Get rid of your Love Handles

A friend of mine asked me a while ago how she can get rid of her love handles. She said she had tried everything from dieting to rigorous exercises and she still couldn’t get rid of the Jelly belly. I must say I have been through this as well, but have managed to come up with an effective routine that got rid of it all. Majority of African cultures appreciate love handles, and see it as a sign of good living and feminine maturity, but there are some modern day Africans who will rather not have the extra fat. Also contrary to popular belief love handles don’t just affect women; there are loads of men that battle this as well.

Love handles are mainly deposits of fat which accumulate at the lower sides of the abdomen. As we become older we are prone to a certain type of fat called visceral, which collects around our organs. It may also be caused by women's menstrual cycles and food allergies. Our stomach is the main collector of this fat. The fat deposit is often pulled down by gravity from the sides down to create a more bulging area. The bulge may sometimes be visible even when light clothes are worn. The same fat store can also be observed in the lower front of the stomach, sometimes called a beer belly.

The time it takes to get rid of love handles greatly depends on how large one’s love handles are. Focusing on abdominal workouts initially will be pointless and yield hardly any results without doing cardio and switching to a healthier diet.
Begin with intense cardio exercises; such as swimming, jogging, cycling and aerobic classes. Alternate with a few minutes of less intense workouts such as power walking. Best results will be seen if you work three cardio work-outs a week for 40 minutes each. Repeat this sequence regularly and you'll begin to observe weight loss in the abdominal area as well as whole body.

While undergoing cardio switch your diet to a healthier one, note that i am not asking you to starve yourself. Simply cut down on sodas, pastries, fast-food, fatty dishes and alcohol and bulk up on veggies, rice, proteins (especially white meats like chicken), and wholegrain produce. Lowering your calorie intake will get your body to burn fat deposits. Drinking a lot of water will help your body burn off calories faster. Drink about 8-10 glasses of water each day.

When you start to notice a reduction in the size of your love handles, it is important to tone up the area. Working the obliques (the abs muscles that run down both sides of your abdomen) will Increase your abdominal muscle mass and your abdomen will look much firmer.

Here are 5 highly effective abdominal exercises to help trim down love handles.




Side Bends: Stand straight with knees slightly bent and feet apart, then slowlylower the trunk a few inches to the left side then back again to do the right side. Try to keep the body and legs in line by not bending forwards or backwards. Repeat for 12 – 16 repetitions. Weights can be carried for extra challenge.




Bicycle Crunches: Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground. Put your hands beside your head. Bring knees up to about 45- degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Keep even, relaxed breathing throughout.Repeat for 12 – 16 repetitions.



Plank: Lie face down on a mat resting on the forearms. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle. Hold for 20 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.



Hanging Knee raise: Begin hanging from a bar with your arms straight. Bring your knees up to your chest, hold for three seconds and then bring your feet back down. Use only your abdominal muscles to lift your legs and use slow body movements. Repeat for 12 – 16 repetitions


Medicine Ball-Russian Twist: Sit on the floor with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold the medicine ball and extend your arms out in front of you, recline back so that your body is angled about 45 degrees. The more you lean back, the more challenging it will be. Also you can lift your feet about 1-2 inches off the floor and keep you feet in the air during the entire set. Repeat for 12 – 16 repetitions.





Other effective tips for abdominal fat loss are:

• Sleep - Sleep helps you to get rid of abdominal fat accumulations. While you sleep your body will develop muscle mass, which allows you to burn off calories.
• Breathe - exhale through your mouth and inhale through your nose as often as possible. By doing this you will firm your abdominal muscles.
• A good laugh
• Eat your dinner earlier. The later you eat, the harder it is for your body to digest the food and it is just going to sit in your stomach.
• Stand up straight. Be conscious of your posture and pull your stomach in; this will force the middle muscles to work 24/7.

Debby Soetan