The term “love handles opens a New Window.” is a bit of a misnomer. In fact, when it comes to the sections of fat on the sides and front of your belly opens a New Window., there’s no love lost. Love handles are zones of “stubborn fat,” Love handles sound like they’re some great, alluring body feature to spice up your most intimate times, but for many guys, the stubborn fat that sticks to their upper hips is something they’d rather not have hanging around.
Cut out Added Sugar
Healthy eating is key when you’re trying to lose fat in any area of the body. Ditching added sugar is one of the best ways to clean up your diet.
Added sugar is found in foods and beverages like cookies, candies, sports drinks and sodas. The term does not apply to the natural sugar found in healthy foods like whole fruit.
Aside from being linked to a slew of health issues, such as heart disease, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, eating too much added sugar can lead to an increased amount of body fat, particularly in the belly area
Eat Protein with every meal
Eat protein at every meal and snack. Not only is it thermogenic (meaning, it stimulates metabolic rate), but it balances your blood sugar. What are healthy sources of protein? Beans, nuts, seeds, fish, chia, quinoa, dark leafy greens, tempeh (not tofu), organic eggs/meat/chicken, lastly high quality protein powders.
Focus on Healthy Fats
Filling up on healthy fats like avocados, olive oil, nuts, seeds and fatty fish can help slim your waistline.
Not only do healthy fats taste delicious, they help you feel full, causing you to consume fewer calories throughout the day.
One study of more than 7,000 people found that when participants ate a high-fat Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil, they lost a greater amount of weight and accumulated less belly fat than those on a low-fat diet
Lift Weights
Lift weights along with cardiovascular exercise. Lifting weights helps to re balance your hormones and increases your metabolic rate so you burn those love handles at rest! Don’t overdo the cardio, which is what most people are doing.
While aerobic training typically burns more calories during a workout, resistance training helps the body build lean muscle and burn more calories at rest, Plus, resistance training gives your metabolism a slight boost, helping you burn more calories throughout the day
Get Enough Sleep
Like stress, not getting enough sleep increases cortisol levels in the body, which can lead to weight gain.
Studies have shown that sleep-deprived people tend to weigh more and have more body fat than those who get enough sleep.
Keep your stress in check, The problem with stress is elevated levels of cortisol increase the breakdown of muscle mass and increase fat around the middle.
DO HIIT TRAINING
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) might be one of the most effective workouts for losing body fat.
HIIT workouts involve short bursts of intense aerobic exercise, each followed by a recovery period. These workouts are quick and effective, and numerous studies have shown that they can help you lose body fat.
Studies have shown that interval-based exercise programs, most specifically high intensity interval training (HIIT), are more effective for burning off your love handles than steady state cardio. Instead of running for miles on end without any clear goal, fine tune your work and rest periods to strip away the fat.
Train Your Whole Core
The love handles might seem to sit off to the side but training your entire core will best results for a tight tummy. While your body sheds lose the fat through the aforementioned clean eating and cardio, the following moves will tighten and strengthen the area around the middle for those REAL RESULTS we’re talking about!