How to Get Rid of Love Handles

A lot of people have trouble with that stubborn little area right above their hips. These little mounds of fat seem to collect on both sides of your body and are dubbed "love handles." It's a cutesy name for something that is anything but adorable. While many trainers say you can't target fat deposits, there are some things you can do to get rid of the love handles, by either exercise or other means.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Change your diet. The accumulation of fat could mean that you are carrying excess weight. Go online and take a BMI test. They are easily accessible by entering "Body Mass Index calculator" into a Web search engine. Plug in your age, weight, height and (sometimes) bone structure and see if you are within a healthy range. If you are bigger than the range, it might be time to drop a few pounds. When you do, you will mostly likely lose some fat. That alone might help you reduce the size of your love handles.
2. Exercise. While many trainers correctly point out that you cannot target fat deposits, you can, however, build the muscles around them in the rest of your body. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body needs to burn. If you've changed your diet as suggested in step 1, your body will start to burn fat! So things like sit-ups (focusing on your outer stomach muscles), side shoulder dips with dumbbells (lean to each side), and even reverse sit-ups that focus on strengthening your lower back will help in the overall appearance of the area.
3. Do cardiovascular work. Now that you've changed your diet and thrown some muscle building into your routine, you need to pump your heart by doing a cardiovascular exercise at least three times a week for 30 minutes. Jog, cycle or swim. (If you are unable to perform these tasks for that period of time, start slow and then build, adding a couple of minutes each session.) By raising your heart rate and pumping blood through your circulatory system, your body will be burning more calories and thus be getting rid of fat!
4. Consider surgery. If you've changed your diet, begun a healthy exercise routine, gotten yourself to your ideal and still have the love handles, then your only recourse may be surgery. Chalk it up to bad genetics. But the bright side is that a little liposuction in today's day and age is a quick outpatient procedure. Many people can be back at work within a couple of days. And most times, once the fat is removed from that stubborn area, it will never come back. So say good-bye to love handles!

Tips & Warnings

• If you are merely concerned with how you look in your clothes, then maybe all you need is a trip to the mall. Focus on clothing that is cut a little wider in that area to help hide the love handles. Longer shirts are great for this.
• Consult your physician before beginning any workout routine.
• If considering plastic surgery, be sure that the surgeon is board-certified and has references whom you may contact who've had the same procedure.