Easy to come by and extremely difficult to let go, love handles can be your worst nightmare. Luckily, a few clever remedies may do the trick.
Source: https://pixabay.com/en/belly-body-calories-diet-exercise-2354/
Have you had enough of love handles? Good for you.
Let's just face it, these supposedly “cute” love handles are, in fact, a sign of unhealthy eating habits.
Saying goodbye to love handles may not be easy in most of the cases. But this doesn’t mean it is impossible to get rid of them.
What is a Love Handle?
Love handle refers to a casual term used to describe excess fat that gets accumulated at your waistline. The fat you see bulging out of your sides, that’s what you call a love handle, and it has a tendency to affect both males and females.
What Causes Love Handles?
There are multiple factors responsible for love handles. Excess consumption of fat and starch or generally following an unhealthy diet is one of the most common reasons for getting love handles.
High intake of sugar is also one of the dietary reasons for acquiring love handles.
Certain lifestyle factors such as not getting enough sleep and stressing too much are some other reasons. These problems can disturb your metabolism, triggering the accumulation of fat around the waist.
Following are some home remedies to get rid of love handles. Each of these remedies calls for some commitment and dedication before you start seeing results. But remember, your efforts will be rewarded for sure.
- Dietary Changes
- Drink Enough Water
Water is essential for living. It promotes proper functioning of the body and helps flush out all the toxins from the body. So be sure to drink 3 to 4 liters of water every day.
- Green Tea
Green tea helps stroke a balance between body optimization and metabolism and appetite.
“Catechins in green tea reduce body fat by blocking fat-absorption at the level of intestines”
This helps to keep the fat content in check. Green tea is rich in a compound named catechins which lower the absorption of fat through the intestines. [1]
You may add a hint of ginger in your green tea for added flavor.
- Beans
Beans are a rich source of soluble fiber and help improve the growth of the bacterial flora in your intestines. Consuming beans is, therefore, a great way to burn body fat and get rid of love handles.
- Vitamin C
Vitamin C is crucial for proper fat metabolism. A lack of this vitamin may lead to a decreased utilization of fat in your body. Eventually, this unutilized fat will start accumulating along the waistline leading to love handles.
So make sure to get enough vitamin C by eating oranges, papayas, bell peppers, kiwi fruit, and strawberries.
- Dairy Products
Adding dairy products in your diet increases the level of calcium in the blood. This eventually reduces the amount of calcitriol: a hormone that promotes the storage of fat in your body.
Make sure to add milk, cheese, eggs, and yogurt in your diet to get rid of love handles.
2. Exercises
In addition to adding the above-mentioned things in your diet, you may also take help from the following exercises to get rid of love handles.
· Bicycling
Cycling for a few kilometers every day will work like magic for love handles. Additionally, it will also strengthen your thigh muscles and keep you more active. So it’s a win-win situation. [2]
Source: https://pixabay.com/en/girl-bicycle-bike-cycling-sunset-1906405/
· Jogging
Jogging is a simple way to tighten up all the fat hanging around your waist. Prefer jogging at early hours of the morning to get the best results. Keep doing it until you can successfully maintain the intensity and pressure.
· Crunches
Crunches can bring the folding right to your waistline. However, you must be careful to take it slow or you will lose out on them. Start with a small count and gradually work your way up every day.
· Leg Flutters
Leg flutters aim at strengthening the abdominal muscles and back. As the intensity of this exercise catches up with your lower belly, the fats start melting away, leaving behind firm abdominal muscles.
- Twisting Crunches
If you want to take your standard crunches to the next level, go for twisting crunches. These are pretty much the same as the regular ones except that you have to raise a knee and touch it with your elbow of the opposite arm.
Takeaway
Remember that hard work with a little patience always pays off. Your desire to change must be more than the desire to remain the way you are. That’s the key to getting rid of love handles successfully.