. So it is important to get quality sleep so that your body can properly recover and prevent your body from gaining unnecessary weight.

4. Stay hydrated with water

Hydration is essential for every bodily function. Instead of drinking sugar-filled beverages or forgetting that caffeine does in fact dehydrate you, stay hydrated with filtered water and support your body for optimal health.

5. Eat a healthy diet

This may seem like a broken record on all things health related. But you can do all the exercises you want and if you are still eating unhealthy, you won’t see the results you want to. So focus on whole foods and properly nourish your body.

6. Listen to your body

When you are in tune with your body, you know when you are full, when you need to get movement or exercise in, when you need to rest, what foods make you feel good, etc. So tune in and listen to your body. You know your body best! So explore this and chances are high that you know what makes the difference for your waistline.

7. Stay active

Staying active is one of the most important tips to incorporate when it comes to how to lose love handles. In this day and age, between working at a desk or generally not being active during the day, it is all too easy to live a sedentary life. It is crucial that you stay active, even if it just getting gentle movement via a nice walk, taking the stairs rather than the elevator, and getting up and walking around after an extended period of time sitting down. The waist is one of the parts of the body that starts shedding and toning naturally the more consistent you are with being active.

8. Do whole body exercises

Whole body exercises engage your entire body and get each muscle group engaged. Just doing abdominal exercises won’t give you the results you want as you are looking to get rid of love handles. Here are two whole body exercises to get rid of love handles:

• Full extension plank

Muscles Involved: Abdominals, Deltoids, Glutes, Pectorals, Spinal Erectors, Triceps Brachii

How To:

1. 1. Begin by lying flat on the floor, stomach down, with your knees fully extended, and hands positioned directly under your shoulders.
   2. Squeezing your abs and glutes while maintaining a flat back, begin to push through the palms of your hands until your arms are fully extended. Do not allow your legs to bend or hips to drop down.
   3. Maintain this position with your elbows fully extended for the duration of your set.
2. Burpees

Muscles Involved: Abdominals, Deltoids, Glutes, Hamstrings, Pectorals, Quadriceps, Triceps Brachii

How To:

1. 1. First, position your feet shoulder width apart, with arms extended by your sides while
   2. standing upright.
   3. Squat as low as you comfortably can by bending your knees to lower your torso.
   4. Lower your body to assume a push-up position by placing your hands on the ground in front of you, and then extending your legs behind you.
   5. Squeezing the abs and glutes while maintaining a flat back, bend your arms, lowering your body until your chest is about 1 inch from the ground.
   6. Push through the palms of your hands.
   7. Once your arms are fully extended, keep your palms on the ground while jumping forward and bending your legs into a squatting position.
   8. Remove your palms from the ground, explode up into a jump, and land on feet as softly as possible.
   9. Complete subsequent reps starting from step 2.

9. Reduce alcohol intake

Alcohol has been linked to increased body fat and even greater risk for central obesity. Alcoholic beverages in essence are dehydrating, caloric, and often times filled with added sugar.

10. Don’t focus so much on your love handles

Sometimes, when a person focuses so much on one part of their body, it can be easy to overthink it. Body positivity is a beautiful thing, and if you shift your focus from ‘I need to fix this’ to ‘I want to feel healthier, more confident and stronger in my own body’, you’ll likely find your own natural approach to your body health.

Now that you know 10 tips to get rid of love handles, it is important to remember that consistency is key. There is no magic trick here! You will see the greatest difference if you adapt these tips as lifestyle shifts rather than temporary fixes.

Read also: How to lose belly fat fast.