Everybody has a problem area when it comes to losing weight. For some, weight gathers in the hips and thighs, while others struggle to lose fat from their arms. Regardless of your specific problem area, the only solution is to lose overall body fat, as it is impossible to lose fat from only one part of the body. Read this article to learn how to lose those stubborn love handles and improve your overall physical health.
EditSteps
EditEating Right
- Reduce your caloric intake. Unfortunately, there is no way to lose fat from one region of the body only. If you want to get rid of your love handles, you will have to lose overall body weight by reducing the amount of calories you consume on a daily basis.
- Calculate the amount of calories you eat in a day by reading food labels and keeping a food journal. There are also plenty of free online calorie counters/calculators available that help you keep track of your calories and look up the calorie content of various foods.
- If your goal is to drop the weight quickly, then eat between 1,050 and 1,200 calories a day.[1] Though anything under 1200 calories is not sustainable in the long run, eating within this range can help you lose 3-5 pounds per week when coupled with regular exercise.[2]
- Eat a balanced diet. Your diet should be composed primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Eliminate fried foods and excess sugar from your diet, and opt for healthy protein sources like chicken, fish, turkey, and tofu that keep you full without overloading on calories.
- The best way to avoid eating unhealthy foods is to not keep junk food around the house. If you buy healthy foods, then you will eat healthy foods.
- Cook your own meals at home when possible, as most restaurant foods are slathered with butter, sugar and oil. When cooking at home, ditch the butter and use olive oil or cooking sprays instead.
- When ordering out, cut down on calories by asking for the dressing/sauce on the side, and choose protein-rich foods over pizza and pasta.
- Limiting the amount of starch and sodium you eat can help fight fluid retention, which may be some of the reason why your midsection feels bloated.[3]
- Skip fad diets. Extreme dieting may yield instant results, but unless you can maintain the fad diet forever, you will likely gain the weight back the moment you resume your normal lifestyle. Plus, many fad diets, like those that involve eating overly processed foods, can be unhealthy in the long run.[4]
- Stay hydrated. Be sure to drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday. Water helps keep you full, gives you energy, and prevents a wide variety of illnesses.[5] It is especially important to stay hydrated while exercising.
- Watch those snacks. For many people, weight gain has nothing to do with what they eat during their meals, but rather, what they eat in between their meals. Get out of the habit of snacking on foods mindlessly while standing in front of the refrigerator or rummaging in the cupboard. Instead, plan out healthy snacks like carrots, celery, apples, and yogurt for in between meals.
- Avoid late-night snacking by drinking tea or chewing on gum at night, and set a time for yourself, like 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm, after which you cannot eat anymore food.
- Avoid late-night snacking by drinking tea or chewing on gum at night, and set a time for yourself, like 7:00 pm or 8:00 pm, after which you cannot eat anymore food.
EditToning Exercises
- Do bicycle crunches. Lay flat on your back with your hands behind your head. Raise your legs so that they are 1-2 feet above the ground. Bend your left knee and bring it toward your head and twist your body so that your right elbow meets your left knee. Now, straighten your left leg and do the same thing on the other side, touching your right knee to your left elbow.
- Do 15-20 of these for one rep, increasing reps as you get stronger.
- Do russian twists. Sit on the ground with your back straight and your feet extended out in front of you. Bend your knees slightly and keep your feet flat on the floor. Bend backward slightly so that your back is at a little less than 90 degrees. Hold a 5-10 pound dumbbell in your hands and twist your body toward the left, lowering the dumbbell halfway to the floor. Bring your body back to the original position, and then do the same thing on the right side.
- Repeat 20-25 times.
- Do side planks. Start off in a side plank position with your right elbow supporting you, and your left arm resting on your hips. Make sure that your body is totally straight, and hold the position for 30-60 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
- Try total-body toning classes. Yoga and pilates help tone up your entire body, and produce long, lean muscles. These types of exercises are perfect for women who are afraid of getting "bulky." Join a yoga studio, or sign up for total-body toning classes at your gym if you are a member.
- Get aerobic exercise. Getting enough cardiovascular exercise not only improves your overall health and burns calories, it actually strengthens your metabolism in the long run so that you can burn more calories even when you are not exercising.[6] Try jogging, walking uphill, hiking, biking, dancing, and kickboxing.
- You should get at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise 5 times per week to maintain your overall health and lose weight.
- If you don't have enough time to do a formal exercise, then try to incorporate more activity into your daily life. Walk to your destination rather than driving, do chores around the house, go window shopping, and so on.
EditTracking Progress and Staying Motivated
- Take measurements. Use a tape measure to measure around the smallest part of your waist, the lower part of your waist (2 inches below your belly button) and your hips. Measurements can help you keep track of your progress, and are more helpful than numbers on the scale, since muscle weighs more than fat.
- Weigh yourself. Losing your love handles means losing extra fat, and in turn, overall body weight. Weigh yourself 1-2 times per week in the morning before you have eaten anything. Remember that clothes and shoes weigh something too, so weigh yourself naked or in just your underwear.
- Digital scales are more accurate than dial scales.
- Keep a food journal. Studies have shown that people who keep track of the food they eat by writing it down lose more weight than people who don't.[7] Food journals help you stay organized, and hold you accountable for the decisions you make so that you are more conscious of your choices.
- Find an exercise or diet buddy. Losing weight with somebody else can be a major source of inspiration. Work out together to make exercising more fun, and keep each other motivated when one of you feels like giving up.
EditTips
- Exercise alone will not help you lose stubborn belly fat. Toning exercises help build muscle underneath the fat, but do not target the fat itself. The only way to lose fat is by eating less.
EditWarnings
- Use caution when using heavy exercise equipment of any kind. Do floor exercises on a yoga mat, towel, or carpet to avoid straining your back.
EditSources and Citations
Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found