How To Handle "Love Handles"
Author: Mary Mason-Shields

Love handles are defined as a layer of fat around a person's torso visible on the sides. These love handles are found more commonly in males because the torso is the first area of the body where fat is stored. As a person grows older, love handles are more prevalent because of a decrease in physical activity.

Love handles are difficult to remove without losing fat in other areas of the body as well. It is difficult to remove fat from just one location of the body. It would be best to tone or "muscle up" the fat around the torso, thus generating a firmed appearance and not the flabby appearance.

It is possible that the best way to make love handles disappear is to mix a good strong diet regimen with a strenuous exercise program. While working with these two weight loss methods, one must focus on a total body makeover rather than a 'location' weight loss.

Several exercise regimens are geared to tighten the torso without adding more fat. A few of these exercises are:

Sit-ups
Crunches
Side bends

Performing these exercises consistently and vigorously could tighten up the love handles that have distorted the body's shape and form.

Some articles give a listing of how many calories can be burned while performing certain exercises. The reduction in calories leads to weight loss. Exercises targeting the cardio system are those physical exercises such as belly dancing, martial arts, kickboxing, and power walking.

Love handles are formed from an excess storage of fat in the abdominal area. Gravitational pull causes the excess fat to move from the sides of the abdominal area to the lower area of the stomach, creating a larger bulge than normal.

It is imperative to be cognizant of other areas of the body while concentrating on weight reduction in a specific area. Some experts say the best exercise for toning love handles are side bends with weight, i.e., dumbbells or wrist weights.

Many people attempt to lose weight but find it very difficult to lose fat. Many people also blame the difficulty in losing fat on genetics. Genetics could play a big role in this scenario, but oftentimes the lifestyle a person exhibits is the real culprit. So many people overeat for varied reasons thus adding pounds and fat. The body is "satisfied" but overeating just lends itself to stored fat. In other words, more fat cells are created above and beyond the prevalence of fat cells already created.

The increase in the number of fat cells around the torso makes it more difficult to lose body fat. This is one of the major reasons a person has a hard time losing those love handles and losing weight in general.

Experts have indicated a general rule for weight loss - "all it takes is making small changes in your daily routine." The small changes have a tendency to give us a sense of stamina. We feel we can do this. It is not a horrific chore. It is always better to take things in small chunks rather than all at once. This gives a less frustrating program of weight loss.

Since physical activities play a significant role in ridding your body of fat, here are a few activities that can be done without exerting any extra effort:

1. Climb up and down the stairs for approximately 18-20 minutes.
2. Mow your lawn for approximately 20-25 minutes.
3. Wash your car, rather than let someone else do it.
4. Walk your dog for approximately 20-30 extra minutes.
5. Already doing housekeeping? Do housekeeping for an additional 30 minutes.

These activities are already in your daily routine. Therefore, you are not exerting any extra effort, just adding a little more time to what you already do. Most of your everyday activities can be considered as exercise if these activities are physical enough.

In essence, there is no easy, magical way to make love handles disappear. Exercises do not melt away the fat that is resting around your torso. To make the love handles disappear requires stamina to endure a vigorous exercise program and a robust diet regimen.

 

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