All men love those little cute bags of fat accumulated around the waist of their female partners to hold on too to get a soft feel touch. These little cute bags of fat on the sides of the torso are called ’Love Handles’. Love Handles may vary in size from being small to massive accumulation of fat around the waist. They are a common occurrence in both men and women and is sometimes also known as “Muffin tops”.
Although they are soft to touch in reality, they are zones of stubborn fat. This is the first place where some people tend to put on fat but it is often the last place from where the fat vanishes. It sometimes gets irritating when despite long hours in the gym, one is not able to shed these pockets of fat.
For men, love handles are hard to lose because most of their fat cells are located in that area, whereas in women there are other areas of fat deposition as well such as hips, thighs etc.
Let’s unlock the mystery box and indulge in the secret to melt your love handles away and simultaneously understand what causes love handles. One should know it is not only one thing but a combination of factors that help you take the flab off your waist. So, a perfect diet, focused workout plan and few lifestyle modifications can help you get rid of the love handles.
Nutrition:
Proper nutrition to the body through appropriate and balanced diet is the main key to lose fat from your body. Few things to keep in mind while creating an apt nutrition plan to shed off those stubborn love handles. Check out how:
1. Kick-start your metabolism:
Always start your day with 2-3 glasses of lukewarm water with a juice of 1 lemon into it. It helps flush out the digestive system and rehydrate your body after a gap of 8-10 hours of sleep. It helps to kick start your metabolism early in the morning.
2. Never Skip Your breakfast
With the hectic and long office schedule, people generally tend to skip their breakfast or have a very small meal. Skipping breakfast creates an inclination of the brain towards more high caloric food in next meal. This response of brain on skipping breakfast will lead to more weight gain than weight loss.
3. Have protein in each meal
Try to incorporate a fist size portion of protein in every meal. You can have chicken, eggs, lean, ground turkey, all-natural chicken sausage, shrimp, tilapia, salmon, tuna, lean cuts of steak, whey protein powder, tofu, hemp protein, pea protein.
4. Switch to natural sweeteners
All the zero calories artificial sweeteners can increase carb cravings, stimulate appetite and result in increased fat storage. It is advisable to switch on Natural or plant-derived sweeteners like raw honey, lucuma etc.
5. Do not miss your meal
When skipping meals becomes your habit, then the body also responds back by holding on to the calories and storing them as fat assuming a risk of a possible famine. So, all those petty eaters complaining about those bulging love handles, start eating properly and help your body to get sufficient basic nutrients. Missing your meal will increase the stress hormone – cortisol in your body which is directly proportional to weight gain. Regular meals at 3 hourly intervals can keep your cortisol levels in check.
6. Inculcate greens in your diet
Make sure every meal you have, starting from the breakfast till the last meal of the day has at least one serving of vegetables in it. The best vegetables for weight loss are kale, spinach, watercress, chard, and beet greens.
7. Have some healthy fats too
It may sound contrary to the belief of reducing fat intake to lose weight but there few essential and good fats which aid in decreasing abdominal fat. Such healthy fats include fish, seeds, almonds, cashews, pecans, coconut oil, olives, nut butter, hummus. It is recommended to have 2 servings per day.
8. Choose Organic
Organic food has found to have omega -3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid(CLA) which has proved to in reducing abdominal fat. Spend that extra penny on organic food rather than weight loss centers.
9. Stay hydrated
Most of the times we tend to mistake our thirst to be hunger and end up eating more. Train your brain to think of water whenever it says hunger. Drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated is critical for losing your love handles.
10. Add Some Spice
Using fresh or dried turmeric or ginger helps the body fight inflammation, and simultaneously triggers melting of unwanted back and belly fat. Having a cup of turmeric ginger tea daily helps to prevent fat accumulation and hastens weight loss.
11. Eat complex carbs esp. before and after physical workout
This is the best time when we can eat healthy complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice, quinoa, whole-grain pasta, etc. Before and after a workout the body needs energy and complex carb food taken at that time help the body utilize it as a source of energy rather than storing them as fat. This also keeps your metabolism stimulated which plays an essential role in burning the fat.
12. Opt for Low-Sugar Fruit Sources
One should opt for low sugar fruits Like avocado, tomatoes, eggplant, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and watermelon. It is recommended to have two servings of fruit in a day. Do not take dried fruits as they are rich in sugar.
13. Limit Dairy
Replace your sugar, cream in your coffee and tea with a much healthier option such as almond milk. Use olive oil or coconut oil instead of butter for cooking.
Just because love handles sits in the abdominal area, thinking you may get rid of it by doing just ab crunches would be wrong. Doing a regular cardio would help melt that stubborn fat or doing spot reduction would help? The answer would be a BIG NO!!. This is because when it comes to eradicating that flab off your sides, a combination of cardio, strength training, spot exercises and a mixture of low and high-intensity exercises will help to burn the fat off those side bags. Side planks, side leg raises, bicycle crunches, wood chopping high to low exercise, Russian twists would help mobilize the fat accumulated at your sides and build up your core
Lifestyle changes
There is no denying the fact that your lifestyle plays a big role in improving your health. If you follow a healthy diet but fail to make positive and conscious lifestyle choices, then all your hard work is of no use. Here are some important lifestyle tweaks you can do:
1. Cut the Alcohol
2. Keep Coffee to the Minimum
3. Meditate and remain stress-free:
4. Sleep the Night Away
Now, you know that there’s isn’t just one secret to lose love handles—it’s a combination of factors. Follow them regularly to say bye bye to love handles and get that sexy curve back.