Love-handles are a pain for many. The blubbery bulges that won’t sit under your waistline can be very stubborn pockets of fat, resistant to weight-loss.
Eliminating the unsightly pockets of fat known as love handles can be extremely frustrating! Love handles are not the same as loose skin hanging over the waist-line, which can be reduced by encouraging natural skin-tightening, they are deposits of fat that have built up over time, and can be reduced by clever wardrobe tricks and targeted exercise.
Table of Contents
Clothes
Too Tight
One frequently over-looked cause of love-handles is that waist-lines are just too tight! I myself am reluctant to buy more clothes in a bigger size if I gain weight, it feels like admitting defeat! But avoiding buying a new pair of pants can result in the stomach being squeezed, and both the appearance and formation of love-handles around the waistline as you gain weight.
Therefore, my advice starts with taking a good, honest look in the mirror and asking “Do I need to buy a bigger size of pants?” If the answer is yes, then remember; even the skinniest size zero would have love-handles if their pants were too tight. Why? Because if the waist-line is too tight then the only place for body-mass to go, is over the top of the waist-line. This is the same whether its fat, skin or muscle.
Wrong Shape
Think about your shape. Does your shape conform to the average shape that clothes are made for? Different shapes fit into clothes differently and may cut in at the waist-line to create the appearance of love-handles. Shop around until you find clothes to fit your shape. If this is difficult then tailoring services could help stop your clothes giving you love-handles.
Control Underwear
Wear control underwear to keep your tummy flat and stop your love-handles running free! There are lots to choose from and are an instant and secret confidence booster!
Lose Weight
If you are overweight and attribute your love-handles to this then get cracking with a healthy diet and increased exercise. This will help you to reduce your overall fat levels and your love-handles will decrease in size proportionally.
Exercise
Focus on Obliques
- Side-Bends:Tighten your obliques by performing side-bends. With your feet hip-width apart, take a dumbbell in your right hand and bend to the right. The palm of your hand should be facing your body as you grip the dumbbell and allow it to hang as far down towards the ground as possible. You should keep your hips forward so that from the side your body is a straight line. Stand up straight again and complete 15 times before you switch to the left side. This routine should be repeated three times daily.
- Crunches: Exercise the sides of your stomach by performing crunches across your body. Lie on your back with your hands behind your head and your knees drawn up. Draw your left elbow and your head up towards your right knee, lower, and repeat for the opposite elbow. Repeat a minimum of 10 times for each elbow.
- Twists: Stand straight with your feet hip-width apart and your arms held up at chest height. Without moving your hips, twist your torso to the right and look as far behind you as you can, twist back forward and repeatedly twist to the same side ten times. Then switch sides and repeat to the left. This set should repeated three times daily.
